UCLA Football: 5 position battles to watch for in Spring Training

3. The Left Tackle Spot (Until Sean Rhyan Gets to Campus)

Alec Anderson vs. Jake Burton vs. Jon Gaines

The left tackle spot is one of the most important on the football field. The player that is assigned to that position has the responsibility of protecting the quarterback’s blindside. That will be especially important this season as UCLA loses one of their offensive linemen studs from last season as Andre James has declared early for the NFL draft.

That means the Bruins coaching staff is going to have to try and find his replacement for the 2019 season, though the Bruins have time. Spring Training will afford the coaches the opportunity to look at what they have at the present moment. Right now Alec Anderson looks like the favorite to take over that spot but depending on the production of a few other linemen like John Gaines and Jake Burton (though he might retain the starting right tackle position), I would expect the coaches to put the best player at that position.

The interesting thing is that spring will only be the first part of this position battle. Spring Training will give these players a chance to show what they can bring to the table, but come fall they are going to have to battle it out with a very talented freshman in Sean Rhyan who already has many UCLA writers pegging him as the next LT starter. He is that good.