Spaulding Roundup: UCLA Football News & Notes

by Nestor on May 11, 2009 4:57 AM PDT in Football Comment 3 comments

While spring football game was over couple of weeks ago more spring practice related news and notes keep trickling out of WWL. Ted Miller did a "UCLA spring wrap-up" on his Pac-10 blog which posed the following questions for this coming Fall:

1. Is there any hope for the O-line? The line was awful this spring just as it was last fall. There's plenty of experience with six returnees who started at least five games in 2008, though two sat out spring practices with injuries. And there's plenty of incoming possibilities, with touted freshmen and JC transfers arriving in the fall to offer alternatives. It feels like the Bruins' bowl hopes rest almost entirely on whether this unit can find some answers.

2. D-line depth: The Bruins starting crew of tackles Price and Jerzy Siewierski and ends Korey Bosworth and Datone Jones form one of the better foursomes in the Pac-10, but depth, especially at tackle, needs to develop. An injury or two here and things get pretty thin.

3. Playmakers on offense: If the offensive line figures things out, and Prince comes through, then somebody has to do something with the football in the passing game. During spring practices, the performance of the receivers was mediocre to bad, though true freshman hybrid tight end/receiver Morrell Presley lived up to his hype. If the veterans don't step up, then a strong incoming freshman class -- including speedster Randall Carroll -- is going to move up quickly.

Well Randall Carroll was in the news this weekend in a big way. In case you missed it because the post has scrolled down in last 48 hours Carroll ran the the fastest 100 meter time in California in last 17 years over this weekend. Here is a video (HT CPBBruinFan at Bruin Roar) evidence of Carroll's speed:

May 2, 2009 Track Preliminaries-Randall Carroll (via bishopamatlancer)

Randall ran the third-fastest legal 100 time in state history (he also won the 200 in 2011). We haven't had speed like this in our program in a long time. If he CRN and Chow are able to utilize that speed this coming Fall, look out.

Also, speaking of scrolled down, jtthirtyfour flagged a great piece from WWL's Ivan Maisel on ATV. For those of us who follow the program on day to day basis there isn't any breaking news in the story. However, I did found some quotes from the piece interesting include ATV's take on how he applies his intense interst in math on the playing field:

Verner said there might be parallels between some math work and measuring the flight of the ball through the secondary while on a dead sprint toward a receiver who has you by three inches and 20 pounds. His head coach sees the connection.

"We say all the time that football is a game of leverage and angles. If that doesn't come straight from the math homework assignments, I don't know what does," Neuheisel said. "He's just got great instincts. He's a hard worker. Math requires a lot of diligence, in terms of staying on top of things, being aware of formulas. Alterraun has done a great job of studying offenses. … He is very instinctive. He has great anticipation, and that comes from the study that he puts forth."

More from Neuheisel on his senior superstar/leader of the team:

"He is a unique individual and he is as advertised," Neuheisel said. "He is just a model citizen, a great leader, a great role model for the young kids in the secondary as well as the kids on the team. And I think a legitimate NFL prospect. It's fun to be around him. He will hopefully flourish as a senior."

For those who went to the spring game you know ATV didn't waste any time to make his mark. He intercepted a Prince pass in the very past series. If you want to see more highlights from this spring game (in case you are as desperate for football highlights as I am), check out the spring game highlights from the official site. I still wish they would consider putting them on YouTube, Vimeo or some other video player with embed options. I think that would help them to get the word out even more and gin up more excitement around the program.

GO BRUINS.

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Its going to be all about the Oline

Without that, you can’t run or pass. At least if you have a good oline and a poor qb, half your offense is sort of working, and you can limit the passing game to what he is good at.

I think it will go from an F last year to a C C- this year, which will be a big improvement, along with a healthy backfield.

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 11, 2009 9:58 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with #1 and #3, but I'd change #2

Last year, our offensive line was abysmal. If we were not the worst offensive line in the Pac-10 it was only because Washington had the worst offensive line in the Big 6 conferences, perhaps the worst line in the Pac-10 in this decade. UCLA’s line was the worst it has ever been in my lifetime. Upgrading the offensive line from terrible to merely mediocre would be a huge step forward and could propel us to bowl eligibility (6-6). If our line becomes average this year (which would be miraculous), we will be a good team (7-8 wins). I think we should picture offensive line strength as a bell curve. Last year, we were all the way to the left, one of the 5 worst in the BCS division. We could be 50% better this year and still be in the lower quartile of offensive lines. So, we’ll need to look for small, positive changes, like this:

-Can the QB take a 5-step drop without being dropped when he gets there?
-Can the o-line open up holes, allowing for occasional 4-6 yard gains on first down?
-Can the o-line limit mistakes such that we have half as many negative plays as last year? Turning negatives into 0s or 1 yard gains will be a big step.

Depth on defensive line is always an issue, but I disagree with it being in the top 3. Instead, I would bump Miller’s #3 (skill position play) to #2 and drop QB play as #3. On the topic of skill-position players (offensively), we have not had a breakaway running back since MJD in 2005. We have not had a premier NFL talent at WR since … you tell me, does Tab Perry count? We need someone to step up at both RB and WR and be the TD threat that we have lacked in the last 3 seasons. We need it at both positions, especially at RB. So Ramirez, Knox, Franklin, Thigpen, here’s to one of you becoming a game breaker. And Austin, Embree, Pressly and Carroll, likewise.

If the o-line can open a few holes and allow few negative plays, and if a RB and WR step up, we could be decent on offense. “Decent” would be a massive upgrade from the awful mess that we were on offense last year.

Which leads to the 3rd question: Kevin Prince. If he doesn’t have an upgraded o-line (again, not talking great, just several steps closer to average than the abysmal line we had last year) and skill players who can make plays, he has no chance. If he does have those things, then the key will be whether he can manage the game. As a RS freshman, we cannot expect him to be a world beater. But if he makes a few plays and keeps to a minimum the terrible plays that plagued the QB position last year (youtube UCLA-ASU if you have the stomach for it), our offense could actually approach averageness. If we could have an average offense, we would actually be a pretty good team, able to beat the bad teams badly (SDSU, WSU) to hang with and beat decent teams (Stanford, Arizona), to hang with and perhaps upset the good teams (Cal) and to make a respectable showing against the best teams (SC, Oregon).

by BruinsRule on May 11, 2009 10:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Break Away/Big Play Runners

Dean has that potential — if he stays.

In the past, others here have written that we may have to forego “pure runners” in favor of blocker/runners. If that is true, it’s a subtle, but important cost imposed by not having recruited the right O line players in CTS years.

We will get it right, soon. But, I hate to lose kids like Dean in the interim.

sjh

by Class of 66 on May 11, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs