2009 UCLA Bruins Football Preview

(first published on KLAC's Bruins Board website --- 9/2/09)

First acts are usually tough to follow, but the UCLA Bruins and head coach Rick Neuheisel shouldn’t have all that much difficulty topping their debut campaign. After a surprising season-opening 27-24 overtime win over Tennessee at the Rose Bowl, UCLA proceeded to lose eight of its last eleven, en route to a dismal 4-8 campaign. Hardly the stuff that Neuheisel’s “Move Over USC” rhetoric was supposed to be made of.

2009 should be a drastically better season in Pasadena for a variety of reasons. Foremost among them is the return of three stellar defensive players---all at different levels of the ‘D’. Senior Alterraun Verner is a shutdown cover guy. Senior Reggie Carter is not only a playmaker and signal caller at middle linebacker, but a great locker room presence as well. And junior Brian Price is as good as any defensive tackle in the conference.

The rest of the defense is filled with young talent, something that bodes well for the future at UCLA. Guys like freshman CB Aaron Hester and sophomores S Rahid Moore, LB Akeem Ayers, and DE Datone Jones give defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough a chance to dictate things more often than not. A promising recruiting class for 2010 will only bolster the talent level on ‘D’ next year as well.

Offensively, the quarterback position can’t help but be more consistent. Beleaguered and mistake-prone (20 interceptions), Kevin Craft was not Rick Neuheisel’s favorite player last year. He gives way to redshirt freshman Kevin Prince, who hasn’t played a snap of competitive in-game football since the first game of his senior year in high school. Still, Prince has a strong arm and a lot of accuracy to go with it---tools that will serve him well in the feisty Pac-10, a conference with tremendous defensive talent from top to bottom.

Surrounding Prince offensively are wideout weapons in Terrance Austin and Taylor Embree, a deep corps of versatile TEs. RBs Jonathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman (and Christian Ramirez, once he returns from a leg injury) are a lot stronger than recent Bruins running back (Mo Jones-Drew notwithstanding, of course). But none of it matters if the offensive line doesn’t improve from its woeful performance of a year ago. Averaging less than three rushing yards per carry isn’t easy to do, but it happened to the Bruins last year. This season should be different, with four new starters joining versatile C Kai Maiva. If they can improve the ground attack and buy their young quarterback some time to make good decisions, the offense will be better than a lot of people expect.

So what does act two and the 2009 campaign hold in store for UCLA? Surely, the schedule will have a lot to do with it. Opening with a win against San Diego State at home is all but certain (I'm guessing something lopsided, like 31-3), but a trip to Knoxville and a rematch with a vengeful Tennessee team in game two looms as difficult, to say the least. Home games against Oregon, California and Arizona State are all winnable, but trips to Oregon State, Arizona and the USC behemoth will require a lot of composure to pull off victories.

Be patient, Bruins fans. A bowl game is definitely within the grasp of this year’s team, but 7-5 is about all you can ask for with so many offensive questions. I think Neuheisel can get this team there, and if he does, 2010 could be a really special year for UCLA.

-JAB