With short routes to Devin Fuller comprising a good portion of the Bruins’ offense during a troublesome late October, the wide receiver appeared unlikely to be the man who would awaken a deep passing game for UCLA. As fate and play design would have it, however, the sophomore became the playmaker who turned a rare long pass into, by far, the Bruins’ longest play of the season.
The 76-yard touchdown pass, a gain 32 yards greater than the Bruins’ next-longest play for the year, involved little wizardry. Fuller went outside of a Colorado defensive back a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage, then ran slightly to the inside of the field on a simple post route. With Fuller open, redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley just needed to hit his target close enough in stride.
“The safety sat on the inside of me, so I just had to take it over the top. Brett threw a great ball – I just had to make a play on it,” said Fuller, who broke a tackle almost immediately after catching the pass. “My eyes got big when I saw the ball in the air. I just happened to come down with it.”
Fuller said he hopes for more opportunities to make plays down the field moving forward, and knows that he is not alone in this ambition. The receiver remarked that every pass catcher wants to be on the other end of a long pass, and that every quarterback harbors desires to throw 95-yard touchdown passes.
At the same time, Fuller recognized the importance of his quarterback’s comfort in the pocket and ability to make the read progressions necessary to producing huge gains. Fuller’s understanding comes from his time as a high school quarterback and as Hundley’s primary slot receiver.
“I know the play-clock in Brett’s head,” Fuller said. “As his inside receiver, I see a lot of the motions going on in the backfield with the linebackers. … I know when pressures are coming, I know when I have to make my routes crisp and get out of my breaks faster. … It’s all really a mind game.”
Manning up as a freshman
Hundley and his skill position players may well find more opportunities to unleash longer downfield strikes, given a more generous schedule ahead and the continued development of a young offensive line over the last few weeks.
The line did not allow a sack against Colorado Saturday, a week after giving up three to Oregon and four to Stanford the week prior. However, Hundley did have to display a sixth sense for pressure when Buffaloes got near him: the second-year signal-caller narrowly avoided a handful of thunderous hits, some of which it seemed he could not have seen coming.
The capabilities of one of three true freshmen protecting Hundley were on full display in an anecdote coach Jim Mora shared about left guard Scott Quessenberry.
At one point against Colorado, Mora instructed Hundley to run plays at a faster clip. The quarterback replied that he would, provided that he didn’t have Peyton Manning playing left guard, referring to Quessenberry’s tendency to call out, at length, formations and rotations in opposing defenses. Mora was not necessarily against Quessenberry’s lengthy, pre-snap calls that channel the Denver Broncos’ future Hall of Fame quarterback. Although he recognized that UCLA’s offense has had to slow down its tempo in recent weeks, the coach expressed contentment with his offense.
“It’s hard with three freshman offensive linemen. You have to identify things. … You just don’t move as smoothly,” Mora said. “I like where we’re at. What I like is good plays when the ball is snapped. … That’s more important than anything.”
Brown’s special delivery
Freshman linebacker Jayon Brown was named Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week by the conference on Monday for a two-tackle performance against Colorado that included a forced fumble and a separate fumble recovery that led to a short UCLA touchdown drive.
Brown gave freshman linebacker Cameron Judge “all the thanks” for forcing the fumble that he would recover, giving the Bruins the ball on the 14-yard line. Brown said he feels that, as a whole, the UCLA kickoff coverage unit has enjoyed a successful season thus far, and that no one player has stood above the rest with regard to making plays.
“We all hunt, track the ball-carrier, all try to make plays,” said Brown, who also said he is content to let others make the highlight reel, as long as he does his own job.
Currently a linebacker, Brown had dabbled throughout the offseason and early portion of the season with looks at safety. But since a game against New Mexico State in late September, Brown has been locked in as a backup within the front seven. Despite the lack of playing time on defense, the freshman expressed satisfaction with his responsibilities.
“I’m happy, I love special teams … (and) doing my best to help the team.”