Football coach Karl Dorrell said it best: “We have to make a move this year.”
Heading into spring practice, which starts today, this sense of urgency for the Bruins to prove themselves as one of the top teams in the conference is the only motivation they need.
With 20 returning starters and an experienced core group of players, this will be the year for UCLA to make a run if they are to contend for a Pac-10 title.
From a team that finished 7-6 last season, taking fourth in the conference, the Bruins will only miss three key players ““ All-American defensive end Justin Hickman, All-American kicker Justin Medlock and center Robert Chai.
This battle-tested team, coupled with the recovery of several key players from injury, promises to make this coming season an indicator of what the program is capable of.
With full-contact practice opening up today, here is a position-by-position breakdown of what to expect this spring.
Offensive line
The offensive scheme will change for the big men in the trenches this season. Instead of a weak side-strong side system that Dorrell has implemented for the past three years, the line is reverting to a simple right-and-left scheme to keep linemen in consistent positions.
“We were thinking of doing that last year,” Dorrell said, “but (former offensive line coach Jim) Colletto, with his wealth of experience, has done very, very well being a right-and-left or a strong-and-weak team, and we just erred on keeping it similar as it was to the previous two seasons.”
The line will undergo some changes as Dorrell has focused on getting his best five linemen on the field, not necessarily by position. Noah Sutherland will move to left guard from the tackle position, Chris Joseph will be making starts at center instead of guard and Shannon Tevaga will anchor the line at right guard.
The outcome of the quarterback battle between left-handed Ben Olson and right-handed Pat Cowan will not affect which tackle ““ Aleksey Lanis or Micah Kia ““ will cover the quarterback’s blind side.
Backfield
At quarterback, Olson and Cowan will compete for the job, but Dorrell is not worried about opening the competition again.
“We’ll give them an opportunity to compete equally and to chart every rep they take,” Dorrell said. “We’ll make a great evaluation of that situation.”
Dorrell said he would like to have named a starter by the end of spring practice, unlike last season when Olson was not tabbed until late August.
With six running backs returning, the Bruins will look for Chris Markey to shoulder much of the load. He rushed for 85 yards per game last season and also led the team with 35 receptions. He will be backed up by Derrick Williams and Kahlil Bell, who has bulked up in the offseason.
“Kahlil Bell has put on some weight,” Dorrell said. “He’s closer to 220 pounds right now (compared to being listed at 205 last season), and we’ve been wanting to get a bigger back presence, so he’s had a good offseason. I know he’s anxious to get himself back in the fold.”
At fullback, Michael Pitre, who started nine games last year, will be important as the position is one of the thinnest on the roster. Sophomore Trevor Theriot, as the only other player who was listed as a fullback last season, and Chad Moline, will make the switch to fullback from linebacker to provide more depth.
Raymond Carter, currently a high school senior, will have his chance in the summer to make his impact on the depth chart.
“The biggest part is he has speed,” Dorrell said. “He has the big speed factor. That’s where he impacts us and why we recruited him. He’s 200-plus pounds right now and running track, and physically getting bigger and stronger and doing well. We’re going to throw him in there and see how he fits in there.”
Receivers
The Bruins will look for this group to have breakout season with the return of split end Marcus Everett, tight end Logan Paulsen and flanker Brandon Breazell.
“We anticipate our receiver corps to be a very solid group, with a lot of experience,” Dorrell said. “A lot of these guys have played a lot of football. They should have, as a whole, a tremendous season for us.”
Joe Cowan, who was out for all of last season, is healthy after suffering a right knee injury and will provide depth and experience at the wideout position. As a junior in 2005, he ranked second on the team with 35 catches.
Also returning to practice soon is tight end Ryan Moya who broke his leg against Oregon last season but has suffered a recent bone bruise.
“We’ve had him in a boot the last couple of weeks to help get some pressure off it,” Dorrell said. “He’s feeling like he’s getting back to full speed, but he’s the type of guy that we’re going to bring along slowly this spring.”
Converted defensive end William Snead will also look to make an impact on the tight end depth chart after making the switch last season, including scoring a touchdown at Notre Dame.
