Offense: Junior WR Nelson Agholor (No. 15)
UCLA has faced a wealth of talented and tough-to-defend wide receivers this season.
Cal junior Bryce Treggs, Arizona State redshirt junior Jaelen Strong, Colorado junior Nelson Spruce and Utah senior Dres Anderson are all daunting players to cover.
UCLA’s secondary may face its toughest challenge yet Saturday in USC’s junior wide receiver Nelson Agholor.
“Shoot, I don’t know if we’ve seen a better one,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
Though he ranks just third in the Pac-12 in receiving yards, finding a receiver anywhere in the nation who has recently been playing better than Agholor is a tough task. Over his last four games,`and has scored six touchdowns. In the final two of those games, he had 220 and 216 receiving yards, respectively.
Ulbrich said Agholor’s strengths are his route running, speed and his tenacity to grab the ball in the air.
“He’s got great hands, strong hands,” Ulbrich said. “Even when you get tight coverage on him, he wins a lot of those battles.”
The challenge in defending against Agholor is his teammates. While his abilities often command a double-team, the Bruins can’t always afford to leave their other cornerbacks alone in covering freshman wide receiver JuJu Smith or redshirt junior wide receiver George Farmer without help from the safeties.
“I think you gotta be diverse with your play calling,” Ulbrich said. “At time you gotta help with him and at times you just gotta mix the coverages up so they’re not quite sure what you’re doing.”
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.
Defense: Junior DE Leonard Williams (No. 94)
Leonard Williams has been wreaking havoc for opposing offenses since arriving to USC as a four-star prospect. The Daytona Beach, Fla. recruit started as a true freshman, amassing 64 tackles, 13.5 of them for a loss to go with eight sacks en route to being named the Pac-12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year. The hype has only built from there, and with good reason.
During his time with the Trojans, the junior has emerged as one of, if not the, top defensive lineman in the country and is a likely top-10 pick and a candidate for the first selection in the upcoming NFL draft. He is an extremely tough and productive player as evidenced by being named a 2013 All-American first teamer by ESPN.com, despite playing his sophomore year with a torn labrum.
At 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, Williams possesses the size, power and strength of a defensive tackle but also plays with the speed, acceleration and pass-rushing ability of a top-fight defensive end. Williams has great position versatility and can dominate from just about anywhere on the line.
Williams is a rare athlete for his size, and plays the game violently, making him extremely disruptive in the pass rush. He also has tremendous vision and length, allowing him to shed blocks and locate ball carriers in snuffing out run games.
Williams is altogether one of the most complete and consistent players in the country and is arguably the best defensive player in the nation.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.