Preliminary Starters for 2010-11
by 03rdn9 on Feb 3, 2010 8:35 PM PST
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Print(This is all just speculation... tell me what you think needs to be changed)
Offense
QB- Kevin Prince/Clayton Tunney (Depends on his performance)
RB- Jonathan Franklin
FB- Tobi Umodu/Derrick Coleman
WR (Flanker) - Taylor Embree
WR (Slot) - Josh Smith (Transfer)
WR (Slot) - Randall Carroll
WR (Flanker)- Nelson Rosario
TE 1- Morrell Presley
TE 2 - Joseph Fauria (Transfer)
LT - Jeff Baca
LG - Eddie Williams
C - Kai Maiava
RG - Ryan Taylor
RT- Mike Harris
Defense
DE: Datone Jones
DT: David Carter
DT: Justin Edison/Sealii Epenesa
DE: Owamagbe Odighizuwa*
LOLB: Akeem Ayers
MLB: Sean Westgate/Aremide Olaniyan*
ROLB: Donovan Carter
CB: Sheldon Price/Courtney Viney
NB: Anthony Jefferson/Andrew Abbott
SS: Tony Dye/Anthony Barr*/Garrett Rubio
FS: Rahim Moore
K: Kai Forbath
P: Jeff Locke
LS: Christian Yount
KR/PR: Damien Thigpen/Randall Carroll
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Not this year anyways...
maybe once he gets a year of the system under his belt.
Tunney?
For real or typo? I don’t see that at all. Just going to guess starters
QB – Prince
RB – Jones
FB – Coleman
WR – Rosario and Smith
TE – Fauria
OL – Harris, Kia, Maiava, Williams and Baca
DE – Jones and Graham
DT – Carter and Marsh
LB – Ayers, Golper and Bowens
CB – Hester and Price
FS – Moore
SS – Dye
PR – Carroll
KR – Smith
I expect all the FR to RS except for James, Jones, Marsh, Epenesa, Owa, Zumwalt and Riley.
I agree with this
except I think Franklin starts a RB, but Jones will get plenty of touches. I also think Smith returns punts as well.
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by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 3, 2010 9:08 PM PST up reply actions
Yes
but he had problems in practice catching the kicks and Smith is already an accomplished D-1 returner.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 3, 2010 10:04 PM PST up reply actions
Damn
he looked soooo good with the ball in his hands. If we are behind and need a score I’d risk Thiggy.
Jones
I believe has a higher ceiling than Franklin, and hopefully can hold onto the ball. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him starting come September.
I think D Riley will also be pushing for a lot of PT in the defensive backfield as well.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
JetSki and Knox
Who knows BM .. the influx in talent will probably create an added sense of urgency in those two kids and force them to work even harder during spring ball. I am excited to see how the competition shapes up!
I expect Knox to get more looks
this year. He doesn’t look as good on paper, but he makes plays.
I can see Tunney
Making a legitimate run at the starting spot. He has been kept a good secret… It’s not impossible
Formerly ucla13_usc9
by 03rdn9 on Feb 3, 2010 9:08 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I don't see it
A nice player who I wouldn’t be upset with if he had to come in due to injury, but nothing more.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 3, 2010 9:09 PM PST up reply actions
People said the same about Kevin Craft
and then . . . oh wait
by SuperBruinMan on Feb 3, 2010 9:19 PM PST up reply actions
My Take
Offense
QB- Kevin Prince/Richard Brehaut
RB- Jonathan Franklin/Milton Knox/Malcolm Jones
FB- Jayson Allmond/Derick Coleman
WR (Flanker) – Taylor Embree
WR (Slot) – Josh Smith
WR (Slot) – Randall Carroll
WR (Flanker)- Nelson Rosario
Hybrid Receiver/TE- Morrell Presley (insert him wherever and not as a set position to create mismatches)
TE – Joseph Fauria (Transfer)
LT – Nik Abele
LG – Jeff Baca
C – Kai Maiava
RG – Eddie Williams
RT- Mike Harris
Defense
DE: Datone Jones/Keenan Graham
DT: David Carter/Darius Savage
DT: Cassius Marsh/Nate Chandler/Damien Holmes
DE: Owamagbe Odighizuwa/Iuta Tepa
LOLB: Akeem Ayers/Anthony Barr
MLB: Todd Golper/Jordan Zumwalt
ROLB: Isaiah Bowens/Aramide Olaniyan/Josh Shirley
CB: Tony Dye/Sheldon Price
CB: Aaron Hester/Marlon Pollard
NB: Andrew Abbott/Anthony Jefferson
SS: Dietrich Riley
FS: Rahim Moore
K: Kai Forbath
P: Jeff Locke
LS: Christian Yount
KR/PR: Damien Thigpen/Randall Carroll
Dam
Change Edison to Marsh. Forgot about him
Formerly ucla13_usc9
by 03rdn9 on Feb 3, 2010 9:10 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Why no competition for the kicker spot?
