Five Questions for UCLA Football Heading Into the Season

Fall practice is underway, and we have some questions about the team as the season gets close.

Carson Steele is one of many new Bruins looking to make an impact this season. (Photo credit: uclabruins.com)

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I looked up yesterday from work yesterday and realized that we’re less than 20 days away from the start of the latest UCLA football season. What’s more, the team has already been practicing for a week, and yet we still don’t know much about what the team will really look like on the field. It’s hard to blame the beat reporters for this - no one likes screwing with the media by hosting useless media-viewing practice sessions like Chip Kelly - but it does mean we might not have a good idea of what the team is capable of until September 2nd. So with that in mind, here are five questions that we have about the UCLA Bruins heading into the season.

Who is the Quarterback?

I don’t actually think this is the most pressing question facing the team heading into 2023, but it is absolutely the question at the forefront of most fans’ minds, so we’ll talk about it first. For the first time since 2017, UCLA will be without the services of Dorian Thompson-Robinson, as the longtime Bruin finally exhausted his eligibility and is finally in the NFL, where he is currently turning heads with the Cleveland Browns. DTR was always something of an enigma at UCLA, capable of brilliant play and miserable mistakes within a single drive, but the Bruins will miss his experience and leadership when it comes to running Chip Kelly’s offense.

Into this void, the Bruins will turn to a trio of options in an attempt to fill the void, each of whom is bringing a unique look to the position. Ethan Garbers is the returning “incumbent” in one sense, as he’s been with the program for a few years and knows the system the best, which would give the team a modicum of continuity. Garbers also has game experience and has started a few games for the Bruins over the past few years, including a road game at Utah two years ago. Kent State transfer Collin Schlee has the most experience of the three, starting every game for the Golden Flashes last year and putting up impressive numbers, throwing for 2109 yards and 15 touchdowns (it’s also interesting to note that Schlee did not follow former Kent State head coach Sean Lewis to Colorado, but the Deion Sanders Show isn’t for everyone).

I’m burying the lede here, though; the big name in this group is true freshman Dante Moore, the five-star from Michigan who ended up as the #4 overall recruit in the country this past cycle. Moore’s arrival at UCLA has been well-documented, so instead we will note here that Moore has done everything asked of him so far, acclimating well to the team and showing off his ridiculous arm talent in the process. Whispers around the program have said that Moore has the inside track at starting the first game of the year, but this could be a scenario where multiple quarterbacks get looks in the first few games before the situation is fully settled.

What will the defense look like?

This, to me, is the biggest question UCLA will need to answer early this season. The Bruins are on their third defensive coordinator in three seasons, following the departure and untimely passing of former DC Bill McGovern this last offseason. In steps D’Anton Lynn with the pedigree of someone who could feasibly do a good job, being the son of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn and spending the past eight years as an assistant in the NFL, including his previous stop with the Baltimore Ravens.

But Lynn also does not have any experience as a defensive coordinator, and when you combine it with the lack of media at practice, you end up with a situation where we really don’t know what Lynn’s defense is going to look like schematically. The entire defense has been tight-lipped about any potential changes, with most quotes mentioning an increased focus on effort and forcing turnovers. There have been references from the players about practices going slower under Lynn as he’s focused on the defense perfecting certain concepts before moving on, but that’s about it.

If I had to guess, I’d say UCLA is unlikely to deviate from the 4-3 alignment they’ve used in previous years, if only thanks to personnel. UCLA has primarily utilized nickel sets to get extra defensive backs on the field - a trend that has exploded in college football thanks to the proliferation of potent passing attacks across the sport - and with Lynn’s background as a safeties coach, I would expect a similar usage rate. Where Lynn will likely make his mark is on the margins, from getting players to improve to small schematic changes that could improve the pass rush. Lynn has a Day Two NFL draft pick on the defensive line in Laiatu Latu and some intriguing talent in the secondary to work with, but Coastal Carolina will provide an early intriguing challenge for the new defense.

Can the Bruins retool their rushing attack?

UCLA lost three starters on the offensive line to the NFL this offseason, with Raiqwon O’Neal, Atonio Mafi, and Jon Gaines all leaving to chase their professional dreams. When combined with the departures of DTR and Zach Charbonnet, two guys who could make the offensive line look better with their playmaking ability, it puts UCLA in the unenviable position of trying to wholesale rebuild what had been the strength of the offense under Chip Kelly.

