UCLA Football Preview: Bruins Will Face an Injury-Filled Ute Pass-First Defense

Look for Chip Kelly to use the run to keep Utah honest.

Expect T.J. Harden and the Bruin running backs to be used to attack an injury-filled Utah team. (Photo Credit: Scott Chandler/uclabruins.com)

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The Utah Utes have started a 4-2-5 nickel defense in each of their three games so far. After watching Dante Moore torch NCCU’s defense on the first play from scrimmage last week, I have absolutely no doubt that the Utes will start off today’s game in a nickel defense.

Of course, as part of the cat-and-mouse game the coaches will play, I fully expect the Bruins to come out trying to pound the ball on the ground. Now that I’ve written that, I almost expect Chip Kelly to do the exact opposite to test Utah’s defensive backs from the get-go.

Either way, Utah has the ability to change their defense to adjust to however Chip decides to attack the Utes’ defense. In fact, the Utah two-deep actually lists 12 starters on the depth chart, which is why peeking at the game-by-game starters helps us figure out what to expect.

Let’s dive right on in and look at the personnel while also exploring the Utes’ defensive scheme.

Defensive Line

Utah will definitely have a four-man defensive front with two tackles on two defensive ends. The Utes list four defensive linemen on the depth chart and that’s exactly what they’ve started in each of their games

Who the personnel might be is likely to depend on who is available and who is injured.

Let’s start with who has started already and is expected to start based on the depth chart. One of the defensive tackles will be redshirt freshman Keanu Tanuvasa, who is fifth on the team in tackles. The other tackle will be either Junior Tafuna or Tavita Fotu.

Junior Van Fillinger will start at one of the defensive end spots. It’s just not clear which one. That’s because junior Connor O’Toole is listed as the starter on the depth chart, but he hasn’t played in a game yet this season due to an injury.

If O’Toole is back, he will likely start and Jonah Ellis will come in to replace Fillinger, but if he can’t go, look for Ellis to be the other starter here. Ellis has played well so far. He’s tied for seventh on the team in tackles with nine including three TFLs and two sacks. Meanwhile, Fillinger has made five tackles opposite Ellis.

Linebacker

Moving to linebacker, this is where we start to see Utah’s scheme change a little. The depth chart lists three starting linebackers. Sophomore Lander Barton will start at what the Utes call “stud linebacker.” I suspect he’s the strongside backer, but the term stud seems appropriate here because Barton is third on the team in tackles with 13 including half a TFL. He also has an interception, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.

Against Florida and Weber State, the Utes have started “mac linebacker” Levani Damuni, but they started “rover linebacker” Karene Reid against Baylor. Now, if they decided to start off with a more traditional 4-3 alignment, they could start both Damuni and Reid, but that seems unlikely since they’ve started their nickelback in each game so far. I’d say look for Damuni first given that he leads the Utes in tackles with 19 while Reid only has four. I sure wouldn’t expect to see them both out there together to start the game.

Secondary

Not even the secondary has escaped a visit from the injury bug. Left cornerback JaTravis Broughton missed last week’s game with an injury. In his place, senior Miles Battle was the starter. Broughton has nine tackles so far while Battle has seven. Since the opener against Florida, Broughton has only made one tackle while five of Battle’s came last week when he started in place of the injured Broughton.

The starting right corner will be Zemaiah Vaughn, who is tied for the team lead in breakups with two. Vaughn is also fourth on the team in tackles with 11.

It looks like Utah likes to blitz junior free safety Cole Bishop. Either that or he has been a strong defender against the run because he leads the team in tackles for loss with four. So, he has been able to get into the backfield effectively, making him a guy to look out for. He also has the most tackles of any of the DBs with 17, which is good for second on the team. So, keep an eye on #8 for the Utes.

Sophomore Sione Vaki will start at the strong safety. While Bishop may be the better of the two safeties, Vaki is no slouch. He’s made a total of ten tackles so far including one for a loss. He’s also one of the four Utes with an interception this season.

Finally, redshirt freshman Tao Johnson will start at nickel. Johnson will likely be called on for pass coverage, which explains why he’s tied with Vaughn for the team lead in pass breakups with two.

Analysis

With the Utes running a nickel defense as their base defense, it looks like they’re prepared to defend the pass. Unsurprisingly, Utah’s opponents have thrown about 58% of the time. Now, that could be a result of their opponents trying to catch up after falling behind, though it was the Utes playing catch-up in the fourth quarter against Baylor after falling behind 13-6 after three. Against Florida and Weber State, Utah took the lead early.

Interesting, Baylor’s offense was the most balanced offense Utah has faced. They ran 29 times and threw 28. So, it’s possible that the Bears’ balanced attack was more difficult for the Utes to defend.

Knowing that Chip Kelly certainly seems to like to use the run to set up the pass, I think we’ll see a pretty balanced Bruin attack designed to force Utah to play the run more which would open up the passing game more.

I’d also expect Kelly to attack the Ute defense where they have holes to fill due to injury because there’s a reason the next men up wouldn’t be starting if the team were completely healthy.


Go Bruins!!!

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