UCLA Faces Tough Challenge Replacing Butkus Award Winner Eric Kendricks

No. 14 UCLA's Alamo Bowl date with No. 11 Kansas State on Jan. 2 is the swan song for linebacker and 2014 Butkus Award winner Eric Kendricks' collegiate career.

After Kendricks dons the Bruins' blue and gold for the final time, head coach Jim Mora and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich won't just be left replacing a player recognized this week as the nation's top linebacker.

They aren't simply replacing the all-time leading tackler in UCLA football history, either.

When Kendricks leaves UCLA to embark on his NFL career, UCLA must replace what Ulbrich described as "the heart and soul of this team."

As its heart, it's appropriate Kendricks played prominently in the center of the Bruins defense. His work at inside linebacker in each of the three seasons since Mora and his staff arrived was integral to what Ulbrich called a "changed culture."

UCLA morphed from a team sometimes characterized as soft to one that Kendricks described as "scrappy."

And few exemplified the scrappy attitude more than Kendricks, both on game day and on the practice field.

His tenacity shows in a ball-hawking style against the run, which has produced 467 career tackles. His 135 this season are sixth-most in the nation.

But when Kendricks takes the next step, UCLA won't just lose a proven run-stopper. The Bruins won't just be replacing a game-changer who forced some truly pivotal turnovers in the 2014 campaign.

"He leads by example, by being that same guy every single day," Ulbrich said. "He's been a great example and he makes our job as defensive coaches easier...I've been honored to coach him."

That consistency to which Ulbrich alluded is an attitude fellow linebacker Myles Jack said resonates through the locker room.

"He's seen the ups and downs of the program," Jack said. "He just knows how to stay steady and keep his composure."

Kendricks made his first career start in UCLA's 50-0 loss to USC in 2011, which he said contributed to the "chip on [his] shoulder," a key motivator in the program's turnaround.

Bruins like Jack, who came to UCLA in the years thereafter, never experienced the same lows as Kendricks witnessed in 2011. With three straight nine-win seasons—a feat never before accomplished at UCLA—the crop returning for 2015 is accustomed to winning.

Adopting Kendricks' mindset is a must for the remaining linebacker corps to fill the cavernous void he'll leave next season. Jack said that's easier said than done.

"You'll never see a lull in his game. You'll never see him get tired. He's always running, he's always vocal and he's just the same guy every day," Jack said. "As a young guy, that's hard to do."

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UCLA will need some youngsters to take on that responsibility next season, however.

The leading candidate is freshman Kenny Young, whose role grew down the stretch of the regular season. He recorded 11 of his 34 total tackles in the Bruins' final three games.

"He's an excellent football player," Mora said of Young last month.

"When we're in nickel," Mora continued, addressing a formation Ulbrich used heavily in 2014, "He's Eric Kendricks' backup, and it's pretty hard to take Eric Kendricks off the field. But when we go to our base stuff, and he plays, he plays well...It's just a matter of getting him the snaps."

Getting Young those snaps will be no issue next season. Among the Bruins' linebackers, he was third in tackles behind Kendricks and Jack.

Young was one of two high-profile linebacker recruits added last national signing day. The other was 4-star Houston product Zach Whitley, a highly touted prospect who never quite got going in a tumultuous first year.

Whitley was injured in preseason training camp, saw the field sparingly throughout the campaign and was rumored to have been dismissed from the program last week. As Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times noted, though, that does not appear to be the case:

He is still on the roster at UCLABruins.com, and should that be the case into next season, Whitley meeting his lofty potential should go a long way toward UCLA replacing at least some of what it loses from Kendricks.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.