Redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley had all the time in the world. He paused briefly, stepped up in the pocket, then hurled a pass deep downfield into the outstretched arms of redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kenny Walker for a touchdown.
Despite facing the nation’s third-most dangerous pass rush in Washington, Hundley’s abundance of time in the pocket was a key component in that play and UCLA’s 44-point offensive explosion.
After struggling with pass blocking to start the year – UCLA surrendered 22 sacks through its first five games – the Bruins have started to protect their quarterback, allowing just nine sacks in the last five games.
“We’re really clicking as a unit now, we’re really buying into what (offensive line) coach (Adrian) Klemm is preaching,” said sophomore left guard Alex Redmond, of the offensive line’s improved play.
As the line is developing as a whole, so are its individual pieces. With Redmond finally healthy after missing an extended period because of an ankle injury, the Bruins now have more qualified offensive linemen than starting spots on the line.
The increased competition for playing time on a weekly basis has forced the offensive line to always strive to improve, since one bad performance could be enough to lose a starting spot.
“It’s pretty much whatever you’ve done lately,” said Redmond, who had to fight to earn back his starting spot after recovering from his injury, despite being a Freshman All-American last season.
The offensive line isn’t solely responsible for Hundley’s increased pocket protection. Coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone both praised the running backs for stepping up their pass blocking as well, and acknowledging their efforts have been a factor in the decrease of sack numbers.
Much of the credit for that improvement goes to running backs assistant coach Kennedy Polamalu, whom Mora said has instilled an increased sense of toughness in the running backs.
“If you’re not innately tough, it’s gonna be tough to stick your nose in there and front up a blitzing linebacker because they’ve gotta run at you,” Mora said. “So you better be innately tough and (Polamalu) just demands that of them and brings it out of them.”
Beyond making UCLA’s stats look better, the decrease in sacks allowed and the increase in pass protection have opened the Bruins’ offense up, allowing Hundley to shine in recent weeks.
Even when receivers can’t get open downfield, Hundley still has had enough time to take off and run rather than take sacks. After rushing for just 122 yards in his first five games, Hundley ran for 442 over the past five, corresponding exactly with the improved blocking.
Recently, whenever Hundley throws the ball, Mazzone notices him becoming even more effective in reading the whole field, a product of the time he’s given in the pocket.
“I think Brett has a done a nice job the past couple weeks of moving through his progressions a little bit better,” Mazzone said. “Protection gets a little better so he can move to his second and third progression. So everything feeds off each other and helps each other.”
UCLA got off to an unconvincing start to its season, but since the Bruins have figured out how to protect their quarterback, they’re playing more and more as the top-10 team they were expected to be before the start of the season.