UCLA Releases Depth Chart For Season Opener

by Nestor on Aug 22, 2008 3:30 PM PDT in Football

After almost three weeks of training camp UCLA released its updated depth chart (PDF) for the Tennessee game:

Photo Credit: dabruins07's photostream (flickr)

You can check it out by going here. No major surprises if you have been following the camp on a day to day basis like rest of us here on BN. I guess some might be surprised at true freshman Sean Westgate making the two deep at WLB, but the coaches have been hinting at him as one of the freshmen who might be getting some PT for Tennessee game this week. So not a big shocker.

Also note the coaching staff has the right to shuffle around that lineup at any time based on injuries, performance at practice etc. For more official notes on the season opener go over here.

Less than 10 days to go.

GO BRUINS.

0 recs | Comment 16 comments

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Get out the marmalade....

….because Norris is toast at CB, in the fine tradition of many of our 5-9 and 5-10 CBs that have been at UCLA. Remember Mike Williams pushing one of our CBs down in the end zone for yet another embarrassing easy TD against $uc? Get ready for more of the same against taller, more athetic wideouts of TN and throughout the season against the PAC-10.

I just don’t understand why we can’t find the bigger lockdown CBs at 6-1 or 6-2 that many other programs do?

In fairness to Norris, he may practice well and have a lot of heart, but he is physically outmatched at CB and will only be a solid player on the special teams over the upcoming season.

by HERTZYM on Aug 22, 2008 4:22 PM PDT 0 recs

I'm sure the coaches

have already scouted the taller, more athletic wide-outs of TN. As long as Norris watches his technique I’m sure he’ll be fine. Not every good cb in the NFL is 6-1 6-2. The best ones are 5-8-5-11; Pacman Jones?

by bruin95 on Aug 22, 2008 11:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

Have you even seen him play?

I wouldn’t go around jumping to conclusions unless you’ve gone to a practice or scrimmage. From what I’ve seen through a handful of practices and the fall scrimmage, he can be a solid corner; he won’t be a lockdown corner that’ll be avoided, but he can definitely get the job done….and teams on both the professional and collegiate level have employed sub-6’ corners. Asante Samuel is 5’10", if I recall, and he was great at UCF and on the pro level.’

GO BRUINS!

by jlegs on Aug 22, 2008 4:50 PM PDT 0 recs

I have actually....

…which is why I’m concerned. Do you remember the game a few years back at WSU when he didn’t turn around on the fake punt and the ball hit him in the back? That gaffe was difficult to take as I sat cheering the Bruins on in Pullman, at least we won the game thanks to Mo Drew and Drew Olson.

Thanks for the rational, reasonable response as opposed an attack in response to my criticism.

I am very excited about the upcoming turnaround of the program but I fear that the secondary (and especially this corner position) will be the major Achilles heel.

by HERTZYM on Aug 22, 2008 5:30 PM PDT 0 recs

A few years ago!!

He’s a senior now. I’m sure he’s gotten a lot better in the last three years, maybe even in the last year.

by bruin95 on Aug 22, 2008 11:45 PM PDT up 0 recs

Mike Norris will be fine

It’s kind of hard to compare Norris as a freshmen or sophmore and predict how he will play this year. He has a lot more game experience now as a senior.

With Verner at the other CB spot, he will definitely see more passes thrown his way. I’ve been to quite a few practices and the scrimmage and i didn’t see anything that would alarm me. I’ve seen him make nice plays against our very tall wide receivers including a couple of interceptions. Dominique Johnson (6’3), Nelson Rosario (6’5) and 4 or 5 other receivers taller than 6’1 will help him get ready to play against big receivers

Trey Brown was only 5’8 1/2’’ and he was pretty good. I think our defensive will be solid and that the the offense sustaining some drives to keep the defense rested will be the biggest key.

by DaBruins19 on Aug 22, 2008 5:55 PM PDT 0 recs

Here's Hopin'...

You make a good point about Brown but he showed more skills from Day 1…I guess we’ll see how Norris does now that he is no longer a nickel back and is out on an island.

Believe me, I hope he does well, b/c that means my Bruins do well, I just don’t have a lot of confidence at this point. My feeling is that we’ll see one of the younger CBs by mid-season get more PT and maybe even Norris back at nickel.

by HERTZYM on Aug 22, 2008 6:08 PM PDT 0 recs

I was at a lot of practices

and I can’t see Norris starting after week 4. By then one of our freshmen will have taken his starting spot because he looked terrible out there. He’s an adequate 4th corner and a good special teams players, but nothing more than that. His footwork was horrible and I saw him get tangled up with his own feet and fall at least twice. Even in the first practice of the summer the freshmen were beating him deep. He doesn’t have good size so he needs to be very good positionally and I saw him out of position more than I saw him in position. He seems to be a great kid and he’s a hard worker who does a good job on special teams, but as a starting corner he’ll get burned repeatedly.

by ryebreadraz on Aug 22, 2008 6:29 PM PDT 0 recs

Then Who?

If he looked bad, who would your choice to replace him as the starting cornerback? In the the practices and scrimmage I went to, there wasn’t 1 player that didn’t get beat and look bad at some point. I know Verner is our best CB hands down, but I saw him get beat several times by the freshmen receivers also.

by DaBruins19 on Aug 23, 2008 12:58 AM PDT 0 recs

The Moline's

Well at least they will get a nice ed. out of going here, I mean chase is really a fullback but he will never see field.

Your only as good as your second serve and first volley

by Bruin in the mesa on Aug 23, 2008 3:04 PM PDT 0 recs

Negative

Chase is a pretty solid hybrid RB/FB. And I am going to bet he will get his share of action in Chow’s offense.

by Nestor on Aug 24, 2008 9:05 AM PDT up 0 recs

Not Negative just real dude

Really I hope your right because if the train gets going they could win 7-8 games this year.

Your only as good as your second serve and first volley

by Bruin in the mesa on Aug 26, 2008 3:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

darius savage...

anyone know what happened to him? He was being hailed as the next big thing on our line and now he’s not starting. any news that i missed?

by bucknellbruin on Aug 24, 2008 4:13 PM PDT 0 recs

Interesting

Forcier at #2 and OR at #3. Guess the reports of KP getting a lot of reps were not indicative of the depth chart.

Note the depth of three freshmen at SS, and a depth of 2 freshmen at ORT. Wow, talk about being thrown into the fire. High school one year. Starting in big-time college the next year.

But the role call for freshmen doesn’t end there. Freshmen are at #2 behind a more seasoned player at 11 positions (4 offense, 7 defense). So, for half of all the positions on the field, a Freshman is the second option.

Offense: SE (Embree), QB (Forcier), TB (Raymond Carter), RT (Harris, behind Fr. Chandler).

Defense: SLB (Ayers), MLB (Sloan), WLB (Westgate), LC (Hester), SS (Dye, behind Fr. Moore), FS (Love), RC (Viney)

Looks like freshmen under the new regime will see more action in a few games than freshmen saw in five years under the previous regime. Go get ’em, young Bruins.

by Bruinut on Aug 25, 2008 1:05 AM PDT 0 recs

That is,

freshmen are at #2 behind a more seasoned player at 9 positions, and behind another freshman at 2 more positions.

by Bruinut on Aug 25, 2008 1:19 AM PDT up 0 recs

It's the U$C model, in a way

Get the freshmen some experience, and also encourage competition. Lots of competition. We also have no choice! It works though. In a couple of years, we will be scary good.

by tasser10 on Aug 25, 2008 8:22 AM PDT up 0 recs