UCLA Football: The Biggest Offseason Storylines for the Bruins

The storylines for UCLA football’s 2015 season might look quite a bit different than a year ago at this time.

UCLA embarked on 2014 with lofty expectations—both internally and externally.

Outside expectations included contention for a berth in the College Football Playoff. Head coach Jim Mora repeatedly downplayed the praise of pundits who tabbed the Bruins for the national title, but emphasized that a Pac-12 Championship was the team’s primary focus.

Both goals eluded UCLA.

After falling short of both outside and internal expectations, the Bruins must remedy what went wrong to navigate to a title in 2015.

Quarterback Battle

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Hundley is synonymous with the Mora era, and vice versa. Mora is the only head coach for whom Hundley played in his UCLA career—the quarterback was a redshirt in 2011 for Rick Neuheisel—and Hundley is the only quarterback Mora’s ever started at the college level.

It may take fans some time to adjust to a Bruins team without No. 17 on the field, but UCLA will have more time to get adjusted.

The 2015 season will be Asiantii Woulard’s third in the program. A 4-star recruit in 2013, Woulard served as Hundley’s understudy for the last two years and the Bruins’ scout player when preparing for zone-read offensive opponents.

His familiarity both with offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s playbook and his teammates could give Woulard a leg up on the impending quarterback competition.

Still, Woulard has no meaningful in-game experience at the collegiate level. In that sense, he’s no different than ballyhooed 5-star prospect Josh Rosen.

Rosen is ranked the nation’s No. 1 pro-style quarterback prospect and received First Team High School All-America recognition from USA Today.

The competition between the two is likely to dominate all offseason storylines emanating from UCLA.

Taking Care of the Laundry

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In each of Mora’s three seasons as head coach, UCLA has ranked at or near the bottom of the Pac-12 in penalties and penalty yards.

Given the propensity of the conference’s officials for throwing flags—at least five Pac-12 teams have ranked No. 105 or worse in penalties in the last three years, more than any other league—that means UCLA is routinely among the most penalized teams in college football.

Penalties nearly cost the Bruins games at Colorado (14 for 121 yards) and last week in the Alamo Bowl (15 for 128 yards).

Twice in the postseason against Kansas State, linebacker Myles Jack was flagged inside the red zone.

So what’s the answer? More gassers at practice? An extra week in the blistering heat of San Bernardino, California, for preseason camp?

Whatever the solution, Mora and his staff must find it this offseason.

Even in the flag-happy Pac-12, penalties are avoidable—Arizona State has managed to rank in the nation’s top 10 as one of the least penalized teams every year Todd Graham has been at the helm.

It can be done, but needs to be a point of emphasis.

The Mora Rumor Mill

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It didn't take long into Mora's tenure at UCLA for the coach's name to surface in the coaching rumor mill. 

Last year, he was mentioned in association with the vacancy at Texas that former Louisville coach Charlie Strong filled. Now, Mora 

Whenever asked about other jobs—as Mora often is—his response is always some variation of the same line: "I am the head coach of UCLA." 

However, the longtime NFL coach could come up in ongoing searches. Tracy Pierson, publisher of BruinReportOnline.com, writes Mora will interview for the New York Jets' position opened with the firing of Rex Ryan. 

Bruin Report outlines other NFL possibilities for Mora, including the San Francisco 49ers, where Mora was an assistant coach from 1997 through 2003. 

Mora denies such rumors, in particular that he interviewed for the Jets job. He said on The Rich Eisen Show, via Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times: 

 “I was in my office the other day, one of the assistant coaches came in and said ‘I thought you were in New York, I just read you were in New York.’ ”

A Softer Spotlight

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When Hundley announced his decision to return for his redshirt junior season last January, buzz around UCLA football reached a fever pitch.

Numerous national media outlets projected the Bruins for College Football Playoff contention and Hundley was at the forefront of most Heisman Trophy conversations.

"

AM RT: Who will make the first CFB Playoff? My picks: 1) OU 2) UGA 3) FSU 4) UCLA http://t.co/EghTCG8ij4 pic.twitter.com/bCddcBry6x

— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) July 24, 2014"

Ten wins for UCLA and impressive individual statistics from Hundley (271-of-392 passing for 3,155 yards and 22 touchdowns, 644 yards with 10 touchdowns) are nothing to scoff at, but there is a sense of lingering disappointment in the Bruins’ 2014.

With Hundley gone, so too will be the national spotlight in the coming offseason.

Still, a bevy of talent returns. Running back Paul Perkins led the Pac-12 in rushing. The defensive front seven is rife with talent, including linebackers Deon Hollins and Jack, as well as linemen Kenny Clark, Eddie Vanderdoes and Takkarist McKinley. The entire wide receiving corps is intact.

UCLA has reason to be optimistic about its 2015 title chances, even if it will be paid significantly less attention than last year.

Has the Window Closed?

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UCLA football came roaring back to life under Mora, winning the Pac-12 South in 2012, then 10 games in each of the last two seasons.

The Bruins’ resurrection coincided with Arizona and Arizona State similarly rebuilding under new staffs, Utah acclimating to the weekly grind of Pac-12 competition and USC undergoing the turmoil of NCAA sanctions and a coaching change.

Surely it’s unfair to define UCLA’s recent success as coming solely at the expense of a weak division. After all, the Bruins were operating under their own new coaching regime after struggling through more than a half-decade of mediocrity.

But the South is collectively rising.

Arizona State has won 10 games in each of the last two years, Arizona claimed the divisional title, Utah had its best season since joining the conference and USC is making noise on the recruiting trail after its nine-win campaign.

Competing for a Pac-12 Championship—never mind a national championship—is only going to be more difficult in the coming years.

“We thought this was the year,” Jack said following UCLA’s regular-season finale against Stanford. “But I guess not.”

UCLA will have eight long months to reflect on how “the year” got away and, more importantly, what the Bruins can do to capitalize on the opportunity when it presents itself next.

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