So far, there’s been little criticism of the job new UCLA
defensive line coach Todd Howard has done. What little has come has
been from an unlikely source: Howard’s former boss on the
defensive line with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Ray Hamilton called me after the first game and the first
thing he said was, “˜How many?'” Howard said.
“I was like “˜What?’ He said, “˜If you
don’t know, I’m hanging up.’ He was asking me if
we got any sacks, and of course we didn’t get any sacks in
our first game.”
With four sacks in the next game against Rice, even that small
criticism has been quashed. Last year, the defensive line was
decimated by injury, with undersized defensive tackles getting
consistently bowled over on run plays. The Bruins gave up 232.8
yards on the ground per game last year, generally letting running
backs run straight through to the secondary.
Howard saw that as a challenge. And when UCLA came calling for a
new defensive line coach, he was all ears.
“Anytime UCLA asks if you want to coach, you have to
listen,” said Howard, an assistant defensive line coach for
the Jaguars last year. “It’s just a great opportunity
to coach at a great program.”
When Howard entered, he put all the starting-line spots up for
grabs, telling his players they would have to earn them.
So far, that has paid off for a few players. Kenneth Lombard,
who was expected to back up at one of the defensive tackle spots
before training camp, has earned a starting spot over Kevin Brown.
Bruce Davis, the quick defensive end/linebacker hybrid, took one of
the starting defensive end spots from former starter Nikola
Dragovic.
Howard is rewarding hard work with more playing time.
“There’s still competition,” Howard said.
“Those four inside guys (Lombard, Brown, Brigham Harwell and
Chase Moline) are all starters. If they each played 25 plays a
game, I’d be happy.
“With the defensive line, there’s always a lot of
pushing and scrapping, so it’s good to have guys to rotate
in.”
Howard’s style has been to set up his best and most
hardworking players as examples for the rest in terms of dedication
and technique. So far, Lombard has been his prime example.
“(I use a guy like) Lombard who comes to practice every
day and works hard and gives 100%,” Howard said. “He
just has a very high football IQ.”
Howard wants to set up his line as the leaders of the defense.
With their overall experience and depth, he feels they have an
advantage over the other units.
“I challenge our guys,” Howard said. “We have
the most experience. We have to be leaders of this defense.
We’re working at becoming a dominant defense. We’ll see
how we’re playing at the end of the season.”