The strength of the UCLA football team so far this year has been
the defense. That has been a surprise. The strength of this defense
has been its line. That would have been almost unthinkable before
the season began.
Senior defensive end Justin Hickman has been a big part of the
defensive resurgence. Leading the team with seven tackles for loss
and 5.5 sacks, Hickman has been a beast against opposing offensive
lines and is vastly improved from last year.
“There’s something going on inside of me,”
Hickman said. “I’m just making plays. I wanted to get
better from last year.
“Doubling (my sacks) would be better. Tripling would be
even better,” he said.
Last year, Hickman had 5.5 sacks on the entire year, through
four games this year he has already matched that total. Combined,
the defense has had 14 sacks on the year, and Hickman credits a lot
of that success to the change in attitude instilled by new
defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.
“It’s the same players, and the scheme isn’t
that much different,” Hickman said. “It’s just
the attitude he brought to us. Repetition and practice,
that’s what coach Walker has harped on from day
one.”
Walker and defensive line coach Todd Howard have instilled an
NFL-inspired mentality with the line, according to Hickman, and
thus far it appears to be paying off. Through the first four games,
the defense is allowing a miniscule 65.8 yards per game.
“I can’t say (more) about the way we’re
playing on that side of the ball,” coach Karl Dorrell said.
“It’s just a confident, contagious, infectious way
they’re playing right now. And we can play even better.
It’s going to be fun for us to see as the season
unfolds.”
AUSTIN GETTING BACK ON HIS HORSE: After
fumbling a punt return late in the first quarter against Stanford
on Saturday, freshman Terrence Austin did not get cautious in his
returning strategy. On the very next return, with close coverage on
him, he still caught the ball and attempted a return, a decision
Dorrell applauds as a sign of a competitive attitude.
“I asked him to fair-catch it, to kind of regroup a little
bit,” Dorrell said. “But instead of fair-catching it,
we wanted to make a play. You like that attitude with a guy who
wants to make a play.”
Austin has averaged 21.2 yards on four punt returns this year,
with the majority of his 85 return yards coming on a 79-yard return
against Washington two weeks ago, which solidified his position as
punt returner.
TAYLOR FIGHTS INJURIES TO KEEP PLAYING: Wide
receiver Junior Taylor has been battling through a knee injury,
turf toe and now a sprained ankle this year. But it has not kept
him out the starting lineup as of yet. He has not been able to
perform up to expectations for his production thus far, but Dorrell
feels his leadership qualities are more than making up for his lack
of consistent production.
“Junior has been one of our senior leaders on the
offensive end,” Dorrell said. “He’s been a very
positive leader all season long.
“He’s frustrated right now, and wants to do more,
but there’s no question he’ll get to that level,”
Dorrell said.
GAME TIME: This Saturday’s game against
Arizona will be played at 4 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.