There are some things working in the Bruins’ favor. Duke Clemens is back and gives them a veteran presence in the middle of the line. The same goes for Garrett DiGiorgio, who improved rapidly throughout last season and should continue to man the right tackle spot this year. At running back, the Bruins return TJ Harden, who emerged as an heir apparent to Charbonnet as the season progressed and brought in Carson Steele from Ball State, one of the most prolific and athletic running backs in the country last season with 1556 yards on 289 carries.

But there are a lot of unknowns still regarding the rest of the line, and it looks like UCLA will turn to a lot of transfers to try and plug some holes. Old Dominion transfer Khadere Kounta looks poised to take over at left tackle, while Colorado transfer Jake Wiley will plug in at right guard. There appears to be an open battle for the left guard spot in part because Purdue transfer Spencer Holstege was injured during the spring, but ideally, he would win that job and give Benjamin Roy more time to develop. It’s hard to know how this group will gel throughout the season, or if they will even hold up against some of the better defensive lines in the conference like Utah. With the Bruins turning to an unproven signal caller as well, it is paramount that the offensive line comes together rapidly.

Can Lynn fix the pass rush, and the pass defense overall?

I saw someone make a statement on Twitter (I’m not calling it X, you can’t make me) saying that this could be the best defensive line in recent UCLA history. I don’t know if I want to debate that statement in this piece, but I found it to be an interesting statement to make in light of UCLA’s defensive splits last season. UCLA was a bit below average against the run last year, ending up 67th against the run according to EPA (I’ll be getting a lot of stats this year from cfb-graphs.com, run by the incredibly talented Parker Fleming), but they were an abysmal 120th in the country against the pass. Almost everyone from last year’s defense is returning, so what gives?

This is mostly a schematic issue, but there are some talent issues at play as well. Schematically, UCLA has too often gone to soft coverage in the secondary, giving up large cushions on the outside and allowing receivers to get into their routes unimpeded. There’s some lack of corner talent at play here (the UCLA coaching staff clearly did not believe they could utilize most of the secondary in press coverage, as the only player who ever even attempted it was Jay Shaw) but it was also a philosophical choice as well. We’ve talked about it before, but UCLA has run variations on a bend-don’t-break defense for a while now, and the defensive philosophy of soft cushions fits into this concept by helping the defense keep everything in front of them and preventing the big play.

But on a talent level as well, the defensive line has been lacking for much of Chip Kelly’s tenure. UCLA has too often relied on individual talent to generate a pass rush rather than attempting anything more interesting like sending multiple defenders or attacking at odd rush angles, and it has been to their detriment. Unfortunately, UCLA has also lacked the kind of individual talent that can generate a pass rush on their own, usually only having one guy at a time that could do that. Looking at the UCLA roster at the moment, that trend does seem to be continuing; Laiatu Latu is definitely in the running for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, but I’ve seen enough from the rest of the line (particularly the Murphy twins, who I feel receive a lot of hype relative to their actual output) to know that Coach Lynn is going to need to be creative in how he generates pressure.

There are some changes schematically that could be made, like playing more press coverage to force opposing quarterbacks to hold onto the ball longer. And, yes, some players could just improve after an offseason. But just going off the relative strengths and weaknesses of the defense last year, UCLA desperately needs to figure something out in the passing game if it wants a shot at a successful season.

What is the kicking game going to look like?

I have no idea.

Last year’s kicker, Nicholas Barr-Mira, is gone, having transferred to Mississippi State. The Bruins brought in Blake Gessner from Montana State as a kicker, and I would assume he gets the first shot at field goals, while the punting job is still up in the air. RJ Lopez is still here, and I would assume he’ll retain his job as the kickoff specialist.

In any case, I’m not sure what this aspect of the special teams unit is going to look like, or how Chip Kelly is going to deploy them. Kelly finally showed more faith in Barr-Mira last year and used him for longer field goals, but Gessner hasn’t earned that level of confidence yet. And when it comes to punting, Barr-Mira handled that last year as well and did an adequate job, but how will the strategy change with a new punter on the field? If UCLA starts struggling in any aspect of their kicking game, does that change the equation for a head coach who has made a habit of going for fourth-down conversions?

We’ll get more answers to these questions in the next few weeks.

Go Bruins!

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