Quarterback Consistency Critical to UCLA Football Success

The most successful three-year stretch in UCLA football history coincided with three years of consistency at quarterback, thanks to Brett Hundley.

But Hundley leading the Bruins to 29 wins since 2012 is no coincidence. Likewise, it's no coincidence that in the six seasons before Hundley took over, UCLA won just five games more than that and never won more than seven times in any of those campaigns. 

Over that time frame, the Bruins never had a consistent, reliable starter. Injuries, transfers and shaky performance created a revolving door behind center—six different starters in six seasons—that only stopped turning when Hundley first lined up.

Indications that UCLA had entered a new era once Hundley became the starter were evident from his very first snap.  

With Hundley bound for the NFL, UCLA is at a watershed moment. 

Head coach Jim Mora returns a substantial corps of starters and major contributors from this past season's 10-win team, which he noted following UCLA's regular-season finale vs. Stanford. 

"We're an extremely young football team," he said. "There were six scholarship seniors out there for Senior Day, so we're very young and we will get there." 

In this case, "there" is that elusive Pac-12 championship that UCLA has approached but been unable to secure in Mora's three years in the program—all of which were spent with Hundley at quarterback. 

However, as the Bruins' inconsistency from 2006 through 2011 proves, they can only be as successful as their quarterback play allows. 

Mora and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone face a critical decision in this offseason, one that could determine if UCLA continues its current, historic run of success, or if the Bruins take a step backward in an increasingly competitive Pac-12 South.  

Three quarterbacks are most likely to vie for UCLA's vacant starting job: Asiantii Woulard, Jerry Neuheisel and Josh Rosen.

All three have qualities that could continue UCLA's recent run of consistency, but there are lingering question marks each must address to win the starting job in 2015. 

Jerry Neuheisel 

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Of the trio, only Neuheisel has collegiate game experience. He replaced an injured Hundley in UCLA's Week 3 win over Texas, connecting with wide receiver Jordan Payton in the waning moments for the go-ahead score.  

"Jerry is always prepared," Mora said when I asked him about Neuheisel's performance against Texas in September. "He's a very smart young man, and he has a great feel for the game."  

Mora said Neuheisel's smarts translated to the quarterback knowing the entire playbook, and having the same options open to him as were open to Hundley. 

Neuheisel may be the most experienced, he but could be at a physical disadvantage against either Woulard or Rosen. 

Woulard is the best equipped to run the zone-read scheme Mazzone implemented with Hundley behind center, while Rosen's pocket presence and arm give him the look of a future NFL quarterback. 

Asiantii Woulard 

USA TODAY Sports

Woulard is something of a hidden X-factor in UCLA's quarterback competition. He has yet to play in a game, but he has spent two years preparing alongside Hundley.

Surely UCLA's three-year starter had wisdom to impart to Woulard in that time, which could translate well to the team's offense. 

Woulard already helped the UCLA defense in the last two years, operating as the Bruins' scout-team quarterback. He put qualities comparable to those of Pac-12 standouts Marcus Mariota and Taylor Kelly to use, and could do the same on game days this year. 

"We've got a young freshman here named Asiantii Woulard, who's about the same height and probably about the same weight and extremely athletic like Marcus," Mora said in October of 2013 when I asked about UCLA readying for Mariota. "Put [Woulard] back there and just kind of tell him to do his thing." 

After working with Hundley and emulating Mariota in practices, 2015 could be Woulard's turn to develop into a playmaker akin to either.  

Josh Rosen 

Rosen is one of the nation's most highly rated quarterback prospects in the 2015 signing class, earning 5-star billing from 247Sports.

There is no shortage of hype following the standout from nearby St. Johns Bosco in Bellflower, California, on his way to Westwood. 

As Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times writes, Rosen already has the nickname "Chosen Rosen." 

Talk about a lofty billing before ever even participating in a collegiate practice, much less a high-profile Pac-12 game. But the freshman Rosen is aware of the expectations, as he told Foster: 

"

Everyone is going to be looking at me to see how I react to the first time I get yelled at. They are going to want to see how I react to the first time I get told to do something. If I put effort into everything I do around the team, I can earn their respect.

"

Rosen can earn both respect and the starting job in short order. He enrolled at UCLA earlier this month and will participate in spring practices. 

He may lack collegiate experience, but as Hundley proved, sometimes all it takes is one snap to begin a consistently successful career. 

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