In college football, there are turnovers and there is turnover.
Turnovers can kill a team during a game. Roster turnover can kill a
team’s season.
The UCLA football team has undergone intense roster turnover
during the offseason. Not only have the Bruins lost their three key
offensive players in Maurice Drew, Marcedes Lewis and Drew Olson,
and six offensive starters overall, they also have five new coaches
““ not including Jim Svoboda, who made the switch from
quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. The Bruins will need
to have all of these new people fully integrated by the time the
season begins if they are to have anything like the success of last
year.
Offense
The Bruins enter fall practice on Monday with the hope of
finding some of the same offensive magic that carried the team in
comeback victories against Stanford, Washington State and
Northwestern, among others. Ben Olson will have to realize the
potential that made him such a sought-after recruit both after high
school and after he came back from his Mormon mission, but his is
not the only position with question marks.
Offensive line
The O-line is one of the bigger question marks for the team this
year. The Bruins lost mainstays Mike McCloskey and Ed Blanton from
last year. Guard Shannon Tevaga, who started all of last season, is
expected to step up and be the leader of the line in
McCloskey’s absence, but the Bruins will have to get
significant contributions from inexperienced freshmen if they are
to equal the success of last year. There is only one senior on the
line, Robert Chai.
Aleksey Lanis is one of the most talented O-line recruits of the
Dorrell era, but it remains to be seen whether he can handle the
weakside tackle spot that will likely be his for the taking. Lanis
redshirted last season as a freshman.
“¢bull; What to watch for in practice: Can Robert Chai handle
the center duties over the entire season? Chai has spent most of
his career bouncing around between guard and center, but had four
starts at center last season when McCloskey went down. The center
is the most important position on the line, so Chai will have to
take a leadership role in teaching this young line.
Wide receivers/tight ends
The receiving corps is the most experienced unit on the team.
Junior Marcus Everett and senior Joe Cowan will likely be the
starters coming out of fall practice, and both saw extensive
starting time last year. The Bruins did not lose a single wideout
from last season, and they should provide a good safety net for
sophomore quarterback Ben Olson in his first year at the helm.
A bigger question is how the Bruins will replace the production
of Marcedes Lewis. Lewis was one of the best receiving tight ends
in UCLA history, which is saying something from a school that has
produced eight tight ends who have gone on to the NFL. The Bruins
have depth at the position, in Logan Paulsen, Ryan Moya and Adam
Heater, but not a true standout star.
“¢bull; What to watch for in practice: Is Junior Taylor fully
recovered from his knee injury? Taylor injured his knee early last
season and went down for the rest of the year. If he is fully
healthy, he may challenge Everett or Cowan for their starting
roles.
Backfield
Much like last year, Dorrell is loathe to name a starting
quarterback. Will it be Ben Olson, the mega-talented redshirt
sophomore who, reports say, won the job heading into the season
last year but broke his hand before he could be named? Or will it
be sophomore Pat Cowan, who apparently has a better understanding
of the offense? Olson, Dorrell’s biggest recruit in his time
at UCLA, will likely be named the starter, but Dorrell is leaving
all possibilities open.
At tailback, the Bruins will have the tandem of Chris Markey and
Khalil Bell, who performed well in the Sun Bowl last year when
Maurice Drew went down. The loss of the play-making Drew will be a
blow to the running backs, but Markey should be able to run with
more consistency and durability, thanks to a bit more size. Michael
Pitre will likely reprise his role as the team’s
fullback.
“¢bull; What to watch for in practice: Can Olson be Olson? If
this team is to be as successful as last season, Ben Olson will
have to do something to the order of what Drew Olson did last
season. But before he does anything, he will have to prove to
Dorrell in fall practice that he has enough knowledge of the
offense to be named the definitive starter.
Defense
Defensively, the Bruins have much to atone for from last year.
UCLA was one of the worst teams in the nation last year on defense,
and the worst in the Pac-10 in scoring defense at 34.2 points per
game allowed. As with the offense, the defensive stars from a year
ago are now gone as well. Linebacker Spencer Havner, the best
tackler on the team, and Marcus Cassell, who came on strong toward
the end of last season, are both in the NFL. The team’s
defense will rely heavily on the line and young linebackers; as
they go, so does this defense.
Defensive line
The D-line represents what a topsy-turvy year this has the
potential to be. Last year, a halfway decent running back could
turn UCLA’s line into so much swiss cheese. The line was
undersized and inexperienced, because of both injuries and holes in
recruiting. This year, the line has the potential to be one of the
team’s strengths.
Junior Kevin Brown will return from the ankle injury that
sidelined him for all of last year, and Nikola Dragovic, who was
out for most of last year with a knee injury, hopes to be entirely
ready to go by the time the season starts. These two could be the
most talented defensive linemen on the team, so the Bruins’
line success is likely contingent on their health, as well as on
the new defensive line coach, Todd Howard.
“¢bull; What to watch for in practice: Which of UCLA’s
talented line recruits will contribute this season? The Bruins
stocked up at both tackle and end during the recruiting season. The
most likely to get some playing time are defensive tackles Darius
Savage and Jerzy Siewierski, but all of the new recruits will be
given a chance to crack the rotation in fall practice.
Linebackers
On the other side of the recently flipped coin is the
linebacking corps. Last year, the linebackers were the relatively
strong part of the defense, with a heavy senior presence in Spencer
Havner, Justin London and Wesley Walker. Now the “old
man” of the linebackers is sophomore John Hale, who had seven
starts last season.
To give an indication of the inexperience at linebacker, Eric
McNeal, who has been projected as a starter, was a safety prior to
last season, and Christian Taylor is a former walk-on. Most of the
linebackers are either undersized or inexperienced, and many of
them are both. Hopefully for them, they will not have to do as much
as last season’s linebackers, thanks to a better defensive
line.
What to watch for in practice: Will redshirt freshman Reggie
Carter steal a starting spot? Carter is one of the most talented
players in the unit, but has yet to show the work ethic to maintain
a starting spot. The linebacking starting spots are more wide open
than most, but Carter will have to show effort and tenacity on top
of his athleticism.
Defensive backs
As the last line of defense, the defensive backs will provide
some experience to cushion the new linebackers. The Bruins lost
strong safety Jarrad Page and cornerback Marcus Cassell from last
year, but they return the rest of the secondary, including starting
cornerback Trey Brown and starting free safety Dennis Keyes.
The lack of depth could prove to be an issue. The Bruins have
only three corners who have seen actual game time, and all three of
them are juniors. Freshmen Alterraun Verner and Jeremy McGee will
likely have to step up and be integral cogs in the defensive
machine.
“¢bull; What to watch for in practice: Will Rodney Van finally
realize the potential his talent gives him? Van is one of the
fastest players on the team, and at 5-foot-11 is also one of the
taller corners. He has the potential to be the shut-down corner
that UCLA has lacked since Matt Ware left, but has not been able to
put it all together. He will be given every opportunity to win the
starting spot in fall practice.