Pac-10 Position Breakdown: Offensive Line – UCLA Bruins
While Arizona State wore the shameful crown of having the conference’s most sacked quarterback of 2008 in Rudy Carpenter with 34, UCLA gave up just as many; they just spread the wealth a little. Kevin Craft took the bulk of the sacks with 32, and backup Chris Forcier took two as well.
Kevin Craft had a miserable season leading one of the nation’s most anemic offenses last year, and much of that had to do with some terrible decision making on his part. But when the offensive line is consistently letting the pocket around the quarterback collapse, it is difficult to fault the quarterback entirely for making a bad decision or two (or three, or four…)
Riddled with injuries last season, the UCLA linemen never had a chance to build any chemistry together or get comfortable in one spot, as they were constantly being shuffled around and subbed in and out. For the glass-half-full types out in Westwood, this shuffling did give a lot of these guys valuable playing time, as well as giving the coaching staff a good chance to evaluate each player’s strengths and weaknesses. Coach Rick Neuheisel will have plenty of options, depth, and healthy competition all the way up to and through the 2009 season.
Coach Rick Neuheisel doesn't look too confident
Left Tackle:
60 Jeff Baca, 6-4, 305, Sophomore
78 Brett Downey, 6-7, 285, (RS) Freshman
- Baca played in nine games last season and started eight at left tackle as a true freshman (missed some time with a strained hamstring), and was named to the rivals.com Pac-10 All-Freshman team. Baca’s true position is at guard, where he will likely see some playing time this season as well, but he played so admirably at left tackle last season that he has given Neuheisal the choice to leave him there to get his best five guys out there on the line. A versatile young player that can even play a bit of center as well, Baca figures to be a staple of this line for years to come.
Left Guard:
73 Micah Kia, 6-5, 320, Senior
55 Sonny Tevaga, 6-5, 345, Junior
- Just one of two Seniors in the offensive line core for UCLA, Kia possesses good agility for his size and has proven to be both durable and versatile over the course of his three-year career at UCLA. Last season Kia played in all 12 games at three different positions (LT, RT, and LG), and played at least 50 snaps in five of the 12 games. Kia brings experience to a very young core.
Center:
51 Kai Maiava, 6-1, 322, Sophomore
57 Jake Dean, 6-4, 311, Junior
- An extremely tough transfer out of Colorado, Maiava has sat out his required year and will compete for (and likely win) the center job at UCLA. He became just the eighth true freshman since 1972 to start on the line in Colorado when he did so in 2007, recording 74 knockdown blocks (second most on the team) in the process. He was also tied for the team lead with five touchdown blocks and received many All-Freshman honors. With three years of eligibility remaining, UCLA fans have plenty to be excited about in Maiava. Jake Dean filled in admirably at the position last season and will provide depth when called upon.
Right Guard:
75 Nick Ekbatani, 6-5, 308, Senior
77 Darius Savage, 6-4, 335, Junior
- The only other Senior in the lineman core, Ekbatani was the only lineman to start in all 12 games last season, starting the first six games at right guard and the last six at right tackle. Like Kia, Ekbatani brings leadership, versatility, and durability to a young core.
Right Tackle:
65 Mike Harris, 6-5, 314, Sophomore
72 Sean Sheller, 6-5, 295, Junior
- Mike Harris missed Spring Practice with a fractured bone in his foot, but figures to be ready by Fall camp and will likely claim the job. After recovering from an ankle sprain last season, Harris started five games at right tackle and did a good job in them.
Sheller has been extremely unlucky over the course of his young career, suffering season-ending injuries before the season even started in both 2006 and 2008 (he red-shirted in 2007). Loaded with talent (Was a four-star rated prospect at both rivals.com and scout.com) but lacking game experience, Sheller is a risky choice as a starter but too good of a player to spend too much time on the bench. Definitely expect him to see playing time in 2009, be it as a starter or the first called upon when injuries/struggles set in.
My Take
With an extremely talented young core featuring guys like Jeff Baca, Kai Maiava, Mike Harris, and Sean Sheller (not to mention a few four-star 2009 OL recruits in Stanley Hasiak and Xavier Su’a Filo), there is no question that the future is bright for this offensive line.
That said, I think the future is probably still a year away. With so many young players on the line likely to go through the growing pains that young lineman often do and without a truly shut-down kind of veteran on the line, this will very likely be a unit that has some great games and some very bad games.
Last year’s experience should help the line be a bit better than it was last year, but I’m expecting this year’s step forward to be a small one, with a potentially huge one coming in 2010. Credit Neuheisal for getting so many good pieces in place so quickly, and remember that successful football programs aren’t built overnight; but the future looks promising.
UCLA Bruins
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Football, Jake Dean, Jeff Baca, Kai Maiava, Micah Kia, Mike Harris, Nick Ekbatani, Offensive Line, Sean Sheller
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