Five UCLA players drafted to NFL show success under Mora

The transformation of UCLA football under Jim Mora continued this week, as five Bruins – linebackers Anthony Barr and Jordan Zumwalt, offensive guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, defensive end Cassius Marsh and wide receiver Shaq Evans – had their names called in the NFL draft. Five is the greatest number of players UCLA has had selected in a single draft since 2002.

In two seasons with Mora as coach, UCLA has had nine players chosen in the draft after having nine players selected in the previous five drafts combined, including two years – 2009 and 2012 – in which no players were chosen.

Under Mora, UCLA has had players selected in the first round in each of the last two years, the first time that has happened since the 2001 and 2002 drafts. Additionally, the nine players selected in the 2013 and 2014 drafts are the most UCLA has had selected in back-to-back drafts since nine players combined were selected in the 1993 and 1994 drafts.

While the players that have been drafted were recruited by former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, Mora and his staff should be credited with the development of these players – one need look no further than Barr, whom Mora moved from running back to the defensive side of the ball. Barr became an All-American in his two seasons under Mora and was selected ninth overall by the Minnesota Vikings, the highest a UCLA player has been selected since 1996. Barr credited Mora and the UCLA coaching staff as a major reason why he heard his name called early Thursday night.

“It took a little bit of time (to get comfortable on defense). It definitely wasn’t something I just picked up like riding a bike or anything. It took a lot of work, took a lot of film study,” Barr said in a conference call with Minneapolis area reporters. “I worked my tail off in the offseason and I attribute a lot of my success to my coaches at UCLA.”

In his short time at UCLA, Mora has transformed the Bruins into one of the top contenders in the Pac-12 and the on-field success has paid off for his program on draft day. UCLA is tied with conference powers Oregon and Stanford for the most players drafted from the conference in the last two years. That number might have been much lower if it weren’t for Mora and the coaches he brought with him to Westwood in 2012. Marsh, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round Saturday, considered transferring before Mora arrived, but credited Mora and his staff as one reason why he finds himself in Seattle.

“Coach Mora is a great coach. He brought in great coaches with him, brought in NFL pedigree and guys who are going to teach me to be a professional, how to do things at the next level. He changed the whole culture at UCLA,” Marsh said in a conference call with local reporters.

And that draft day success shows no sign of petering off as Mora has continued to develop a number of Neuheisel’s recruits, such as quarterback Brett Hundley, defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa and cornerback Fabian Moreau, whom Mora called a potential “first-round pick” in spring practice.

He has also brought in a number of his own guys with a chance to play on Sundays, highlighted by linebacker Myles Jack and defensive lineman Kenny Clark. After agreeing to a six-year contract extension in December and signing a recruiting class with a number of highly rated prospects this past February, Mora has positioned UCLA for long-term success.

As for those UCLA players drafted this year, guard Xavier Su’a-Filo was the second player off the board for UCLA after being selected by the Houston Texans with the first pick in the second round of the draft. In a conference call with the media, Su’a-Filo, who played both guard and tackle at UCLA, said that he wasn’t sure yet where the Texans will play him, but added that he felt comfortable playing both positions and was ready to compete wherever Houston decides to line him up.

“I am looking forward to competing against everybody, trying to get better,” Su’a-Filo said. “I want to come in and help contribute to the team and competing as hard as I can, and earning a spot is the only way I know how to do that.”

Wide receiver Shaq Evans joined Marsh in the fourth round, going to the New York Jets with the 115th overall pick. In New York, Evans goes to a team with a large need at receiver and uncertainty at quarterback. Second-year player and incumbent starter Geno Smith showed flashes in a largely unspectacular rookie season. However the Jets added veteran Michael Vick in the offseason and drafted Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd in the draft.

No matter whom Evans ends up catching passes from, he emphasized his ability to get open on third down as a major strength in his game.

“I feel like I converted a lot on third down for Brett (Hundley), so I think that’s what separated me from a lot of receivers,” Evans said in a conversation with the Daily Bruin shortly after being drafted Saturday.

The UCLA draft class was bookended by two members of its much heralded linebacking corp. Barr heads to a Vikings team implementing a new coaching staff under head coach Mike Zimmer. Barr said that he was excited to learn from Zimmer and sees himself as a versatile player capable of lining up in multiple spots on defense. Zimmer, the former defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, is well regarded in the league and should come up with some creative spots for Barr.

Meanwhile, linebacker Jordan Zumwalt was the final UCLA player to be picked, going to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round. Zumwalt was projected to go earlier than that and called the draft process “really aggravating at some points and really exciting at others,” in an interview with the Bruin after being drafted.

Zumwalt adds youth and competitiveness to one of the league’s oldest defenses and figures to compete at linebacker and contribute on special teams.