School is still not in session for UCLA, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to hand out some grades.
Terribly cheesy intro aside, here’s the unit-by-unit report card for the Bruins’ 42-21 win over UNLV.
Quarterbacks: B
The expectations for sophomore Josh Rosen are so high that it’s tempting to give him a lower grade because he missed on a few passes, and still hasn’t found success throwing the deep ball this season. But if you watch the footage, Rosen played well overall.
He completed 23 of 38 passes, and at least five of those incompletions were drops by his receivers.
There were other tremendous throws, too, that didn’t end up helping his stat line.
Late in the first quarter, he connected with redshirt senior receiver Kenneth Walker for a big gain that was called back because of an ineligible receiver downfield. Rosen executed a play fake, stayed patient and slung a bullet to the far sideline with a pass rusher bearing down on him.
In the second quarter, Rosen flung another pass to Walker, this time throwing off his back foot in the face of pressure and still managing to put the ball right on the money. Walker caught the ball but couldn’t keep his feet in bounds.
I’m not comparing Rosen to Aaron Rodgers, but that’s a Rodgers-type throw in terms of the high velocity and precise placement he manages from an off-balance throwing angle.
That arm talent plus his intelligence and ability to see the field are the big reasons he’s on his way to being the top pick in the 2018 draft. All were on display on his second-quarter touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mossi Johnson.
UNLV wasn’t doing anything creative defensively, but Rosen read the single-high safety, sent redshirt freshman tight end Caleb Wilson in motion to the left side, looked the safety off in that direction and fired a seed to Johnson on a post for the touchdown.
There just aren’t many college quarterbacks that make that touchdown happen.
For the most part, Rosen had time to throw against UNLV, facing no pressure on 28 of his 41 drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus, and completing 71.4 percent of his passes on those snaps.
The site noted after Week 1 that Rosen had trouble against pressure, and the trend continued against the Rebels, according to PFF data. On the 13 snaps on which he faced pressure, Rosen completed only 27.3 percent of his passes for just 20 of his 267 yards.
His ability to deal with opponents’ pass rush is definitely something to watch going forward. It will also be interesting to see if Rosen can eliminate some of the physical mistakes he’s made in the first two weeks.
The Bruins’ first touchdown drive of the fourth quarter was keyed by a third-down targeting call on UNLV safety Kenny Keys, and if not for that game-changing penalty, Rosen might be under more scrutiny for his pair of misfires leading up to it.
He also has yet to find his touch on deep throws. Though he’s certainly got the arm strength to be a strong downfield threat, Rosen has underthrown or slightly overthrown nearly every deep ball this season.
Running backs: A-
Sophomore running back Soso Jamabo looked like the five-star recruit he is, making several special runs. Everyone by now has seen his incredible, field-reversing second touchdown so I’ll highlight another run. If not quite as flashy – okay, it’s not nearly as flashy, but what is? – as that second touchdown, his third touchdown is more indicative of sustainable success.
[Related: Jamabo and fellow sophomore running back Bolo Olorunfunmi seek to blaze their own paths at UCLA]
The blocking on this play is good, but it’s not exceptional. That Jamabo is able to make it seven yards into the end zone untouched is a testament to his patience, his vision and his quickness.
True freshman running back Brandon Stephens also saw plenty of the ball Saturday, running for 71 yards on 11 carries. He was at his best when he was able to bounce outside and take off down the sideline, ripping off runs of 15 and 22 yards. The 205-pound Stephens is not a bruiser by any means, but he did break three tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. And even when he’s not running free toward the boundary, he’s got nice change of direction and acceleration.
With Jamabo and Stephens leading the way, the running backs looked like the best unit on the field for UCLA.
Wide receivers and tight ends: C
One of the five drops was by Jamabo, but four drops is still too many, and the Bruin wideouts failed Rosen on other plays that wouldn’t be categorized as drops.
Walker should have kept his feet in bounds on the sideline throw mentioned earlier. Redshirt junior receiver Eldridge Massington failed to come up with a deep ball that was underthrown but ended up hitting him in the hands. Redshirt junior wideout Darren Andrews received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that contributed to UCLA’s third-quarter offensive malaise.
There were encouraging signs for the unit, however.
Though Andrews is still far from being the go-to guy that Jordan Payton was last year, he has clearly established himself as a reliable option. He hauled in all three of his targets Saturday, marking the 10th straight game in which he has caught multiple passes.
Redshirt senior receiver Ish Adams has already established his playmaking ability but Saturday, he showcased it on offense for the first time. After a subpar game against Texas A&M, Adams made multiple big plays for the Bruins early on.
Here, he converts a fourth down on a quick out route from the slot. After picking up the first down, he breaks a tackle and picks up even more yardage – 38 of his 42 yards Saturday came after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus.
Among the receivers, the breakout star of the game was clearly redshirt sophomore wideout Jordan Lasley, who contributed three key fourth-quarter catches for 61 yards. Lasley played less than five snaps through the first three quarters, but in the final period he showed a surprising amount of chemistry with Rosen. Watch this back-shoulder throw-and-catch they produced in the red zone.
Here’s a better look at Lasley working against UNLV’s best corner, senior Torry McTyer.
The two pass-catching stars of the Texas A&M game, Walker and redshirt sophomore tight end Austin Roberts, turned in disappointing showings Saturday. Walker caught just one of his four targets and dropped two others, while Roberts was held without a catch.
[Related: Kenneth Walker III nearly got expelled in high school, but now he’s working toward the NFL]
During the offseason, the UCLA coaching staff often said that the tight end would be a crucial part of the passing game. But, even though the Bruins used at least one tight end – and often two – on nearly every snap Saturday, Rosen only completed one pass to a tight end – a 10-yard connection with redshirt senior tight end Nate Iese.
