UCLA releases post-spring depth chart

Jeff Baca is a jack of all trades and can play anywhere needed along the offensive line as he showed this spring for UCLA.  

If the Bruins coaching staff could have it their way, Baca would be inserted firmly at right guard, the position he’s listed at the top of in UCLA's post-spring depth chart, released by coach Jim Mora on Monday. 

Baca’s insertion is easier scribed on paper than executed on the field.  

There are holes on the offensive line, primarily at left guard and right tackle. Wade Yandall and Alexandru Ceachir are the top two options at left guard. Yandall has missed the majority of spring with a head injury and his return for fall Ccamp is uncertain. Ceachir, as well as redshirt freshman Torian White, who is listed as the starting right tackle, both have a lot of preparation to do before being ready to play on Saturdays.    

“They’re both skilled guys but they’re both very raw. They’re still learning technique,” said Mora of Ceachir and White. “They’re still learning how to play with good pad level and how to move their feet, where to put their hands, and how to communicate – how to work in concert with the guy next to them. So there’s a process that you have you go through.  And the process is you got to take snaps, you got to get reps. You got to fail a little bit in order to learn and so those guys are going through that.  

“That being said, if they’re our best option come the fall then they’re going to go out and they’re going to play and we’re going to expect them to perform.”

Which means Baca may continue to be written in at right guard – in pencil. This gives all the more reason for Mora to not put much stock into the newly released depth chart.  

“In my mind there is no depth chart,” Mora said. “This depth chart is a fluid as water.”  

No position group is as liquefied as the quarterbacks, which are listed numerically on the depth chart.  

They’re going to have to wait until Aug. 16th when Mora may have to force himself to make a decision.  

“At that point, even if we’re feeling like we are right now where no one’s just grabbed it, we’re going to say ‘OK, well, who do we feel is going to give us the best chance to win football games this year?’ And that’s who we’re going to pick,” Mora said. “We’ve got to be consistent at that position. We have to have a guy pulling the trigger that’s going to make good decisions, that’s not going to put his ball club in a position to fail but always give us a chance to win.   

“That doesn’t mean that he’s got to win it for us, but they have to put us in a position to win.”

The head coach is “encouraged” by his quarterbacks and won’t stop offering praise, even for the fourth guy in the battle, Jerry Neuheisel. The new head coach speaking about the son of the old head coach said the son “has a future at this level.”

As he sifts through information over the next couple of months, Mora says he has a “leader” in Kevin Prince and “the guys rally around him.” The head coach has a quarterback in Brett Hundley who is “poised (and) makes throws in the clutch time,” and in Richard Brehaut who has “some moxy (behind center) and a little bit of athletic arrogance.”

All, just a few of the things he likes about what each brings to the table.

Also drawing a favorable reaction is knowing that Brehaut’s locked in. He’s giving up baseball and putting all of his eggs into the starting quarterback basket.  

“I think it’s significant that Richard has decided to really commit for the next couple of months to football,” Mora said. “I think he feels good about the way he performed this spring and he should. He did a nice job.”

The huge concern on the other side of the ball is depth at inside linebacker.

The Bruins were without their top two inside linebackers, Patrick Larimore (head) and Eric Kendricks (shoulder), during Saturday’s spring game.

“If (Larimore and Kendricks) can stay healthy and play 14 games, every snap on defense, than we’re going to be fine but (at) that position it’s tough to do that. There’s a lot of contact, you’re (sorting) through a lot of trash,” Mora said. “You need to have depth at that position and right now, quite frankly, we don’t have much depth (at inside linebacker).”

Helping in that regard is Damien Holmes’ ability to become versatile in a short period of time.  Holmes, who switched from defensive end to outside linebacker, also showed the ability to play inside as well. That may be the most realistic solution giving the depth the Bruins do have available at outside linebacker, which could come in handy next fall.  

Mora also noted incoming freshman Aaron Porter as a player that can come in and help at inside linebacker.

While the quarterback position and lack of depth at certain areas will certainly be on his mind, all things considered, Mora likes the football team he has as he takes one step closer to the season debut at Rice on Aug. 30.

“I like their willingness to conform to what we’re trying to become. I like the look in their eye but I’m not satisfied by any means with where we are,” Mora said. “We’ve got a ton of work to do.  We’re not even close yet but we’re on the right path.”