UCLA Football: Position battle breakdown against San Diego State

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Sep 2, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins defensive back Jaylin Davies (24) hands on the ball after an interception in the second half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Line: UCLA

In our position grades from the season-opener, this unit earned an “A” for its pressure on the quarterback and strong work against the run. Amidst the exhale of relief, the six offside penalties fell by the wayside. Even with those procedural penalties in mind, those mistakes aren’t expected to carry over. This is a unit with high upside, and they should mitigate the mishaps as they move forward.

This unit’s upside is high. They registered four sacks in the season-opener and helped suffocate the Coastal Carolina rushing attack.

Linebacker: Tie

The Bruins linebacking corps didn’t take over the game against Coastal Carolina, but they also didn’t make many mistakes. The secondary and defensive lines made plays all night, and this group has really yet to be tested.

San Diego State has registered four sacks in 2023, and 3.5 of those have come from the linebackers. They haven’t been as fierce rushing the passer or defending the run, but that has more to do with a secondary that has questions (more on that below).

These groups serve different purposes for their respective teams, but based on the early returns, neither appears significantly better than the other.

Secondary: UCLA

In Week 0 against Ohio, the Bobcats’ starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke left the game with an injury after just ten attempts. At that point, he was 8-of-10 for 75 yards and a 71.9 QBR. San Diego State shut down his backup CJ Harris, picking him off three times, but the “what if” remains.

The solid evidence we have on this secondary is that, in ten throws, they were allowing an 80 percent completion rate and a solid 7.5 yards per attempt.

UCLA got a full game against a quarterback of similar quality in the season opener, and they played a game in which they bent but didn’t break. Grayson McCall and Coastal Carolina gained plenty of yards but only found the endzone once. The Bruins also picked off McCall twice.

One of these secondaries is a truly known commodity, and it’s that of the Bruins.