UCLA Football: Position-by-Position Midseason Grades for the Bruins
The No. 25 UCLA football team hasn't quite lived up to the expectations placed upon the Bruins before the 2014 season began.
At 5-2, Jim Mora's team is likely out of the mix for a potential berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Injuries and poor play at certain positions have contributed to the current state of the squad.
This piece will give a letter grade for every position unit on the team. The marks will be based both upon the statistical output in 2014 and the perception of the unit heading into the year.
Here's a look at the position-by-position midseason grades for the UCLA Bruins.
Quarterback: B
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Statistically, Brett Hundley hasn't had a poor season by any means.
The Chandler, Arizona, native has thrown for 1,856 yards and 13 touchdowns in six games. His completion mark of 72.5 percent is extremely good.
However, he's still deficient in areas that have plagued him throughout his career in Westwood. Some of it has to do with poor protection from his offensive line, but a portion does exist with Hundley.
His vision is the biggest area in need of improvement. Hundley has a tendency to drop his eyes to look at the oncoming rush. While doing this, he misses open receivers down the field. There have been times (such as versus Arizona State) when he appeared to improve in this category.
However, there have also been times (against Utah) when the problem reared its ugly head.
I might appear to be nitpicking the signal-caller a bit. However, this was the same player on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the season began. Many assumed he'd be right in the thick of things for a potential Heisman Trophy.
Due to the preseason hype, his grade is a bit lower from where it potentially could be.
Running Backs: A
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The MVP of the team up to this point has undoubtedly been running back Paul Perkins.
The Queen Creek, Arizona, native has accrued 813 yards on only 130 carries. His 6.3 yards-per-carry average is one of the best in the Pac-12 Conference. His average of 116.6 yards per game ranks him third in the conference, behind USC's Buck Allen and Utah's Devontae Booker.
Perkins has virtually solidified a position with some question marks heading into the season. Not only has he shown the propensity to get the tough yards, he's flashed the ability to make people miss in space with his pass-catching prowess.
Hundley, Nate Starks, Myles Jack, Eddie Vanderdoes, Ishmael Adams, Mossi Johnson and Jordon James have also contributed to the 1,404 rushing yards UCLA has registered on the season.
If there's one minor disappointment, its been Jack's lack of touches. The elite athlete has only 15 carries for 55 yards on the season.
Receivers: B+
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In 2013, the wide receiver corps had a problem creating big plays. There simply wasn't much in the way of stretching the field vertically.
This year, the receiver group has done a much better job picking up yards in chunks. Through the stable of pass-catchers, UCLA has already registered touchdowns of 62, 80, 80 and 93 yards. All four of those touchdown catches came from different receivers.
Jordan Payton has assumed the role as the top receiver on the team. He leads the team in catches (42), yards (599) and touchdowns (5).
Eldridge Massington has emerged as a reliable target for Hundley, and the duo of Devin Fuller and Thomas Duarte has been effective.
Devin Lucien has been a disappointment to this point. Expected to have a much bigger role this year, the Crespi High School product has 18 catches for only 138 yards and zero touchdowns.
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Offensive Line: C-
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The much-maligned offensive line has continued to be a headache in Westwood.
UCLA has allowed the most sacks (26) in the conference through seven games. This statistic ranks the Bruins towards the very bottom in all of Division I football.
The protection of Hundley has been abysmal. Both starting tackles Caleb Benenoch and Malcolm Bunche have been abused by the speed-rush off the edge. Against Utah, the unit allowed an eye-popping 10 sacks.
In terms of running the football, the offensive front has been quite good. UCLA ranks third in the conference with over 200 yards on the ground per game. The unit has done a nice job paving the way for the stable of backs.
Defensive Line: C
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With the likes of Kenny Clark, Eddie Vanderdoes, Owamagbe Odighizuwa and Deon Hollins, UCLA's defensive front was regarded as a relative strength heading into the season.
Seven games in, it's looked at as a potential weakness. Inconsistency and a lack of production have been considerable problems.
UCLA is last in the conference with only 10 sacks through seven games. The lack of a true pass-rush has enabled rival quarterbacks to put up relatively gaudy numbers on the UCLA defense.
In terms of defending against the run, UCLA is eighth in the conference, allowing nearly 158 yards per game on the ground.
UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich needs to become more exotic and creative with his blitz packages in order to get after the opposing quarterback.
Last week against Cal, we did see a few wrinkles that could lead to more production. UCLA opted to employ Odighizuwa as a defense tackle on third-down situations. His quickness gave the interior of Cal's offensive line problems.
This personnel decision also allowed Takk McKinley to get extended snaps for the first time this season. Simply put, the junior college transfer has the ability to be very good down the line.
Linebackers: B
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Per usual, Eric Kendricks has been the tackling machine for the Bruins in 2014.
He leads the Pac-12 with 77 overall tackles. Kendricks is also second in the conference with an average of 11.0 tackles a game. He's done a terrific job of not only reacting well and making plays but also quarterbacking the defense.
While he hasn't registered a sack, Myles Jack does have 54 tackles on the season to this point. Much of his impressiveness has come in pass coverage. At times, he's batted the ball away on routes run by both receivers and running backs.
The next step in Jack's overall game will be to develop pass-rushing skills and start accumulating sacks.
Due to the lack of true outside linebackers on the roster, UCLA has had to employ a 4-2-5 scheme a great majority of the time. This has limited true freshman Kenny Young's time on the field to an extent. However, he's looked impressive when called upon.
Secondary: C
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Next to the offensive line, this unit has arguably been the most disappointing.
UCLA entered the year with four returning starters in the secondary. It was easily the most experienced unit of any on the team.
With the season-ending injury to Randall Goforth, true freshman Jaleel Wadood has stepped in—looking impressive for the most part. The safety tandem of Anthony Jefferson and Tahaan Goodman has also been decent. Jefferson's ability to also play corner has helped assuage depth issues.
The cornerbacks in general have been somewhat poor. Junior Fabian Moreau in particular has looked nothing like the "great cornerback" or "sure-fire future first-round draft pick" Mora proclaimed him to be this past April.
If anything, the head coach did a disservice to his corner. The immense hype has seemingly acted as a deterrent. Moreau, Priest Willis and Ishmael Adams have all looked spotty in coverage at times.
Per NCAA.com, UCLA ranks No. 101 in passing yards allowed per contest. In terms of production, the secondary has intercepted four passes on the year—including a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown by Adams.
Special Teams: B
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Its been a bit of a mixed bag for the special teams unit as a whole.
The team had to scramble to replace starting punter Sean Covington, who left the program late in July. Mora quickly signed Matt Mengel and brought him into the fold. His 39.4 yards-per-punt average is solid, if unspectacular.
Kicker Kai'mi Fairbairn has been battling inconsistency for the third straight year. The kicker out of Hawaii is 8-for-11 on the season. He's connected on every attempt inside of 39 yards. However, he's 1-for-4 from beyond. A 50-yard miss in the final seconds against Utah ultimately cost UCLA the victory.
UCLA has done a very nice job covering both kicks and punts. It ranks second in the conference when it comes to kick coverage.
In terms of returns, Ishmael Adams has a kickoff return for a touchdown and has looked deadly on both kick and punt returns. As a result, many teams avoid kicking to him.
Adams averages 25.1 yards on kick returns this year.
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