UCLA Football Preview: Arizona Coaching Staff Is Filled with Former Bruin Coaches
Jedd Fisch has hired some of the best UCLA coaches in recent history.
The Arizona coaching staff has so many connections to UCLA that you might be tempted to call the team the Arizona Bruins, and I’m not just talking about head coach Jedd Fisch. Almost half of the Arizona staff has spent time in Westwood.
Of course, that starts with Fisch who was the Bruins’ offensive coordinator during Jim Mora’s final season. The Wildcats are improving under Fisch but they aren’t there yet. The Wildcats went 0-5 in their final year under Kevin Sumlin. During Fisch’s first season last year, Arizona ended their losing streak. This season, the Wildcats got off to a pretty good start by winning three of their first five games, though they have lost four straight to Oregon, Washington, Southern Cal and Utah.
Of course, Fisch is an offensive-minded coach, but despite that he still has an offensive coordinator and that’s still Brennan Carroll, the son of Cheatey Petey, who also coaches the team’s offensive line.
Last year, Don Brown was Arizona’s defensive coordinator, but he left to take the head coaching job at UMass. So what did Fisch do? He hired UCLA defensive line coach Johnny Nansen to be the Wildcats’ new DC. It was an interesting move because Fisch has another former defensive coordinator on his staff in former UCLA DC DeWayne Walker, but he opted to bring Nansen in rather than choose Walker even though Arizona legend Chuck Cecil also coaching defensive backs.
But those two aren’t the only other UCLA connections on Fisch’s staff.
Jason Kaufusi also left UCLA after last season to join the Wildcats’ defensive staff. He’s coaching the team’s defensive ends and outside linebackers. Kaufusi and Nansen joined former Bruin receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty who joined the Arizona staff when Fisch was first hired.
There is one more Bruin connection on the Arizona coaching staff. That would be former UCLA receiver Darren Andrews who is an offensive analyst for the Wildcats.
Let’s look at the Wildcat special teams.
Special Teams
Sophomore Tyler Loop will handle the placekicking duties for the Wildcats. He is a perfect 27 for 27 on extra points and he is 13 for 16 on field goal attempts. He’s made 10 of 10 from inside the 40-yard line, but only three of six from 40 yards or longer. His career long was a 48-yarder against Washington a few weeks ago.
When it comes to kickoffs, 41 of his 52 kickoffs this season have gone for touchbacks while only one has gone out of bounds. So, don’t expect UCLA to be able to return many of his kickoffs.
Junior Kyle Ostendorp is the Wildcats’ punter. He is average 46.04 yards per punt and eight of his 25 punts have gone more than 50 yards. Ostendorp has pinned opponents inside the 20 seven times with only two touchbacks.
Anthony Simpson is the sophomore receiver who has returned all but one of the kickoffs by Wildcat opponents. While he is averaging 19.63 yards per return, he took his longest return back for 39 yards. So, he has the potential to break a big return.
Junior receiver Jacob Cowing has returned seven of the Wildcats’ ten punt returns. Cowing is averaging just eight yards per return, but his longest is 33 yards. So, while has the potential to be dangerous, most of his returns have been pretty short ones.
Go Bruins!!!
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I would be more concerned about these guys having the beat on us if and Azzinaro was still here. Thankfully our defense under McGovern, while not great, is still better than it’s been in the last four years.
Still a potential trap game, but Kaz’ and Keegan’s stepping up in the backfield last week tells me we have five capable producers on offense that can carry us, along with DTR, Charbonnet and Bobo.