UCLA Football’s Most Intriguing Spring Camp Position Battles

The Bruins are kicking off spring camp on Tuesday, meaning some of their biggest rising stars will get their first shot at earning a starting job.

Of course, UCLA football won't release a depth chart until a few days before its Week 1 contest against Coastal Carolina in September. Still, top recruits and key transfers will be making important first impressions on the Bruins' coaches over the next month.

Plenty of starting jobs have been vacated this offseason, and spring camp is when the staff starts to get a feel for who could be the best replacements.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Zach Charbonnet, Jake Bobo, Atonio Mafi and Stephan Blaylock are among the players who are gone, and their former roles will be coveted by players all over the roster.

Here are some of the most important, intriguing and interesting position battles that will get underway at the Wasserman Football Center this April.

Quarterback

Contenders: Dante Moore, Ethan Garbers, Collin Schlee

Chip Kelly is going into his sixth year as UCLA's head coach, and this will be his first without Thompson-Robinson.

Instead of having a dynamic veteran security blanket to fall back on, Kelly may have to reshape his offense around a new signal-caller, and he has plenty of options heading into the spring.

First up is Dante Moore, Sports Illustrated's No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2023. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback threw for 2,392 yards, 32 touchdowns and three interceptions on 69.4% completion percentage with a 188.7 passer rating his senior year at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School (MI), also rushing for 235 yards and five touchdowns.

Moore, despite his inexperience as a true freshman, is probably the favorite for the starting position. The Bruins went all out to pick up his commitment in December, and they wound up signing their first five-star quarterback since Josh Rosen when it was all said and done.

In today's modern era of college football with the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals, it would be very risky for Kelly to stash Moore on the bench this season. However, Kelly is a traditionalist, and he won't hand Moore the starting job if he doesn't show enough potential in both spring and fall camp.

After all, Kelly has two veterans he could turn to if Moore isn't living up to the hype right away.

Ethan Garbers transferred to UCLA from Washington in 2021, and he backed up Thompson-Robinson in each of the past two seasons. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound redshirt sophomore has appeared in 11 games for the Bruins, completing 64.8% of his passes for 599 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions on a 127.9 passer rating.

Collin Schlee just transferred to UCLA out of Kent State in December, coming off his first year as a starter in the MAC. Schlee, who comes in at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, passed for 2,109 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 59.0% completion percentage and 139.0 passer rating in 2022, also rushing for 489 yards and a touchdown.

Neither Garbers or Schlee have the athleticism or arm strength of Moore, but they are likely steadier in the pocket.

Running Back

Contenders: Carson Steele, TJ Harden, Keegan Jones, Anthony Adkins

Based on the way Kelly and running backs coach DeShaun Foster have utilized their backfields in the past, UCLA will likely heavily rotate ball-carriers. There will, however, still be a leading man in the ensemble.

Losing an All-American in Charbonnet – as well as many of the starting offensive linemen who paved the way for him – will sting, but Kelly has always managed to run an effective ground attack.

Carson Steele transferred in from Ball State earlier in the offseason. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back boasts a similar physical profile to Charbonnet, and he stuffed the stat sheet as a sophomore last year to the tune of 1,722 yards and 15 touchdowns from scrimmage on 318 touches.

Anthony Adkins also transferred in from Army, where he last played in 2021. As a 6-foot-1, 255-pound power back, Adkins was able to rush for 355 yards and five touchdowns on 76 carries.

Keegan Jones is the most experienced returning Bruin back, as he helped back up Charbonnet last season. The shifty, 5-foot-9 receiving back caught 21 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 320 yards and four touchdowns on 73 carries.

TJ Harden started to get some action as a true freshman late last season, finishing the year with 325 yards and two touchdowns on just 44 carries in six games. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Harden also fits the traditional mold for a successful running back in Kelly and Foster's system.

All four of the backs will likely get a solid amount of play this season, but Jones and Adkins' roles will likely be more restricted. Jones hasn't proven to be much more than a receiving back thus far, and Adkins projects as a short-yardage fullback more than anything else.

The competition between Steele and Harden will be one to watch, with Harden's growth determining how much he can chip into Steele's reps. The staff really seems to like Harden, so even though they brought in a highly-accomplished veteran in Steele, the young back from Inglewood High School (CA) has a real shot to earn significant snaps starting this spring.

Linebacker

Contenders: Darius Muasau, Kain Medrano, Ale Kaho, JonJon Vaughns, Oluwafemi Oladejo

The Bruins will also likely rotate a lot at linebacker, but there are a ton of bodies for Ken Norton Jr. to work in this year.

Darius Muasau was a steady presence in 2022, leading UCLA with 91 tackles in his first season after transferring in from Hawaii. By the time the second half of the season rolled around, though, Muasau was constantly getting burned in coverage and missing tackles.

Kain Medrano was a little more technically sound and better in coverage, but he missed four games as a redshirt junior. The long, rangy linebacker finished the season with 38 tackles and 1.5 tackle for loss – both career highs.

JonJon Vaughns won't be at spring camp, since he's busy playing for UCLA baseball. However, Vaughns' 53 tackles and position-best five pass deflections helped him carve out a consistent role in 2022, and he will likely hold on to that spot at least until he returns.

Ale Kaho missed all of last season with a foot injury, but the former Alabama transfer is set to return this year. After recording 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and a punt block in 2021, Kaho has a chance to break out even further if he gets back to full health.

Oluwafemi Oladejo transferred in from Cal in December, coming off a breakout sophomore season of his own. Starting six games for the Golden Bears, Oladejo racked up 91 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. While it is true that somebody on Cal had to get tackles, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker did impress against Pac-12 competition.

How many of these veterans will take the field at once is dependent on how first-year defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn shakes up the base defense. There is also a deep pool of reserve linebackers, including Choe Bryant-Strother, Jalen Woods and four incoming freshmen.

Kaho's health and Vaughns' absence will give the others some time to shine in spring, and they're going to need as many reps as they can get this offseason.

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