UCLA
QUARTERBACK
- Ben Olsen. 2005 stats: 2-4, 11 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs. New starter.
Formerly the #1 high school QB recruit in 2002, Ben Olsen signed with
BYU and then went on a two-year Mormon mission. Upon returning he transferred
to UCLA where he backed up Drew Olsen (no relation) last year. After pushing
Drew for the starting spot in the fall, Ben hurt his hand and effectively sat
out the year, only attempting four passes while Drew led UCLA on multiple
4th-quarter comeback wins. Now the starter, Ben has the size and arm strength
to be a terrific college quarterback. However, after taking the two year
mission away from football and then sitting on the UCLA bench for a year, Olsen
might be rusty out of the gate. If he can get into a groove early, he should
have a very solid year. Depth: Behind Olsen, there isn't much in the way
of experience. Pat Cowan is the backup, but hasn't thrown a pass for the
Bruins yet. He's big at 6'5" and even faster than Olsen, but likely won't
be called into games unless Olsen can't go.
RUNNING
BACK - Chris Markey. 2005 stats: 110 attempts, 561 yards,
3 TDs. New starter.
Chris Markey didn't have much to do playing behind Maurice Drew last
year, but he had a great bowl game where he ran for 161 yards (although
Northwestern did have the one of the worst run defenses in the country). Of
more importance might be the 1,223 all-purpose yards that Markey totaled last
year (561 rushing, 231 receiving, 383 kick return, 48
punt return). That kind of versatility will help Markey make an impact all over
the field. Depth: Helping Markey out will be Kahlil
Bell, who put up 316 rushing yards on 52 carries last year as UCLA's 3rd
string running back. Now the 1-B to Markey's 1-A, Bell should see the ball a
lot more and join Markey to form a talented Bruin running back duo. Michael Pitre is the returning starting fullback and mainly is
a blocker but he should see the ball in the occasional short yardage situation.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Joe Cowan. 35
receptions, 469 yards, 3 TDs. Returning stater.
Junior Taylor.
6 receptions, 109 yards, 2 TDs. Returning starter.
The Bruins return every single wideout from last
year, but they lose tight end Marcedes Lewis and
running back Maurice Drew, who were their #1 and #3 receivers. Brother of
backup QB Pat, Joe Cowan was their #2 receiver and he will be back. At
6-4, he will be a tough matchup on jump ball plays
and with 34 games played under his belt, is not new to the field. Veteran Junior
Taylor (right) returns from a knee injury that knocked him out early in his
senior year (a la Rhema McKnight) and will add more
leadership and experience to the Bruins receiving corp. Depth: Marcus
Everett missed the first two games of 2005 with an injury, but was still
the 4th leading receiver on the team. He'll be fighting Junior Taylor for a
starting spot early in the season. Sophomore Gavin Ketchum played in
every game last year and if he continues to develop, Gavin and his 6-4 frame
could play a bigger role this season. Incoming freshman Terrance Austin
was a one-time ND recruit and has plenty of speed and quickness.
TIGHT END
J.J. Hair. 1 reception, 5 yards, 0 TDs. New starter.
J.J. Hair gets the honor of replacing Mackey Award winner Marcedes Lewis, UCLA's leading receiver last year. Hair is
more of a blocking tight end as his three career receptions might indicate. How
he'll adapt to becoming more of a target in the passing game will dictate his
success in the starting lineup. Depth: Both Ryan Moya
and Logan Paulsen are faster than Hair and provide more of a receiving
threat. If they can prove competent at blocking, they might find increased
roles in the offense by the ND game.
OFFENSIVE LINE
ST - Brian Abraham.
Returning starter.
SG - Shannon Tevaga.
(#23 G) Returning starter.
C - Robert Chai.
(#33 C) New starter.
WG - Chris Joseph. Returning starter.
WT - Aleksey Lanis.
New starter.
The Bruins offensive line situation is still a work in progress with a few
players on the verge of gaining or losing a starting spot based on their work
in fall camp. Shannon Tevaga (left) is the
really the only sure thing so far as he enters his
third year starting on the UCLA offensive line. The other guard, Chris
Joseph, was knocked out of the season after the 4th game last year and also
missed the spring. If his knees hold up, he'll be a tough run blocker for the
Bruins. Center Robert Chai also missed the
spring due to knee surgery and although I listed him as a new starter, he did
start the final four regular season games for UCLA after the original starter,
Mike McCloskey, went down with an injury. Brian Abraham started nine
games last year before leg injuries limited his play at the end of the season. Aleksey
Lanis is a huge tackle at 6-6, 330 pounds and the
redshirt freshman has plenty of high expectations
from Bruins fans. Depth: Battling Lanis and
Abraham for a starting tackle spot will be Noah Sutherland, who subbed
in for the injured Abraham late last season. JUCO transfer Nick Ekbatani will provide depth and physical presence at guard
while Nathaniel Skaggs is a backup policy if Chai's
knees force him out of the game.
