UCLA Football: A Sneak Preview Of The Bruins' 2024 Offense
Welcome to the Big Ten, UCLA!
Though there's still plenty of time before the 2024-25 season commences, it's never too early to look ahead and talk football. In this case, we're going to analyze the UCLA Bruins and their prospects on the offensive side of the ball.
On paper, the schedule will be quite challenging. 247Sports has UCLA's upcoming slate ranked as the fifth-hardest schedule in the entire country.
Within the 12-game schedule, UCLA has road games at Hawaii, LSU, Penn State, Nebraska, and Washington. For good measure, the Bruins will host (among others) Iowa, Fresno State, Oregon, and USC.
Even with Chip Kelly's squad missing games versus Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, this collection of games will not be a walk in the proverbial park.
It would be prudent to break down the team position group by position group. While the combination of the transfer portal and NFL defections have impacted the roster some, the vast majority of the offense is slated to return.
*Note: These hypothetical depth charts are as of 1/17. Transfers can still happen between this date and the beginning of the season.
QUARTERBACK
Expected starter: Ethan Garbers
Reserves: Collin Schlee, Justyn Martin, Luke Duncan, Karson Gordon, Henry Hasselbeck
The quarterback room does have some returning experience. It was a gigantic coup for Ethan Garber to announce his return to Westwood. The former Washington transfer led the team to a bowl victory over Boise State.
While not blessed with a gigantic arm or elite athletic ability, Garbers does play the game with grit and moxie. He makes enough plays to keep his team in the game, and he also does a decent job of not turning the ball over (evidenced by an 11:3 TD-to-INT ratio in 2023).
After toggling back and forth between Garbers and Dante Moore all year long, Kelly doesn't have to worry about that situation rearing its ugly head again. Moore left the program and is now with the Oregon Ducks. Losing a 5-star prospect is truly a tough pill to swallow. With that said the marriage between Moore and UCLA never seemed idyllic.
Garbers will unquestionably be the starter heading into the 2024 season. He'll surely be a team captain and is by all accounts one of the more popular players on the team.
UCLA does have the luxury of having a very capable and experienced backup QB in Collin Schlee. Especially a threat to make plays in run-designed calls, you can expect Schlee to be used as a change-up option at times.
Martin is arguably the most innately talented quarterback on the roster, though he has minimal experience up to this point. Duncan will be a redshirt freshman, and the duo of Gordon and Hasselbeck (son of NFL great Matt) will be true freshmen.
RUNNING BACK
Expected starter: TJ Harden
Reserves: Keegan Jones, Anthony Adkins, Isaiah Carlson, Cameron Jones, Deshun Murrell
You might think UCLA could be in trouble when analyzing the production exiting stage left. The team's leading rusher -- Carson Steele -- surprised everyone by leaving for the NFL Draft. He accrued 847 yards and 6 TDs on the year.
However, when doing a deeper dive into the situation, the Bruins will be just fine. I'll even go a step further and say the unit will be better/more talented than it was a year ago.
The main reason? TJ Harden.
Harden was no slouch last year. In somewhat of a running back by committee approach, he had 827 yards (5.3 YPC) and 8 TDs. His coming out party may have come in the bowl win. In that game, Harden accrued 105 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.
While the numbers between Harden and Steele are similar, there's reason to think Harden will eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in 2024. Steele was known for his ability to break tackles. This wasn't necessarily by design. While a tough runner, he lacked the top-end burst to cleanly explode through running lanes. As such, Steele broke tackles out of necessity rather than by coincidence.
In comparison, Harden is a much quicker and generally faster player. With more touches, he should provide the offense with a greater threat at chunk plays.
Speaking of which, UCLA recently learned that Keegan Jones would return to the team. After entering the portal and committing to UConn, Jones decided to instead rethink that decision.