Star recruit Kip Smith could be the second best kicker in the Pac 10……too bad the best kicker in the country is playing ahead of him!
I don’t know about Tunney and have always been a Brehaut fan, so the QB position should be interesting. Likewise for the RB spot as Franklin really needs to work on ball security and will be pushed by Knox/Thigpen/Coleman and the two superstar freshman. I like our receivers, but the rest of the offense doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence at this point. Defense should be solid.
Why not on the offense?
O-Line is going to be a lot better than we’ve had in years past since they are finally ready physically and have experience. TE is manned by Fauria and Presley. Rosario should emerge as a star if he’s consistent, and Taylor Embree will be reliable. Insert Josh Smith (who is GOOD) and Randall Carroll and the offense will be good
You left out the backfield
I like our receiving corp and the line should hopefully continue to improve. But its never a good sign when two of the most uncertain positions are your quarterback and running back. The talent is there, its just got to be defined and a hopefully leaders will emerge to make a clear pecking order.
disagree entirely regarding kicker
I think Kai sticking around for his senior year was the best imaginable thing to happen for Kip Smith, and I think Smith knows it.
Our recent history with successful kickers and punters all have one thing in common. They didn’t have to come in and start from day one. They had a year to redshirt (or play very little) and learn from one of the best. From film I’ve seen, Kip has a hell of a leg. However, his form and accuracy need work. Luckily, these are very teachable, especially coming from the best kicker in the country. Take a look at Jeff Locke. #1 in the country as a prep, but was not very good in practice his true freshman year. Got to learn from Perez and became one of the best in the country his redshirt freshman year.
I’m ecstatic that Kai is hanging around for his senior year, virtually ensuring that
I'm not buying it
Here’s how I see our depth chart playing out (assuming there are no major injuries):
QB: Prince, Brehaut, Crissman/Tunney
HB: Franklin/Coleman, M. Jones, Knox
FB: Umodu/Allmond, Coleman
TE: Pressley/Fauria, Harkey
WR1: Rosario, Embree, Johnson
WR2: Smith, Carroll, Marvray
LT: Baca, Kia, Abele
LG: Hasiak, Kia
C: Maiava
RG: Williams, Bradford
RT: Harris, Sheller
DE: D. Jones, Graham, Tepa
DT: Carter, Epenesa, Holmes
DT: Marsh, Edison, Chandler
DE: Odighizuwa/Graham
OLB: Ayers, Barr
MLB: Golper, Larimore, Sloan
OLB: Bowens, Olanyian
CB: Hester, Pollard,
CB: Price, Viney, Abbott
FS: Moore, Riley
SS: Dye, Love
K: Forbath, Smith
P: Locke
KR/PR: Smith, Thigpen
Josh Smith will be our primary slot receiver and our return guy. He did a solid job in Colorado and I don’t know if Thigpen and Carroll can correct the issues that kept Austin on the field as a returner, despite Austin’s ineptitude returning kicks.
