OFFENSE: QB Tyrone Swoopes (No. 18, So.)
As if the Longhorns hadn’t lost enough players to dismissals or suspensions before the season, they lost another crucial player last week when starting junior quarterback David Ash was ruled out indefinitely with a head injury. Taking his place for the foreseeable future is sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, who may not be Texas’ most dangerous offensive option, but certainly poses some new challenges for UCLA’s defense.
At 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, Swoopes is built like a linebacker and runs with power, neither of which are attributes typically associated with quarterbacks.
“He’s a big dude, man. And he’s a good player,” said sophomore linebacker Myles Jack. “He’s got an arm, he can run, he’s big, he’s gonna fall forward. You really got to hit him.”
Jack speaks from experience. He and Swoopes were teammates, albeit briefly, when they both played for the West team in the 2013 Army All-American Bowl in high school.
In defending Swoopes, the Bruins seem focused more on his legs than his arm. Swoopes threw for just 176 yards in his start against BYU last week, a 41-7 Texas loss. So the key for the UCLA defense, said redshirt senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa, is to keep Swoopes in the pocket and force him to throw.
DEFENSE: The entire defensive line
UCLA’s offensive line struggled against Virginia’s defensive front, allowing five sacks in the season opener. The unit looked improved against Memphis in week two with starting center redshirt junior Jake Brendel, back in the lineup. The Bruins will need that growth to continue, as Texas’ defensive line will pose the biggest challenge they have faced thus far.
The Longhorn defense is tied for fourth in the nation with 10 sacks through two games.
“Texas has a pretty good defensive line,” Brendel said. “They’re all pretty big, they’re all pretty strong guys. So we’re just gonna have to be disciplined and just on our assignments and everyone has to be on the same page.”
It’s not just one player from the Longhorns doing the damage, 10 different players have contributed on sacks. Leading the pack with 2.5 sacks is junior defensive tackle Malcom Brown (not to be confused with Texas’ senior running back Malcolm Brown). Brown also has five tackles for loss already, also a team high.
Limiting Brown and the rest of Texas’ front seven will be crucial for UCLA, as the Bruins want to improve on establishing their run game and protecting redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.