“At the midway point of the season, he had to learn as you go,” Dorrell said. “So, he struggled some, but was able to do some very positive things for us. Now he’s had an offseason, doing routes, and being a little more comfortable in our offense, and we’re really looking for him to start to blossom for us at tight end.”
Defensive line
Expect the line to be the backbone of the Bruin defense, even with the loss of All-American defensive end Justin Hickman. The line returns three starters, tackles Brigham Harwell and Kevin Brown and right end Bruce Davis who all combined for 37 starts last season.
Davis was an All-American last season while racking up 12.5 sacks, which is the most of any returning player in the country.
Harwell and Brown have both added weight in the offseason and weigh in at about 300 pounds each. Backup tackle Chase Moline will not play this spring after undergoing surgery on his back.
At left end, Nikola Dragovic, who is fully recovered from ACL surgery, will most likely get the starting job opposite Davis although he will be pushed by walk-on Tom Blake.
“(Blake) transferred in and wasn’t eligible to play last year but made a very positive impression on our program,” Dorrell said. “He’s a kid that is a walk-on that could potentially earn a scholarship because of what he’s done.
“The one thing that has really helped our program to this point is that I think the quality of our walk-ons are very capable players. I feel good about those guys being in our program”
Linebackers
Led by middle linebacker Christian Taylor, the linebacking corps will be a young but talented group. Since walking on to the team as a freshman, the senior Taylor has become a sort of quarterback for the Bruins on defense, calling out adjustments and assignments on the fly.
It will be important for backup middle linebacker Kyle Bosworth to gain experience this spring, as the position is not one of the deepest on the team.
“We’re really looking to see how Kyle develops this spring,” Dorrell said. “It’ll be good to see where Kyle can get himself to really handle this defense. This is the position that’s the quarterback position of the defense. He has to know the calls and adjustments and that’s the challenges that we want to put on Kyle and do what’s best for his growth.
“One of the goals of spring for defense is to get more depth at the middle linebacker position so that we’re not caught in a tough spot like last year (when Taylor was injured),” Dorrell said.
Junior John Hale and sophomore Reggie Carter will go into spring practice as the favorites to start at the outside linebacker positions. Hale has started three games and Carter has started 12, earning first-team Freshmen All-America Honors last season. Carter will see some competition from sophomore Shawn Oatis who played on special teams last year.
Secondary
This unit may become the most decorated unit on the team by the end of next season. With free safety Dennis Keyes, strong safety Chris Horton and corners Trey Brown and Rodney Van all returning, the four seniors comprise the only unit on the team which started every game of last season.
“With four returning starters, it says a lot about the experience level of that group,” Dorrell said.
Brown led the squad with four interceptions last season and has made 30 consecutive starts. He will be pushed by Michael Norris, who returns this season as a junior after taking a medical redshirt last year.
“We were able to redshirt him and he’s going to give us some valuable experience at corner having him back,” Dorrell said.
At the opposite side of field, Van will be the favorite to keep his starting job at corner but will have some competition from Alterraun Verner, who earned Freshman All-America honors last year.
“With Verner pushing (Van), that’s why it’s going to be a very competitive position,” Dorrell said. “You know what Verner was able to do for us as a freshman. That’s going to keep the level of competition high at the corner position.”
Horton and Keyes will figure to be one of the top safety tandems in the country.
“Chris had his first complete season for us and it was very good,” Dorrell said. “He made second team All-Conference. He’s having a very good offseason.”
Special Teams
This is one of the major question marks for the Bruins this season without the services of All-American kicker Justin Medlock. He will most likely by replaced by redshirt freshman Kai Forbath.
“Our specialists? To me that’s a big issue,” Dorrell said. “We had a pretty darn good kicker the past few years. We have a good, young kicker right now in Kai Forbath. That’s always a challenge for your first-year kicker to replace an All-American. Kai’s going to have to come through for us and he knows that. He’s very talented but it’s one of those things ““ it’s a trade what they do.
“We’re looking to put him under some pressure this spring because he’s going to have to get used to it.”
Aaron Perez will resume punting duties this season and Christian Yount, a talented freshman, will look to earn the long-snapper job.