Weekly Q&A — 10/1/15 Answers

Q: What was once a strength, now seems to be a weakness that opposing teams like SC, Stanford and Utah will expose. Are Jayon Brown, Isaako Savaiinea, Eli Ankou and Matt Dickerson really capable of playing defense at a high enough level to keep us contending for a Pac-12 title — let alone a national championship?

A: National championship? Unlikely. Pac-12 title? Maybe. I think the Bruins are definitely still in good shape to take the division, but they essentially got thrown into a worst-case scenario before conference play even started. The bright side is that it gives the team a lot of time to readjust their defensive scheme before the toughest part of the schedule, but there’s just no way to prevent a dropoff after losing Eddie Vanderdoes, Myles Jack and Fabian Moreau.

Q: With all the injuries to the linebacker corps, do you think Coach Mora would consider moving Nate Iese to the defensive side as well? Also how is Dwight Williams looking? He seems to be the forgotten man.

A: I think Nate Iese has moved around positions enough in his career. Better to keep him at fullback, where he’s been able to contribute as a blocker as well as a receiver. The guy who has switched is Taylor Lagace, who practiced a bit at linebacker this week, presumably because Jayon Brown is limited by his back injury.

Q: Am I the only one who thinks Soso Jamabo would be a beast at outside linebacker? I get he is talented at running back, but do you ever see a day where he might move over to defense? Reminds me a lot of Anthony Barr with his frame.

A: That’s an interesting thought, but I think it’s unlikely. UCLA seems committed to keeping Jamabo in the backfield, and hasn’t even tried moving Jamabo to receiver — where he might also succeed given his upright running style. The Barr comparison is also be a bit of a stretch. The former All-American was already 6-foot-4, 230 pounds coming out of Loyola High. Jamabo is tall, but doesn’t look like he has the frame to put on that type of weight.

Q: In a disappointing performance by the defense, did you see any positives in terms of players who had to step in for the injured starters?

A: Defensive tackle Eli Ankou has played better than I expected. The same goes for linebacker Isaako Savaiinaea, who really shined when he filled in for Kenny Young and made a team-high 14 tackles. However, UCLA needs to figure out if they can play Savaiinaea and Young next to each other effectively, what with both of them ideally being middle linebackers.

Q: Do you think Tom Bradley enjoys being at UCLA and on the West Coast? Can you see him staying for a solid chunk of time? Does he get along with/respect the other coaches, especially Jim Mora?

A: I think he likes it here fine. I can see him staying for a while given that he’s not a guy who has bounced around a lot of different jobs.

Q: From Coach Mora’s presser about Myles Jack’s injury, he comes off as particularly concerned about his players’ long term well-being and not wanting to rush them back. I feel this has been the case in other injuries too, esp. concussions. Do you find this to be an honest side of Mora or do you think it’s just coach speak from a media savvy guy?

A: Bit of both. I think he legitimately cares about his players, and takes injuries seriously — particularly head injuries. But when push comes to shove, I think trying to win games has also led to some questionable decisions. The biggest one that comes to mind is Brett Hundley reentering the game at Utah in 2013 after hitting his head, when he admitted that he was seeing double when he stepped on the field. He said later that was due to a lost contact, but a reporter phrased the question as something like, “Did you lose a contact?”

This year, both Eddie Vanderdoes and Fabian Moreau reentered the game after getting banged up. The team has insisted that Vanderdoes didn’t tear his ACL celebrating Kenny Clark’s touchdown, but rather that he’d injured his knee earlier in the game. In that case, why was he back in? Moreau already missed a chunk of the BYU game with a foot injury, but subbed in again on the final series. Still, I’m not suggesting malice in these cases as much as ignorance — and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Q: Does anyone on the UCLA team really care that Devin Lucien is on the opposing team this Saturday? Will it matter at all?

A: I think they probably care a bit more than they let on this week, but I don’t think it’s a significant factor. Lucien has done OK for himself in Tempe, but it’s not as if he’s broken out into a true star. Plus, he’s a bit hobbled by that hamstring injury he suffered two weeks ago.

Q: What is your take on the Chris Clark departure? Was he just homesick? Were we dealing with a parental situation? If he had redshirted, would he still be a Bruin?

A: I think it was a combination of homesickness and dissatisfaction with his playing situation here. I don’t think redshirting would have made much of a difference.

Q: Where do you think T.J. Leaf will end up eventually?

A: Would go with UCLA for now. The Bruins are definitely pushing for the five-star forward, and would move Bryce Alford off scholarship to make room in the 2016 class.