Weekly Q&A: Hawai’i answers

via GIPHY

There were a lot of questions about the defensive performance against Texas A&M, so here is a relevant link: Tom Bradley doesn’t plan to play that much man-to-man again if he can help it.

Other links:

Now to your questions:

OFFENSE

Based on Sunday’s results, do you see Jedd Fisch staying with an up-tempo offense?

If only things were that easy. Jedd Fisch addressed this question Wednesday. He said that, yes, the offense obviously excelled in the two-minute situation, but part of that was the defense that Texas A&M was playing. The Aggies were defending a 34-point lead at that time. The defensive fronts are different in that situation than they would be at the beginning of the game when it’s tied, so you can’t expect the same kind of success. Living in a constant state of hurry-up offense, while it seems like a fun theoretical idea, probably isn’t practical in the long run.

Was not impressed with the run game. Bolu Olorunfunmi didn’t look great. Soso Jamabo looked better on wide runs, plus caught a massive fourth-down reception. If they don’t improve, do you think we will see Starks (TN NOTE: Not sure if you were thinking of Nate or Jalen) or Brandon Stephens get some carries at some point?

The run game had so few opportunities to get a rhythm that I think the sample size is too small to judge right now. I don’t expect them to break free for 200-yard games in the near future, but at least give them two or three games before burying them. I think it’s always possible that the coaching staff will give the other backs looks, but it seems clear that they believe in Bolu Olorunfunmi and Soso Jamabo more than anyone else. It would take a lot for the coaching staff to cycle through all five for a second straight year, especially after that tactic proved ineffective last year. Olorunfunmi didn’t get much help from the offensive line nor his other blockers (receivers, tight ends, fullbacks) so the first-half struggles weren’t all on him even though he was the one carrying the ball. I thought Jamabo had a very good game for what he was asked to do. He pass protected when he needed to, caught ran routes and found running space. The Bruins aren’t going to be able to run the ball up the middle, it’s just not their strength, so if they are going to get rushing yards, it’s probably going to be on the edges.

What are the issues with the offensive line with respect to the run? Is it fixable?

One of the main issues about the running game on offense was that UCLA didn’t get a chance to use it. You’re down by 34 and you need points quickly, so you can’t run. Naturally the numbers aren’t going to look great. At the beginning of the game when UCLA was trying to run the ball, it couldn’t get any push at the line. The offensive line was overpowered. Not only did the offensive line not block well, but there were missed blocks from other players as well that kept the running game down. Receivers, fullbacks and tight ends missed crucial blocks that left the running backs out to dry. At this point, you have to trust that everything is somewhat fixable (unless it’s an injury situation). You either expect the coaching staff to fix it or work around it to mask the problem so it at least looks fixed.

After his performance vs Texas A&M, does Soso Jamabo replace Bolu Olorunfunmi as the starter?

Indeed, I thought that Soso Jamabo was a very low-key winner of the game. He didn’t get a chance to run the ball often (no one did) but he did well with the chances he got, especially using his speed to get the edge. He was also really good in pass protection, which has always been his Achilles Heel. When I rewatched the game, I was most impressed with his improvement in that aspect. He certainly made a very good case for the starting role, but when it comes to long-term decisions, it’s hard to make a decision based off one game.

Also as a note, Jamabo was running back on almost every snap during the second half of the game, but I don’t think that’s necessarily an indication that he’s surpassed Bolu Olorunfunmi. When the team has to throw as often as UCLA did in the second half, it needs a running back who can catch and Olorunfunmi is not one of those. Jamabo was the best person for that situation, but we’ll see if he’ll be UCLA’s choice for all situations.

Now that we’ve had an opportunity to see who can perform in live game scenarios and who can’t, do you think the wide receivers will have a different starting lineup this week?

I don’t think so. I think the receivers who play on the very first snap don’t matter as much as who gets into the four-to-six-man rotation and I think that group remains the same. Darren Andrews, Theo Howard and Jordan Lasley are the top three and none of them really did too much to damage their rankings. Christian Pabico didn’t have the type of game many people were hoping for, but I think he’ll get another chance and do better when/if he gets it because he had a similar situation in training camp. The first day he practiced with the No. 1 offense, he dropped at least four passes, which was extremely uncharacteristic, but the next day he came back and did well. The next day, he did even better. By the end, he was making life a little difficult for Darnay Holmes and Nate Meadors. Sunday was Pabico’s first game ever and it was a big stage. When he settles into the role a little bit, I believe he’ll improve. Eldridge Massington and Alex Van Dyke got some time and they’re both big, strong targets, so I expect them to remain in the top six, but I think Andrews, Howard, Lasley and Pabico are still the top choices.

When the team needs to throw on every play like it did during the fourth quarter, then tight end Caleb Wilson essentially turns into a receiver. In those situations, he immediately vaults into the top two, along with Andrews. That won’t change.

