Breaking down the film on Washington this week, the UCLA football team has had to draw some comparisons.
At 6 feet 6 inches and 276 pounds, Huskies tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins doesn’t have an in-season look-alike. He does, however, serve as a reminder of former UCLA red zone favorite Joseph Fauria, now in his first season with the Detroit Lions.
“(Seferian-Jenkins) reminds me a lot of Joe, except he’s more athletic,” said senior outside linebacker Anthony Barr. “He runs better routes, I think. Not to take anything away from Joe, but (Seferian-Jenkins is) an NFL tight end and he’s going to give us problems so we have to focus on him a little bit.”
After serving a one-game suspension to open the season, the junior tight end has used his unusual height and size to put opposing defenses out of reach to the tune of 306 yards and five receiving touchdowns, three of which have come in Washington’s last four games.
To Barr, Fauria serves as the perfect reference point to the Washington red zone aficionado. To defensive coordinator Lou Spanos, there isn’t a tight end in football whose physical attributes match Seferian-Jenkins’.
“This guy’s a complete player. He catches some balls in space and makes players miss,” Spanos said. “I think he’s his own man. He’s really versatile. I don’t want to make comparisons, but he’s a really good player.”
In trying to gauge the skill level of Washington running back Bishop Sankey, who ranks third in the nation with 145 yards per game, some Bruins have been looking back to last week, when UCLA struggled to contain Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey.
“(Sankey and Carey) have a little bit of a different style,” said coach Jim Mora. “(Sankey is) a glider and he’s tough to tackle. Really good football player. You’re talking about two of the best backs in the nation, maybe the two best backs in the nation back-to-back, so it’s quite a challenge.”
While different styles – and perhaps different ability levels – call for somewhat different game plans in stopping the run Friday, freshman defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes said there has to at least be some trust in the week-to-week product the UCLA defense has been able to put on the field.
“On film, I think Sankey might be better than Ka’Deem. That’s my opinion. I think Sankey’s a little shiftier,” Vanderdoes said. “I don’t think it’s that big of a worry. I think with what we’ve got going for us with practice and what we’re doing right now, I think we’re going to do fine.”
In preparing for any opponent, though, the goal is never to shortchange or overlook.
That holds especially true for a Washington team that, in September, dominated the same Arizona team that UCLA defeated by just five points on Saturday. Averaging more than 500 yards of offense per game, Washington’s dynamic offense presents UCLA with one of its biggest challenges of the season.
At least Vanderdoes thinks so.
“I think they have the most electric players that we’ve seen this year, I think more so than Oregon,” he said. “I don’t think their quarterback is as electric as (Oregon quarterback Marcus) Mariota, obviously, but the receivers and the running back are a little more explosive and shifty.”
The quarterback Vanderdoes mentioned, Keith Price, has had a strong senior campaign so far, throwing 18 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions.
Comparing his game to that of UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley, however, is a bit of a stretch, especially to the defensive backs who face Hundley each day.
Said redshirt junior safety Anthony Jefferson of the quarterbacks’ similarities, “I could see maybe the (jersey number) 17.”