Offensive line: B
As I mentioned earlier, Rosen only faced pressure on 13 of his 41 drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus.
That’s an encouraging number for the offensive line, but by no means did the unit dominate its Mountain West opponents, which could be cause for alarm with BYU and Stanford coming up.
It will help if the Bruins can get redshirt junior starting right guard Poasi Moala back from a wrist injury. Filling in for Moala on Saturday, junior Najee Toran graded very poorly, according to Pro Football Focus‘s player grading.
Here, on the play that ended with the targeting call, Toran gets beaten badly by UNLV lineman Mike Hughes Jr.
Redshirt senior left tackle Conor McDermott is the best member of the line group and performed well Saturday. He did give up the only sack of the day when he was caught off balance by UNLV linebacker LaKeith Walls, but McDermott’s error was exacerbated by the fact that Toran failed to recognize a stunt on the interior until Hughes Jr. had eroded much of the pocket.
Right tackle Kolton Miller was called for three penalties Saturday. Aside from the penalties, the redshirt sophomore showed occasional inconsistencies in his pass sets – he’s still learning to sink his 6-foot-9 frame down to build stability. Miller also flashed impressive athleticism for a tackle, though, especially when pulling or blocking for screens.
Defensive line: B–
Watch the UCLA defensive tackles get driven backward on this play.
That would not have happened with redshirt junior lineman Eddie Vanderdoes in the game. Plays like that are why the prevailing sentiment among Bruin fans after Saturday’s game seemed to be that the line struggled once Vanderdoes exited.
To an extent, that’s true. The Bruins just weren’t going to be as good without their star defensive tackle. There was nobody in the backfield consistently wreaking havoc the way Vanderdoes does. But for the most part, the linemen did their jobs.
Junior Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, forced to play pretty much every position along the line, showed some pass-rushing ability. He helped produce redshirt senior Randall Goforth’s first interception of the day, pounding Rebel quarterback Johnny Stanton after using a viciously quick swim move to make the UNLV left guard look foolish.
Defensive tackle Eli Ankou led the team in tackles, which would be encouraging if a decent chunk of those were in the backfield or even close to the line of scrimmage. But many of Ankou’s takedowns came yards beyond the line.
Ankou looks like he might still be adjusting to the team’s shift to a 4-3, as he often stays engaged with his blocker in the run game the way that a two-gap nose tackle would.
The Bruins actually lined him up at nose a few times, and Ankou looked very natural. Look at him muck up this Rebel run by grabbing control of center Will Kreitler, sticking his helmet in one A gap and then shedding Kreitler to assist on the tackle when the ball-carrier cuts the other way.
That’s pretty much textbook.
Aside from Vanderdoes, who graded very positively even in limited action, every player along the Bruins’ defensive line graded around average, according to Pro Football Focus.
That’s about as much as you can ask for from a depleted unit.
Linebackers: C-
This grade is saved somewhat by senior Jayon Brown’s steady presence. Though the senior made a couple errors in coverage, his instincts and speed are crucial for the Bruins’ run defense.
Brown played every single snap and posted seven tackles.
Tailor-made for a 4-3 defense, Brown is very fun to watch because he trusts his instincts, and that decisiveness allows him to make plays.
Watch him knife downhill through the line to make this stop on a third-and-two.
Whereas Brown is decisive and constantly active in the run game, middle linebacker Kenny Young often seems slow to react. It was nice to see the junior unleashed on a blitz in the third quarter – he picked up UCLA’s first sack of the season – because it showed what he can do when he’s running downhill freely.
Contrast that with Young’s work in run defense. Watch how long it takes him to diagnose that this is a run play.
By the time he starts to play the run, the back is already a couple yards past the line of scrimmage. Young gets the tackle but only after an eight-yard gain.
Middle linebacker is generally considered the hardest position to play in a 4-3, and it makes sense that Young won’t be flying to the ball the way Brown does. But so far, Young seems to be in an adjustment period with the new role. His instincts just aren’t there yet.
It’s hard to blame him. In the above GIF, Young has to make a challenging read. It looks like he’s responsible for the flat zone on the left side of the field. With three receivers lined up over there and the quarterback rolling in that direction, it’s an important responsibility.
But in a perfect world, your Mike linebacker reads the run quicker and comes up to lay a thumping hit on the ball-carrier.
Sophomore Josh Woods saw a lot of time at the strong-side position Saturday, and settled in as the game wore on.
He’s got the athleticism to cover tight ends, but he was ineffective when blitzing and still needs to figure out how to harness his speed as a run defender.
Secondary: B
Let’s start off with a fun GIF.
That’s redshirt senior Fabian Moreau pretty much sealing the game for the Bruins by batting away a third-down slant to star Rebel receiver Devonte Boyd.
Midway through Saturday’s matchup, the coaching staff assigned Moreau to follow Boyd wherever he lined up.
The Rebels continued to target Boyd whenever Moreau dropped into zone coverage. In the second half, though, Moreau played press man coverage on nearly every snap and held Boyd without a single catch on five targets after halftime.
After grading very well in coverage against Texas A&M, sophomore Nate Meadors posted the worst grade of any Bruin defensive back Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus.
With fellow safety Jaleel Wadood out, Goforth played more of a single-high “center fielder” type role in coverage than he had the previous week and was rewarded with two interceptions. He was targeted six times, per Pro Football Focus, and allowed just one reception while also posting a deflection.
Missed tackles plagued the Bruin secondary for the second straight week. A crucial one by sophomore Octavius Spencer allowed UNLV running back Lexington Thomas to rip off a back-breaking 37-yard run, and one of redshirt sophomore Adarius Pickett’s three missed tackles let Rebel back David Greene pick up a key third down in the second half.