UCLA Football 2019: 100 things to look for with 100 days until kickoff

26. The Rumble in the Palouse; how good is Washington State?

Look, I understand that Mike Leach has turned Washington State into a fast-paced, high-powered team, but they are in a critical transition period. Yes, they have perfected the spread offense, but they lose the QB that led them to an 11-2 record last season as Gardner Minchew is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gage Gubrud takes over as a transfer from Eastern Washington, but will he have mastered the Cougar offense by that time?

27. Wade Lees, its Australian for “punter”, mate!

It is not that the Bruins were in a pickle with two walk-on punters, Carson Olivas and Collin Flintoft (who both had decent springs), but UCLA now has insurance. Recently, the coaches were able to bring in a punter with experience as a starter, a grad transfer who already completed his masters, and an athlete that has also played Australian Rules Football and that gives UCLA a ton of insurance in the field position game. Oh, by the way,, Wade Less is now your new favorite Bruin.

28. More zone read, but you knew this

With the offense more in tune with Kelly’s system, we are going to see a lot more zone reads. Even better is that we are going to see more well-executed zone reads. And from many backs. It should be quite fun.

29. What will DC Jerry Azzinaro do in Year 2?

The Bruins’ defense will have a lot more players at their disposal which should result in them playing more aggressively, but what will it look like? First off, if they can establish a pass rush, that will alleviate a lot of pressure on the rest of the defense. More pressure on the backfield leads to less weight in the secondary, which we know has talent. So if the DBs are freed up, we will see a well-balanced defense that will have teams bend at their will.

30. Can Devin Asiasi make up for the loss of Caleb Wilson?

With Wilson off to the NFL, Asiasi seems like the heir apparent to the coveted starting tight end spot. Wilson was a reliable receiving TE which came in handy in Kelly’s system, so someone has to fill that role. With two seasons of college football under his belt and knowledge of the Kelly offense, Asiasi can fill that role and will be primed for a break out season.