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UCLA Football: Spring practice preview – offense, defense, and special teams

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 26: Chip Kelly the head coach of UCLA Bruins stands on the sideline while playing the Utah Utes at the Rose Bowl on October 26, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 26: Chip Kelly the head coach of UCLA Bruins stands on the sideline while playing the Utah Utes at the Rose Bowl on October 26, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Offensive Line

Projected Spring Depth Chart

  • LT: Alec Anderson (R-Fr), Stephen DeFranco (R-Fr)
  • LG: Michael Alves (R-Jr), Sean Marrazzo (R-So)
  • C: Boss Tagaloa (Sr), Mohamed Khalil (R-Fr)
  • RG: Chris Murray (So), Baraka Beckett (R-Fr)
  • RT: Jake Burton (R-Jr), Jon Gaines (R-Fr), Lucas Grammlick (R-So)

The good news is that the Bruins gained four players in this last recruiting class after losing three since the end of the 2018 season. The bad news is that they will not be in Westwood until the fall, which means that the O-line will have less than ideal depth for spring.

The line will probably go through a series of transformations throughout the spring and will not settle on a starting lineup until August. That is advantageous for the offense for two reasons: (1) it gives the coaches plenty of time to evaluate the best players for every position and (2) it will give the younger players time to develop in spring.

The offensive line was undoubtedly the position group that made the most advancements throughout the 2018 season which makes us excited for what is to come in 2019. At the end of last season under Justin Frye, the line did not resemble what they were at the beginning, which means that we should have a good product this spring.

The Bruins return several players that not only started but logged serious minutes last season, so they should bring some consistency to the offense, something we did not see in spring of 2018. The only problem is that they are not that deep at the present moment so if even one OL gets hurt, that could be problematic for the Bruins.

Either way, with Boss Tagaloa, Jake Burton, Michael Alves, and Chris Murray as the core of the line, the Bruins should set themselves up for success by fall.