Someone had Sean Westgate started at MLB. That will never happen. Ever. The kid has a ton of heart, but he’s just not big enough to be a college linebacker. However, he’s a perfect special teams guy. He’s a weird hybrid type and undersized for a LB, but he’s a perfect fit for special teams.
Tunney might surprise us all, but notice I said surprise. I don’t think the kid will ever break the QB rotation, but he may surprise us. I’ll see it when I believe it. I think the job is Prince’s to lose. In an ideal world, Tunney would turn out to be a legitimate QB and Brehaut would agree to redshirt, to help us space out our QB situation more. Probably won’t happen though.
The battle for the other DE spot will be exciting. I think Datone Jones has the other side locked up for next season. A lot of people forgot Keenan Graham was on our roster. The guy was highly-touted coming out last year, but since he was a redshirt (I believe) and didn’t see the field, he fell off a lot of folk’s radars. I think he and Owa will compete for the other starting job replacing Bosworth.
I’d expect to see Marsh starting in the middle with Carter. The other guys we signed are nice, but I don’t think any of them will really be ready to make an impact until the 2011 season.
At TE, the guy on the field depends on what set Norm Chow is operating out of that play. Pressley is more of an H-back, so I’d expect him to see the field in those situations. He creates major match-up problems, being much larger than most CBs and much faster than most LBs. That being said, Fauria is a more traditional TE with better blocking ability, so I’d peg him as the frontrunner when NC is looking to run the ball and run pro-sets.
The major questions are the backfield. I have no idea who our starting tailback will be next year. Jones is very highly-touted, but we have no idea how he will adjust to the college game. Franklin had the job last season until fumblitis hit hard. If the guy can learn to hold on to the rock, he has a good shot of retaining his starting job (although I’d expect Jones to get a lot of carries). Coleman is still in the mix because of his size (kind of the thunder to Franklin’s lighting). I think Milton Knox is on the outside-looking-in at this point. Thigpen will hit the field every so often. The kid is electric, but he’s not an every-down back. Also, I have no idea what is happening with Christian Ramirez. He’s still on the team, but hasn’t been on the field in a long time. Dalton Hilliard is in the mix, in theory, but I don’t think he’ll figure much this season. I would not be shocked to see Hilliard or Knox transfer by 2011.
by Bellerophon on Feb 3, 2010 10:19 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Couple thoughts
Hilliard is a safety, and I think Coleman is moving to FB. I think Owa gets the spot opposite Jones, with Graham sprinkled in on certain situations. And Franklin is working hard to fix his problems
Interesting move
Moving Coleman to FB. I like it, although I’m curious to see how Allmond shapes up. The kid has major size (enough to transition to DT if he put on some weight).
I know Hilliard plays both ways, but I think he had a better shot making the field as a RB than a DB. Moore is set and with Riley coming in (plus Dye and Love in the mix), I don’t see Hilliard getting a shot. CB is locked up by Hester and Price in my opinion with Abbott and Viney coming in as the extra DB when necessary.
I hope JetSki can fix his handles because he has a lot of upside. He’ll get pressure for sure, with Malcolm Jones in the mix.
at MLB
Don’t forget Taniela Maka. I have heard he will be ready to join the team by spring quarter. He might be competing for the two deep spot right away.
At RG … Ryan Taylor did a really good job last year. I will not be surprised if Eddie Williams get moved over to DT.
DT?
We’ve got DT’s overstocked now. Eddie did an awesome job at guard, and it would save Chris Ward for that inevitable injury that one of our guys is going to have
Formerly ucla13_usc9
by 03rdn9 on Feb 4, 2010 6:40 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Ryan Taylor did a servicable job
but Eddie Williams was our true road grader and the only really good run blocker we had. You need one of him at one of the guard spots. He did so much for the little running game we had. I think it would be foolish to move him.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 4, 2010 12:45 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Maka and Williams
I agree re: Maka. He has a lot of upside, but I think Golper could beat him out. It will be an interesting competition. I think Larimore and Sloan will be in the mix, just because they’ve been in the system for a while and know our defensive schemes. MLB is really the QB of the defense in a lot of ways and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those guys made a real push, just because they know the system. Sloan, I think, has a lot of untapped potential that I keep hoping will eventually develop.
