If there’s one thing that’s constant about UCLA’s offensive line, it’s that the faces on it are constantly changing.
The line has seen a slew of starters go down to injury over the last two seasons, and the trend hasn’t changed this spring.
Fresh in the first-team lineup on Monday were rising redshirt sophomore guard Stanley Hasiak and rising redshirt junior tackle Connor Bradford. Hasiak is currently starting in place of rising redshirt junior Jeff Baca, while Bradford is taking the spot of rising redshirt senior Sean Sheller.
Baca and Sheller have 31 combined starts to their names. Hasiak and Bradford have none.
So are the times on the Bruins’ offensive line.
“Our motto’s always “˜Next Bruin Up,'” rising redshirt senior center Kai Maiava said. “When that time comes, when you do step up, you’ve got to be just as if we didn’t lose a guy.”
Maiava was one of the many casualties of the line’s string of bad luck. He had to sit out the 2010 season after fracturing his ankle in the fall scrimmage.
Baca broke his ankle on the second day of spring practice, while Sheller broke his hand Thursday, which forced Hasiak and Bradford into action.
“If a guy goes down we’re not going to cancel the game, the next guy’s got to be ready to play,” offensive line coach Bob Palcic said.
Despite the calamities, UCLA’s line recovered admirably last season and was key to the Bruins rushing for 175.6 yards per game in the pistol offense.
Jim Mastro will need the same to happen this year. The tight ends and F-backs coach was hired to oversee the run game, and has already introduced blocking schemes that flip and incorporate more zone read concepts.
“170 yards a game, you’ll take that every day of the week,” Mastro said. “The philosophy was good, the foundation was good, just need to take it to the next level.”
Mastro knows a thing or two about the pistol, having been an assistant under Nevada’s Chris Ault, inventor of the offense.
“With what Mastro’s teaching us, it’s really taking our offense to another level,” Maiava said.
“We’ve been trying and it’s stepping up a little bit, but we’ve still got a ways to go.”
Neuheisel on former coach
Former UCLA assistant coach Homer Smith passed away on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Smith, 79, was on the sidelines for 13 years spanning three different stints.
He was Rick Neuheisel’s offensive coordinator while Neuheisel quarterbacked the Bruins, and the two helped UCLA win the 1984 Rose Bowl.
“He was an unbelievable inspiration to me as a coach and as a guy who mentored me in the coaching profession,” Neuheisel said. “I am forever indebted to him and just wanted the Smith family to know we’re going to miss Homer.”