Last year, the question for the UCLA tight ends was: “Who will replace Marcedes Lewis?”
This year, the question is: “Where did those replacements go?”
Bruin tight ends have just five receptions through Saturday’s game against Oregon State.
For reference, last year, tight ends Logan Paulsen, William Snead and Ryan Moya had a combined 41 receptions on the year.
With a new offensive coordinator, and the starting quarterback spot switching from Ben Olson to Pat Cowan back to Olson, the Bruins have been unable to make a pass-catching threat out of their tight ends.
“It could be related to both (the scheme and switching between quarterbacks),” Snead said. “From the scheme, we’re going out to block in the passing game more. A lot of teams are coming after us because of our new offensive coordinator so we have to get our protection down. And then with the quarterbacks, it’s hard to build camaraderie with guys switching back and forth.”
Paulsen, the starter, had 27 catches last year. This year, he has three. True, the passing offense has gone more to the wide receivers than in the previous two years, but there have been at least a few plays throughout this year where even a wide-open Paulsen has gotten no balls thrown his way.
Still, the tight end is not frustrated.
“Right now, we’ve been able to run the ball successfully and the tight ends have been a big part of that,” Paulsen said. “I’m proud of the tight ends in that respect.
“I’m not frustrated about (not having receptions) because we’ve been winning games. The game where I catch the most balls is the game we lose, so I’m more than happy to keep blocking every play if we keep winning games.”
TEVAGA BACK TO PRACTICE: Senior left guard Shannon Tevaga, out with a knee injury since the loss to Utah in the third game of the season, returned to practice Tuesday and was recovering nicely.
“I felt good,” Tevaga said. “I had limited reps, so I was cool out there. It’s up to the coaches (whether I play this week or not). I feel really good. I feel healthy, I feel strong. My rehab is making my knee stronger, actually. I asked coach for more reps, but he just said let’s do this today and see how you feel tomorrow.”
Redshirt senior P.J. Irvin has been starting in Tevaga’s place since his injury, and even without Tevaga, the offense has generated a pretty strong running attack. Against Washington, the Bruins ran for 333 yards and against a vaunted Oregon State run defense, the Bruins ran for 133 yards.
TICKETS AVAILABLE: There are still limited tickets available for this weekend’s game between the Bruins and the 0-5 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. This will be the first time the Irish have played the Bruins at the Rose Bowl.
NOTES: Brandon Breazell and Kahlil Bell both practiced in red shirts on Tuesday.
Running back Chris Markey is still recovering from turf toe, and coach Karl Dorrell puts him at 50/50 to play on Saturday. He has not yet determined who the additional reps will go to should Markey not play.