DEFENSIVE
LINE
Bruce Davis. 28 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 TFL, 4 PBU, 1 FF. New starter.
Kevin Brown. (#14 DT) injured last
year. Returning starter.
Brigham Harwell. (#16 DT) 35 tackles,
4 sacks, 11.5 TFL,2 PBU. Returning starter.
Justin Hickman. (#36 DE) 31 tackles , 5.5, 8 TFL,1 FR. Returning
starter.
UCLA fought through a number of injuries and now returns a very deep defensive
line with not much dropoff from the starters to the
backups. Kevin Brown is a big force in the middle, but an ankle injury
forced him to miss nearly all of last season. He tweaked his other ankle in
fall camp, but should be back to full speed soon. Joining him in the middle is
likely Brigham Harwell, a very fast defensive tackle who started out at end
before being moved inside. Harwell was second on the team in sacks last year
and started 11 of the 12 Bruin games. On the ends, Bruce Davis and Justin
Hickman (left) return and look to improve upon their collective 7.5 sacks
last year. Depth: The real reason behind the strong Bruin line is their
depth. Playing last year as a 265 pound undersized freshman, sophomore Chase
Moline was pushed around a bit, but he's gained 20 pounds and valuable
experience for this year. Kenneth Lombard started three games last year
and also might be in line for a starting spot come October. He's still a bit
undersized at 270 pounds, but very quick for a tackle. Nikola
Dragovic was another lineman lost for nearly the
whole year last year due to injury after starting the first four games. Like
Harwell and Lombard, it's possible he might take back a starting spot by the
time of the ND game. (see a pattern here?) William
Snead is a fast pass-rushing defensive end who started five games last year
and gives UCLA another option on the end. Overall, the Bruins have a very solid
8-man rotation and one of the deepest defensive lines in the country.
LINEBACKERS
SLB - John Hale. 20 tackles, 1 PBU. 1 FR. New starter.
MLB - Christian Taylor. 43 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FR. New starter.
WLB - Reggie Carter. New starter.
UCLA was hit hard by graduation at the linebacker position and fields three new
starters in 2006. They also field the smallest starting linebacker corp on the ND schedule, smaller even than ND's relatively
light Thomas-Crum-Thomas lineup. The most productive Bruin starter is Air Force
transfer Christian Taylor (left), who only started one game last year in
a backup role but was 6th on the team in tackles. He's not that big for a
middle linebacker at 6-0, 222 pounds, but is a very physical player. Sophomore John
Hale is the most experienced returning linebacker who started 7 games last
year. He started games at both the outside and middle linebacker positions, but
will start out on the outside for now. Sophomore Reggie Carter hasn't
played yet but he's a highly touted recruit and probably the fastest of the
three Bruin linebackers. If he can adjust to college ball quickly, he could be
the best 'backer on the team come the ND game. Again, another
smallish linebacker at 218 pounds. Depth: Still fighting Carter
for the starting WLB spot is Eric McNeal, who is actually even lighter
at 208 pounds. 215 pound Aaron Whittington is backing up Hale, but is
actually starting the first game against
DEFENSIVE BACKS
CB - Trey Brown. 53 tackles, 1 INT,
10 PBU. Returning starter.
CB - Rodney Van.
22 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR. New starter.
FS - Dennis Keyes. (#27
- FS) 57 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 TFL, 6 PBU. 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
SS - Chris Horton. 26 tackles, 0.5
TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Trey Brown is the veteran of the Bruin secondary after starting all 12
games at cornerback last year. His 10 passes broken up is a pretty impressive
number and Brown should be even better with an additional year of experience.
Rodney Van was a backup last year but did get into every game and play at
least 20 snaps seven times. Still, now that he's starting he will have to prove
to opposing offensive coordinators that he's not a weak link in the secondary.
Free safety Dennis Keyes (left, top) started nine games at the position
last year and the hard hitting safety is one of the leaders of the Bruin
defense. Chris Horton had a wrist injury that kept him out of the first
half of the 2005 season and limited his play for the rest of the year. Now that
he's recovered, he will take over the starting strong safety spot and add a
solid run-stopping ability to the Bruin defense. Depth: Michael
Norris saw some time last year as a backup and expects to do the same again
this year. He might be the choice when UCLA goes into the nickel. If not Norris, then freshman Alterraun
Verner. Verner
isn't very big at 5'10, 160 pounds, but the coaching staff is high on his
potential. Depth at safety isn't experienced at all as all four backup strong
and free safeties are either freshman or sophomores.