Where will the UCLA Bruins go in the 2015 NFL draft?

Former UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley attends spring football practice at Spaulding Field on April 2, 2015. (Andy Holzman/Staff)

Former UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley attends spring football practice at Spaulding Field on April 2, 2015. (Andy Holzman/Staff)

UCLA hasn’t produced three straight first-round picks since 1994-96, when Jamir Miller, J.J. Stokes and Jonathan Ogden all became top-10 selections.

The Bruins could finally match that streak again today. The NFL Draft starts at 5 p.m., and both linebacker Eric Kendricks and defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa have a chance to be picked. (There’s a bit of buzz linking Kendricks to the Arizona Cardinals, but late-developing draft news could always be a smokescreen.) UCLA hasn’t produced two first-rounders in the same draft since 1981, Freeman McNeil and Kenny Easley went third and fourth overall.

Worth reading on Odighizuwa is this story from Tania Ganguli at ESPN: Owa’s mother, Abieyuwa, helped hold the family together in the wake of his father killing three people in a shooting at the Appalachian School of Law.

In today’s paper, I covered Brett Hundley being set to become the first UCLA quarterback drafted since Cade McNown in 1999, although that’s more likely happen tomorrow. Here are quick draft bios for the Bruins as well.

Jim Mora: Brett Hundley will be a second-round NFL draft pick

UCLA head coach Jim Mora thinks that Brett Hundley will be a second-round pick in this week’s NFL draft, and also has a few destinations in mind for his former quarterback.

On the Rich Eisen Show, Mora said that Hundley — who started 40 games for the Bruins and set numerous records — could be bound for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, or perhaps the St. Louis Rams. Continue reading “Jim Mora: Brett Hundley will be a second-round NFL draft pick” »

Mike Mayock: Brett Hundley might not improve stock at NFL Combine

Towards the end of his final season at UCLA, quarterback Brett Hundley often took questions about 1) his college legacy, and 2) what he thought about his NFL draft stock. For the most part, the three-year starter played it cool — stressing that his body of work would stand out over anything else.

Heading into this week’s NFL Combine, draft guru Mike Mayock sort of echoed those thoughts.

“I don’t think he can change what the negatives are about him by throwing 20 passes in shorts,” said the longtime NFL Network analyst. “Having said that, I think he should (participate in full). There’s people that think he ducked the Senior Bowl, even though there was some medical that says it was okay for him not to be there obviously.

“My perspective is he should show up and rip it. He just ought to let it go. The things that are hurting him in the evaluation process are anticipation, pocket awareness, things like that that you can’t really show at the combine.”

On-field workouts for quarterbacks are scheduled for Saturday, along with those of running backs and wide receivers. Hundley remains in the second-tier of what is widely regarded as a thin quarterback class, behind potential top picks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Continue reading “Mike Mayock: Brett Hundley might not improve stock at NFL Combine” »

Brett Hundley among five UCLA Bruins invited to NFL Combine

Brett Hundley, right, runs around defensive end Jonathan Johnson (11) during UCLA's 36-34 win at Cal on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. (Eric Risberg/AP)

Brett Hundley, right, runs around defensive end Jonathan Johnson (11) during UCLA’s 36-34 win at Cal on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. (Eric Risberg/AP)

The NFL Scouting Combine released its list of invites today, and there weren’t any real surprises on UCLA’s end.

Brett Hundley, who set multiple school records in three seasons as a starter, was included — the mild kerfuffle over his Senior Bowl absence having not knocked him off his status as the consensus No. 3 quarterback in the draft. So too were defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa and linebacker Eric Kendricks, who represent the Bruins’ other chances to produce a first-round draft pick for the third year in a row.

A recent SI.com mock draft projected Kendricks to go No. 30 overall to the Green Bay Packers, while Odighizuwa followed at No. 37 (New York Jets) and Hundley at No. 41 (St. Louis Rams). Continue reading “Brett Hundley among five UCLA Bruins invited to NFL Combine” »