UCLA Football 2021 Positional Preview: Offensive Line
With UCLA football's shortened offseason already winding down, it's time to start looking ahead to fall 2021 and what lies ahead for the Bruins on the gridiron. Before scouting out opponents and projecting the Pac-12 pecking order, it's best to look within by picking apart how UCLA will shape up on its own sideline.
All Bruins will be breaking down every position group over the next few weeks, and the offensive line is next up. To catch up on the positions already covered, take a look below.
Aug. 9: Quarterbacks
Aug. 10: Running Backs
Aug. 11: Wide Receivers
Aug. 12: Tight Ends
This post was updated Aug. 20 at 6:43 p.m.
Depth Chart
LT1: Sean Rhyan, junior
LT2: Lucas Gramlick, redshirt junior
LT3: Patrick Selna, redshirt freshman
LT4: Thomas Cole, freshman
LG1: Paul Grattan, redshirt senior
LG2: Baraka Beckett, redshirt junior
LG3: Luke Young, redshirt sophomore
LG4: Noah Pulealii, freshman
LG5: Taka Mahe, freshman
C1: Sam Marrazzo, senior
C2: Jon Gaines, redshirt junior
C3: Bruno Fina, redshirt freshman
C4: Beau Taylor, redshirt sophomore
C5: Benjamin Roy, freshman
RG1: Duke Clemens, junior
RG2: Jon Gaines, redshirt junior
RG3: Atonio Mafi, senior
RG4: Siale Taupaki, redshirt sophomore
RG5: Justin Williams, redshirt freshman
RT1: Alec Anderson, redshirt junior
RT2: Garrett DiGiorgio, freshman
RT3: Josh Carlin, redshirt sophomore
RT4: Brad Whitworth, redshirt sophomore
Right off the bat, it's easy to see just how much of an embarrassment of riches the Bruins have up front in terms of depth. With every offensive lineman returning from last year's roster plus the 10 recruits and transfers coach Chip Kelly and offensive coordinator Justin Frye reeled in over the past three offseasons, there are finally enough scholarship players to play and practice four deep at all five spots.
As a result, the vast majority of them won't see snaps on offense this year, and a good amount won't even appear in field goal protection either. Selna, Young, Taylor, Williams and Whitworth all ran with the 3s in spring ball, and most looked pretty good, but they won't get much playing time come this fall.
The same goes for the deep group of rising freshman, as only DiGiorgio looks like he'll be getting some reps while Cole, Pulealii and Roy are going to start the year off deep in the reserves. Mahe is a fun name to keep an eye on, since this is the first time the 6-foot-6, 300-pound walk-on will be playing organized football in five years.
Rhyan is the biggest stud of the bunch, with this fall serving as what will likely be his final showing ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. He is a guy with first round potential, boasting a combination of size, technique and IQ that doesn't come around all that often.
Gramlick has been seen running with the 2s in practice this week, so his 6-foot-7, 310-pound frame will likely stick there heading into his fourth year with the program.
Grattan is a solid, technically-sound left guard, and him having the developed body and football mind of a 23 year old makes him stand out as an all-around veteran with the unit. He is still waiting on charges related to a Feb. 2020 bar fight in Pennsylvania, but assuming he doesn't have to miss time for court dates or jail time, he'll be out there every snap in 2021.
Beckett is a beast, and he looks even more agile and athletic so far this fall than he has in years past. His frame alone makes his ceiling extremely high, and in case he ever has to take snaps this season, he now has the experience to convert that potential into solid play.
Center is where things get fuzzy, really only because Marrazzo is still in and out of practice after missing all of spring ball. He stepped in and became a great leader and centerpiece to the offensive line in 2020 when no one really expected it, but his injury against Stanford in the season finale kind of sent the position into a frenzy.
Marrazzo has been mostly present during fall camp, so he is expected to be the Week 1 starter later this month. When he was out Friday, though, Gaines was running as the No. 1 center and snapping to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, suggesting he is the first backup. Fina also started playing some center in the spring, so he might get a chance there moving forward.
Gaines took the starting right guard job from Clemens by the end of 2020, but that change seems to have flip-flopped over the offseason. Gaines will therefore be the second-string center and second-string right guard, with Fina and Mafi being 2B to Gaines' 2A in both those spots.
Like Mafi, Taupaki is a defensive line transplant with some solid potential due to his size and physicality. However, injuries have hampered him in the past, and although the overlapping depth chart on the interior could create an opening, he doesn't have enough game experience to be relied upon just yet.
Anderson is, under the radar, one of the best right tackles in the Pac-12. He went from in and out of the lineup in 2019 to a reliable, physical leader, and now is his chance to prove 2020 wasn't a fluke.
Carlin just recently returned from injury, as he was on the stationary bike for the first few weeks of fall camp. Even with him back on the field, DiGiorgio was seen taking snaps with the 2s on Friday, making him the freshman most likely to thrive in 2021.
Predictions
That was a lot of names to run though, but most of them won't see the field once the season gets underway in the coming weeks.
That's actually a major positive for UCLA, since it means its 1s – and even its 2s – are reliable, steady presences that provide cohesion coming over from last year. Having all five starters return with only one guy on the two-deep being an underclassman is an unheard of situation in Westwood, especially over the past decade under Kelly and Jim Mora.
The consistency means we can expect much of the same from last year – steady pass blocking on the outside, athletic and creative guard pulls and good communication skills throughout.
In terms of how that will manifest on the scoreboard and box score, the UCLA ball-carriers will again average over 5 yards per carry and 200 yards per game, and Thompson-Robinson's jersey will be kept relatively clean. Bruin quarterbacks took 12 sacks in seven games in 2020, compared to 37 in 12 games in 2019.
We think UCLA will allow fewer than two sacks per game again in 2021, and its run game will flirt with breaking the post-1976 program record of 247.2 yards per game set in 1979.
When you put up a great year under not-so-ideal circumstances, then take a full offseason to prepare for round two, expectations are bound to be high.
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