Bruin (Football) Bites: UCLA's Experience, Camp and Predictions for 2014

I've got World Cup Fever, but bad referees and flopping are starting to give me migraines!

I still find time to keep up with our Bruins and the football team, with news still coming out despite being in the deep bowels of the collegiate sports offseason.  So here is your dose for the weekend.

Starting with the next big date for UCLA Football, the San Bernardino training camp is all set to begin on August 4, less than 2 months away.  Let's see what the current players have been doing to get ready, and let's see what the new crop of Bruins is bringing to the table.  It should be an intense camp with lots of attention on the boys.

This will be the first time in a while where UCLA will have some talented experience (as opposed to Dorrell recruit-level experience).  This is most apparent on our offensive line, which as Ted Miller points out, will have 88 returning o-line starts.  If we are fortunate with injuries, this can be huge, given the experience behind that line.  Arizona has the most, but will break in a new QB and RB.

In that same vein, Phil Steele shows the percentage of returning offensive production in 2014 for all college football teams.  This is a bit misleading, because a lot of the good teams lose that production when their talented players declare for the draft as underclassmen.  Still, UCLA finds itself at no. 15 with 84.22%, which is second best in the Pac-12 behind Washington State.  The key here obviously is Brett Hundley and Jordon James.

Sticking with Phil Steele, he provides his predictions for the All Pac-12 teams, with UCLA's Malcolm Bunche and Myles Jack on the First Team.  5 more players are on the Second Team.  Steele, who had mused that Southern Cal would be a BCS contender last year, shows his love for Trogans with 5 of them on his First Team.  I guess that's what happens when you're employed by ESPN.

On the defensive side of the ball, although it is clear that Myles Jack is the most talented player, the Bruins will be looking to Eric Kendricks for leadership.  After a tough 2013 season with tons of injuries, Eric could come through in a big way for UCLA.  We wish him a very rewarding season!

And finally, just another source that shows the high expectations for UCLA in 2014, this time in the form of game-by-game predictions. We'll do our own BN predictions later, but for now I think I'll take it!

Enjoy the weekend and GO BRUINS!