With Steele gone, Jones immediately becomes RB2 with a real shot at furthering his potential NFL Draft stock. His return to the squad gives UCLA a real thunder-lightning look. Jones is arguably the fastest player on the team. With legit 4.3 speed, he's shown flashes of being a real threat when out in space. His vision has improved from when he was a younger player, and there's no reason to think he won't be an integral member of the offense.
If healthy, this duo should be good enough to be among the upper-half one-two rushing duos in the Big Ten this year.
TIGHT END
Expected starter: Moliki Matavao
Reserves: Hudson Habermehl, Jack Pederson, Sam Summa
Perhaps the biggest loss of the portal this offseason on the offensive side of the ball was that of Carson Ryan. While he didn't put up monster numbers, Ryan had the look of a player ready for a breakout 2024 season. He ended up transferring to his home state where he'll suit up for the Utah Utes.
However, Matavao and Habermehl return to give UCLA two veteran 6'6" targets with playing experience. The depth at the position is not the greatest -- though these two should see plenty of time.
WIDE RECEIVER
Expected starters: J. Michael Sturdivant, Logan Loya, Kyle Ford
Reserves: Rico Flores, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Braden Pegan
While the Bruins lose three contributors from last year (Ryan Cragun, Kam Brown, Josiah Norwood), the team's top three receivers from last year (Sturdivant, Loya, Ford) all return.
Loya ended up leading the team in catches (59), receiving yards (655), and touchdown grabs (five). He was the security blanket for all of UCLA's quarterbacks, especially on short, manageable throws.
Sturdivant's return to the team was one of the better developments in the offseason. From a physical tools standpoint, he might be the most gifted player on the entire roster. He only hauled in 597 yards and 36 grabs this past year. However, in the bowl game versus Boise State, he demonstrated why NFL scouts are drooling over his potential. JMS nabbed four catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. He will undoubtedly be the team's go-to deep threat.
Flores is the best player UCLA poached from the portal to date. Wanting to come back to his native state of California, he followed in the footsteps of many ex-Notre Dame players who bounced back to Westwood. The moment he steps on campus, Flores will be a top-four receiver on this team. Essentially picture a bigger version of Loya with better speed and more physicality.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Projected starters: Bruno Fina, Spencer Holstege, Benjamin Roy, Josh Carlin, Garrett DiGiorgio
Reserves: Tavake Tuikolovatu, Noah Pulealii, Sam Yoon, Siale Taupaki, Jaylan Jeffers
UCLA is slated to return four starters from last year's group. Though this generally would be thought of as a positive, this is where things get tricky.
The offensive line was not good last year, especially as it pertained to pass protection. We saw multiple games in which the group simply could not keep opposing defensive ends from teeing off on whoever was behind center (the Utah game was UGLY).
The interior of the line was passable. In terms of continuity, getting both starting guards back from last year (Josh Carlin, Spencer Holstege) is a good thing. Duke Clemens will have to be replaced at center. Benjamin Roy is a candidate for that spot, though we wouldn't be shocked to see last year's starting LT Bruno Fina slide inside to that position.
Simply put, the tackle spots need immense improvement. Whether it's Fina, Garrett DiGiorgio, highly-touted redshirt freshman Tavake Tuikolovatu, Siale Taupaki, or somebody else, the team's ceiling will be limited in 2024 without some improvement.
OVERVIEW:
This offense has the potential to be better than it was a season ago. There's some real talent in the running back room, competency at quarterback, NFL ability with the receivers, and experience along the offensive line.
To mitigate some pass-protecting issues, I'd like to see Kelly operate with a scheme incorporating quicker throws. This includes screens and direct passes to the perimeter where UCLA's playmakers can get in space. In theory, this game plan would also aid in slowing down a possible rush from the opposition.
If UCLA can get another tackle (or two) in the portal leading up to the season, I'd feel a lot better about the team's chances at finishing the 2024 year with a winning record. Ultimately, it'll all come down to how well the team can protect Garbers.