Kolton Miller was beaten several times at left tackle. Is there any legitimate backup available to push him for playing time?

This is the danger of the Kenny Lacy injury. There are no legitimate backups at the tackle position besides Sunny Odogwu, who might not be the savior many thought he was going to be due to his own injury history. If they had to replace Miller (or Andre James, for that matter) and Odogwu is still unavailable, the next tackle off the bench might be Jake Burton, a converted defensive lineman who started at tackle during training camp, but got moved to guard by the end.

For those wondering, there’s no official work on Odogwu’s injury status as the team is now in paranoid season mode. I was surprised to see him not suited up for Sunday’s game and I don’t know what Saturday will hold for him, but even if he becomes healthy enough to play at some point in the season, I don’t expect to see him on the field too much. He doesn’t seem like he’s physically able to play a full game.


DEFENSE

Is it possible to chart the number of times Tom Bradley blitzes and the result? Bradley’s interview after the game was telling. When asked what changed in the second half he said they were forced to go to their base defense and leave the defensive backs in zero coverage. He said three times, they had no choice so they had to use it. The scary part is that it worked perfectly but he was admitting he was forced into that defense, in other words, he never would have used the most effective defense for that opponent and their game plan if he had any other choice. Does this sound like a good coach?

It would be interesting to chart that, but it would take a lot of effort to watch every single snap of every game again to count blitzes and results. I have more efficient uses for my time at this point, so it’s unlikely that such a chart will be coming.

To me, Bradley’s comments sound like a coach who knows his scheme. It’s just not his nature to sell out because he’s weary of getting beaten by the big play. If you’re asking your defensive backs to play zero coverage every snap, it’s unreasonable to ask them to win every rep and the one they don’t win could result in the game-winning touchdown. He’s not much of a risk-taker and that brought him great success in his career, but it’s also burned him, like against Stanford last year on that final drive when the Bruins were in prevent-mode and got gobbled up.

UCLA got lucky in the second half by not having to face a quarterback who was a legitimate passing threat. Kellen Mond was 2 for 14 in the second half. He missed several easy throws. The UCLA defensive backs, who I think are very good and probably could handle a few more man-to-man responsibilities in general, didn’t have that big of a challenge with Mond throwing the ball. But what happens when UCLA plays Jake Browning? Or Sam Darnold? Even Colorado, who has a new quarterback, has likely one of the best receiving corps in the country. Man-to-man (which to be clear, is not the same as the base defense) probably won’t look as effective then.

This is similar to a previous about whether Jedd Fisch would run a hurry-up offense more often because of Sunday’s late-game success. The hurry-up offense and the desperation defense worked at that time because of the situation the Bruins put themselves in. But if they’re not in those situations, those tactics might not work as well.

Opposing teams now know that UCLA’s run defense is a weakness; what changes do you see Tom Bradley making?

I’m definitely not a coach and I don’t try to pretend to be one. We don’t get to watch practice anymore and even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to report specifically about game planning either. It also depends on what the team sees on the film from Hawai‘i. Personnel changes are possible. I think Nick Terry had a good game against the run, so it’s possible that he might get more time. He’s a stout, 305-pound guy who doesn’t get pushed off blocks easily. (Boss Tagaloa is listed at 305, but he said recently in camp that he’s actually 295.) Chigozie Nnoruka also got a lot of snaps in the second half and did well, especially on the last play when he tackled Kellen Mond on fourth-and-10 one yard short of the first down.

It seemed like Josh Woods and Kenny Young hit the wrong gaps in run defense repeatedly. Was there any post game discussion about getting Lokeni Toailoa more snaps to shore up the run defense?

I would expect to see more of Lokeni Toailoa in the future. I think he’s a good player who is beyond his years in terms of understanding the game. He had a good game in the limited snaps he did receive. Overall, the linebackers were put in adverse situations because the defensive linemen struggled to maintain their gaps, which then put the linebackers out of position. When the offensive linemen are reaching the second level, which they did several times, and bearing straight down on a linebacker, it’s not going to be an easy down for the linebacker and he’s forced into a really difficult situation.

It seemed like the move to a 4-3 from nickel finally slowed the Texas A&M running game. Was there any explanation from Jim Mora or Tom Bradley why that move wasn’t made earlier or why it wasn’t a part of the defensive strategy to begin the game?

Jim Mora said the Bruins played Texas A&M in 100 percent nickel/dime last year and that’s likely why they focused so heavily on it during practice leading up to the season opener. I was surprised to hear that they only practiced nickel/dime. To not even practice a single snap of base seems odd, especially when you can probably predict that Texas A&M is going to rely on the running game with a new starting quarterback. UCLA didn’t know who the starter was going to be, but between the three options, Jake Hubenak, Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond, none were prolific passers who should strike fear in to the hearts of secondaries, especially one as good as UCLA’s.

