All throughout training camp, Logan Paulsen had to think about
the same question over and over again. How would he and the rest of
the tight end corps replace a first-round draft pick that was the
focal point of the team’s passing game? Last Saturday, Paulsen and
company were finally able to answer that question on the field.
Paulsen led the entire team in receiving last week against Utah,
and along with fellow tight end Ryan Moya, was able to make Bruin
fans forget about Marcedes Lewis – at least for one game. There was
a large concern that the Bruins would not be able to fill in for
Lewis’ production last season after the John Mackey Award winner
had a team-high 58 grabs and 10 touchdowns – especially since the
top three candidates to replace Lewis had caught a combined 13
passes that same year.
"We are really just a bunch of unknown young guys," said
sophomore Paulsen, who finished Saturday’s contest with five
catches for 91 yards and one touchdown, easily eclipsing his totals
from last year.
"Marcedes was such a phenomenal player and we just took a small
step in the right direction this last week in replacing him,"
Paulsen said.
With Utah giving the Bruin offense a steady dose of blitzes,
quarterback Ben Olson was able to read the defense perfectly,
utilizing his tight ends to his full advantage.
"I think a lot of teams tend to not really key on the tight end
as much and don’t really figure them into their defensive schemes,"
Olson said.
"I just try to throw to the open guy and take what the defense
gives me. That’s just the approach I’ve tried to take. If you key
on the tight ends, we have our receivers. We’re just trying to make
it an offense that’s hard to defend."
As opponents prepare to stop UCLA’s bigger-name playmakers such
as Chris Markey, Kahlil Bell and the team’s talented wide-receiving
unit, the tight ends have the opportunity to fly under the radar,
as was the case against the Utes.
"Teams just don’t put a lot of emphasis on us," Paulsen said.
"We have such big game-breakers that they have to focus more on
those guys which means that we are forgotten a little bit, which
gives us great opportunities."
With such big names filling the other skill positions, no one
would have guessed that the team’s first score of the season would
come from the tight end position, making it all the more surprising
when sophomore Moya was on the receiving end of an Olson touchdown
pass to end the first drive of the game against Utah.
"I knew that a lot of people didn’t expect that," Moya said of
the production the team received from him and Paulsen. "But we know
how good we are and I think we made a statement in that game. (The
Utes) play a lot of man defense and I told coach before the game
that I was confident I could get open, and obviously Logan did
too."
While this group has given the team a reason to breathe a little
easier about the tight end position, they still have a long way to
go before they gain Lewis’ stature and have opponents specifically
shaping their defensive schemes to stop them.
"Marcedes changed the way people approached UCLA," Paulsen said.
"They changed their defense around (him), and I don’t think that we
are there yet. I think we have a long way to go before we earn that
respect from other teams. But we are working on it."