I agree with Ryan on Williams. I think he’ll have RG locked up until he graduates. The guy is a beast and given the state of our OL right now, we need every solid body we can to generate some running room for our guys.
Why is Jones a given?
The battle for the other DE spot will be exciting. I think Datone Jones has the other side locked up for next season. A lot of people forgot Keenan Graham was on our roster. The guy was highly-touted coming out last year, but since he was a redshirt (I believe) and didn’t see the field, he fell off a lot of folk’s radars. I think he and Owa will compete for the other starting job replacing Bosworth.
There is no doubt that Jones has great potential and we gave him a lot of time last year, but truthfully I don’t think he was amazing. He did ok. I could see Owa, Graham AND Tepa challenging him. In other words, I think DE is totally up for grabs at BOTH spots.
What a GREAT problem to have!
I don't think it's a given
But I expect Jones to make the job his to lose. He’s going to be a year older, bigger (and presumably stronger), and more familiar with the college game. I think he gives us more off the edge than Tepa and Holmes. Graham and Owa will be a great battle.
There’s always some players who we think will be money but end up disappointing (Raymond Carter, Aundre Dean, Glenn Love, etc.). I don’t have any reason to think Tepa will be that guy, but someone has to be, and I don’t think it’s likely to be Owa or Graham.
Westgate
could still start at OLB? Yes, he is small, but you wouldn’t know it by his performance on the field. Bosworth was a nasty hitter, but opposing offenses liked to set up speed mismatches with him. He got beat twice on wheel routes up the sidelines by different running backs last year. The incoming guys are very talented, more than Westgate, but I can’t help like that kid because of what he shows come game day.
With Olanyian and Barr...
…in the mix, I don’t think Westgate will ever start on defense. He’s got the speed, but not the size, and a lot of our new guys have both.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Westgate a lot, but being realistic, he’ll be a special teams guy and nothing more. But damn, he’s a great special teams guy (which is pretty important).
A little premature for depth charts
since a good handful of the people that we are penciling in still haven’t chosen a prom date…but let me join in anyways! The running back spot is difficult to figure out because we have no idea how our recruits will pass block on the college level. We know how important this in our/any offense, so its something to consider. Granted our pass protection has greatly improved, so athletes can now get on the field sooner rather than later, but it is still a factor. With that being said, I think Franklin gets the nod, with heavy doses of Jones sprinkled in for good measure.
The two spots that we should be concerned about are DT and SS. Hopefully, Marsh has what it takes to be a starter right off the bat, because what we already have to put next to Carter isn’t quite starter material, and the other incoming freshmen are at least a year away. SS is important as well. We all know from last year that this was a major point of weakness for our defense. I don’t imagine that one year will magically help Love to figure out how to use that big body of his or Dye to figure out the safety position, so I have my fingers crossed for Dietrich Riley to make a run at that Freshman All-American spot that hes gunning for. I’d be even more excited to see Anthony Barr display his size and athleticism at the SS position. That would be amazing for many reasons.
Josh Smith will definitely be our return man. I, like many others, was hoping to see more of Carroll and Thigpen in the return game, but they weren’t able to crack the line up. I’m assuming that there were reasons for this and that the coaches weren’t sacrificing our season just to show respect to a senior (what are the odds on Austin having photos of sp. team coach Gansz’s wife in compromising positions). Aside from that, I’m seeing Smith taking the returning duties next year.
At DE, I would love to see Graham ready for that spot, with Owa spelling him off the bench. Owa is great, but it would be danger to have 2 true freshmen on our Defensive line. Maybe I’m wrong (I would love to be). We’ll see what happens. In any case, how exciting will this off season continue to be?! Go Bruins!
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