UCLA Football Official Depth Chart: Week 7 vs. Washington
The Bruins have released their latest two-deep depth chart.
UCLA football (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) announced its 29 starters and 29 backups for its upcoming game against Washington (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12) as of Monday. Coach Chip Kelly has made it clear that these lineups can shift drastically before their kickoffs on Saturdays, but it is at least an insightful look at where things stand for the Bruins at the moment.
There were a few decisions of note from Kelly and co. this time around, and All Bruins is here to break them all down.
Center/Right Guard
This spot has been a constant point of discussion in UCLA circles for weeks now.
Sam Marrazzo's short-lived return meant the Bruins had to turn back around and continue to improvise at center. Instead of going back to Jon Gaines II, however, Kelly and offensive coordinator Justin Frye moved Gaines back to his natural right guard spot and installed Duke Clemens at center.
Gaines is again starting at right guard and Clemens is back as starting center for the second week in a row.
Clemens is averaging one bad snap a game, launching one by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson in both the Arizona State and Arizona games. But as Kelly pointed out last week, Clemens still graded out very highly looking back at the film of the game against the Sun Devils, and one bad play per game doesn't define his entire performance.
The five-man group, with Atonio Mafi also rotating in at right guard, is going to be the same against Washington as it was against Arizona. The offensive line paved the way for a ground attack that went for 329 yards in that game and kept Thompson-Robinson upright after adjusting to complicated blitz schemes early on.
Kelly and Frye have decided to ride the hot hand, even if that hand continues to launch balls over his quarterback's head. The center and right guard positions have both been pretty fluid to this point, but it looks like the staff is trying to lock things in there as we enter the back half of the season.
Tight End
Mike Martinez's injury against Fresno State has completely changed the Bruins' offense.
Without Martinez, compressed formations with 12 personnel stopped being effective for them. Michael Ezeike, who was finally listed as TE2 behind Greg Dulcich ahead of the Arizona game, is far from the blocker Martinez is and should theoretically thrive more as a pass-catcher based on his history as a wide receiver.
Ezeike is the second-string tight end again this time around, and that's despite his utter ineffectiveness since Martinez went out.
There have only been two instances of Ezeike hearing his name called out this season – first on a cringe-worthy sideline drop against Arizona State, and then when he got called for a holding in pass protection against Arizona.
It all begs the question of whether there is a better option to line up as the second tight end. Throughout fall camp and into the season, players labeled David Priebe as one of the best leaders on the team. The coaches have awarded Michael Churich with scout team player of the week honors multiple times now.
There's obviously only room for two players per position on a two-deep depth chart, but it really seemed like there was a case to be made for either of those two to leapfrog Ezeike and make it on in his place.
Outside Linebacker
It isn't a shock to see Mitchell Agude listed as the starter here, considering he's one of the team's most productive veteran players.
But he temporarily left Saturday's game with an injury and spent time working out on the side outside of team drills at practice Tuesday, so he clearly isn't 100%. Seeing Agude listed here is probably a good sign for his availability against Washington this week, but as we've seen in the past, it doesn't mean it's a sure thing.
The more interesting storyline then becomes the depth behind him.
Myles Jackson is listed as the second-string guy, and he was already getting some decent reps in recent weeks. Jackson has proven he can be effective in game situations by recording his first career sack in the fourth quarter against Arizona and recovering a fumble against Fresno State.
Jackson would then obviously slide up to the starting job in this hypothetical scenario. Since Jackson was getting time with Agude active, whoever steps in to fill Jackson's shoes as the backup would presumably get snaps as well. It would be easier to project things if there were an official three-deep or more access to full walkthroughs at practice like the ones that were available to the media in the past, but instead, it's left up for speculation.
Maybe it's Choe Bryant-Strother, who has yet to record a stat this year, or maybe freshmen Devin Aupiu and Christian Burkhalter get a chance.
Again, it isn't as if Agude has been ruled out or anything – far from it, considering he was a full participant in practice as recently as Monday and could have just been taking Tuesday to slow things down a bit. But if he is unavailable, the defensive end position is one of the few without a ton of experience and depth, meaning the solution to Agude's potential absence would surely be one to keep an eye on.
The full depth chart can be seen here:
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