Tom Bradley explained that a lot of the first half was spent collecting information about the Texas A&M scheme and how they were using specific players in their packages because they didn’t have any tape from this year. So once they got an idea of how Texas A&M was going to use some of its new players (who didn’t appear on tape last season), then the team could make adjustments in the second half. That’s life in a season opener.

Our good friends at Scout broke down the game (subscription required) and they found that UCLA played its base defense on only 15 snaps and gave up only 2.8 yards per play in that package. It’s a small sample size, but it’s still a very nice result. A further explanation of why UCLA didn’t use more base defense is that Mora said they can’t play the 4-3 against Texas A&M’s four-receiver sets because you can’t play man-to-man.

After the game Sunday, Tom Bradley said that in the first half they didn’t run their base defense of four defensive lineman and three linebackers, and often times only had five or six people in the box, and because of it, the run defense was basically nonexistent. Do you know if they plan to stick with only five or six in the box going forward?

Obviously if it’s not working then they won’t keep doing it. They’re going to make adjustments in the run defense this week and we’ll see how they go. Also, it depends on the team that they’re playing. The coaching staff would be insane to keep five or six in the box every play against Stanford. Against a team like Washington State that throws it all the time? UCLA could probably get away with it. (UCLA doesn’t play Washington State this year; I was just using them as an example.)

I think they were caught off guard with what Texas A&M was able to do. Some of it fell on the defensive linemen, as they were getting overpowered by the Texas A&M offensive line. That’s where run defense starts no matter if it’s base or nickel or even dime. UCLA has some very talented pass rushers in Jaelan Phillips, Keisean Lucier-South and Rick Wade, but they’re all young and they’re all going to need to improve against the run and contain the edge better. (I did think Lucier-South had a good game though, as I wrote here.)

The lack of numbers in the box surely cost UCLA on plays that Texas A&M pulled linemen across the formation to open up running lanes. When that happens, it changes gaps. When you have linebackers who are as fast as UCLA’s, those types of plays can be damaging because the linebackers are going downhill into the gap that they thought they were supposed to be in, but then the offensive linemen pull and now they defenders on the wrong side, the offense has a big numbers advantage on the other side of the play and the running back is slashing you.


OTHER

Where is your blog in the new Daily News format? I don’t see it anywhere! They’re not axing it, are they?

First of all, thanks for visiting our redesigned website! We have not yet migrated our blog content, but we will be doing so in the near future. Until then, you can always access the blog directly at this page (InsideSoCal.com/UCLA). The blog is not going away at all. Long live the blog.

What new players will be starters against Hawai‘i that did not start against A&M?

I wouldn’t put too much stock into which players start the very first snap of the game because most units rotate a lot. Even if the exact starting lineups don’t change, I expect to see more of Chigozie Nnoruka, Nick Terry and Lokeni Toailoa on defense. If this game goes the way UCLA is expecting it to go, then that would give the coaching staff a chance to rotate more players in at all positions (because they won’t have to chase a game again).

Two Japanese walk-on athletes Gyo Shojima (OL at UCLA) and Genta Ito (RB at UH) attended Santa Monica College together and won American Pacific Conference championship. They went separate ways but how would they measure themselves now that they are in different four-year colleges?

This is an interesting, well-researched question and I wish I had a better, more well-researched answer for you. I didn’t speak with Gyo Shojima this week and I don’t want to put words in his mouth so I can’t say how he would measure himself. He was able to play in one game last year, making history as the first Japanese-born player to participate in a Division I game, so that’s certainly an accomplishment that he would be proud of. I unfortunately can’t provide much insight on Genta Ito, but in 2016, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser wrote that he became his school’s first Japanese national since the school became a full Division I member in 1975 and is widely respected by coaches and players for his photographic memory and deep understanding of the offense.

Kanan Ray was an Army All American but came from a small school. How is he developing?

Kanan Ray is not currently on the roster as he’s expected to grayshirt. He had shoulder surgery this summer and did not join the team officially. He was on campus during the summer, but when the fall quarter starts, he can’t be around per the grayshirting rule.

UCLA had three to four four-star wide receivers in its 2016 recruiting class. How are they doing?

Theo Howard is doing pretty well after catching that 10-yard touchdown pass. It was a great effort by him to fight for that ball when Josh Rosen admitted that he was trying to throw it away. I think he’s got a little ways to go in terms of developing chemistry and trust with Rosen. That was really their first full game together after Howard was mostly low-key last year. (He did get a start against Arizona but only got one catch.) The other ones, Audie Omotosho, Damian Alloway, Demetric Felton and former quarterback Dymond Lee, likely won’t be making large contributions this year because the coaching staff wants to keep the receiver rotation short and those young players are buried under the more experienced players. Also, Omotosho didn’t look like he was suited up for Sunday’s game, so he’s likely dealing with some sort of undisclosed injury.

Who gets the last scholarship?

I don’t know. UCLA doesn’t have to make a decision until the school year starts. It’s probably going to come down to punter Stefan Flintoft and receiver Christian Pabico.