Graham, Vanderdoes boost UCLA football’s defensive line

This season marks redshirt senior Keenan Graham’s first year as a 3-4 defensive end, while freshman defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes found himself among the final additions to the UCLA football roster in late July. Though both linemen had their own late starts this year, neither wasted any time in making an impact along the Bruins’ defensive line during a 58-20 thrashing of Nevada on Saturday night.

The six-foot-one-inch, 255-pound Graham made the most of his first start at the position by utilizing the speed and handwork that allow the former linebacker to get away with his atypical size at the position. Graham’s only two tackles were the Bruins’ lone sacks on the night.

His first sack came right before UCLA blew open the game 30-13 with a blocked punt. On third and fourth, the Nevada offensive line slid its protection away from Graham’s side. He fired off into a guard, and seemed to get lost to the television camera in a sea of humanity for a split second.

Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo, however, saw the 255-pounds of Graham, spun to his left and flushed out of the pocket. Fajardo did not even complete his turn before a sprinting Graham swung around the quarterback’s legs to register a 10-yard loss.

“I just had a one-on-one with the guard. The center went away, and the guard shuffled out. (I head faked) right, and then I went left. Got through there, man, (the guard) fell on the ground. Then (Fajardo) tried to roll out, and I was just able to catch him,” Graham said.

Graham said that playing a one-technique, between the center and guard, meshes well with his undersized frame in bringing quarterbacks to the ground.

“My quickness can help me get past offensive linemen, and track those dudes down. Especially playing in that one-technique, it’s hard for them to see me. By the time they try and get away, I’m right there … (The one-technique spot is) the shortest path to the quarterback.”

According to defensive line coach Angus McClure, Graham’s second sack also came against one-on-one blocking. With defensive tackle Kenny Clark getting double-teamed by the left guard and center, Graham cleared his way to the quarterback by beating a lone offensive tackle early in the fourth quarter.

“Ninety percent of the time, our nose guard (defensive tackle) is getting double-teamed. That’s life in a 3-4 defense … any time a nose guard gets a double-team, that can free one of our defensive ends for a single block. And that’s what Keenan did. He beat him to the inside, did a nice job on an arm chop, ripped up and got the sack.”

While Graham’s quickness and handwork paved the way for UCLA’s only sacks of the night, Vanderdoes showcased the strength of his 6-foot-4-inch, 305-pound frame in recording six total tackles, all of the solo variety. No other Bruin lineman tallied more than three tackles against Nevada.

Vanderdoes, who rotates in off the bench at defensive end, dropped Wolf Pack players for a loss twice, and stonewalled Nevada sophomore running back Don Jackson on two plays for no gain. Vanderdoes’ most timely play came on a third and one midway through the third quarter. Singly blocked by a guard, Vanderdoes powered into and stood up a Wolf Pack lineman, then shed the blocker to his right and collapsed onto Nevada running back Kendall Brock, forcing a fourth down.

McClure said that UCLA’s defensive line neutralized the Wolf Pack by pushing back an offensive line looking to establish the run. He said he believes that the play of Graham and Vanderdoes was attributable to the ability of the entire line to knock back and shed blockers.

“It takes the whole entire unit to perform well for others to get accolades, especially in our scheme. Usually a lot of linebackers get the accolades and tackles because of the job we do up front, and I thought our defensive line did a nice job,” McClure said.

In addition to making plays in the Nevada backfield and at the line of scrimmage, Vanderdoes showed off his pursuit abilities by turning to chase down and limit Jackson to a 5-yard gain midway through the third quarter.

Such hustle plays figure to be more common for Vanderdoes as he works on his conditioning. Vanderdoes, who missed several fall camp practices with a back injury, said he could stand to get in better shape and play with an improved motor, although he feels caught up in the mental aspects of the game.

McClure thought Vanderdoes had a “great” game, and applauded such efforts to make plays in front of the line of scrimmage.

“Once we hear that the ball is on the other side of the field … we need to turn and burst to the ball. It’s good to see guys doing that in the games. Any time you can make a play on the other side of the field, it means you’re bursting and using great effort to get there,” McClure said.

The threats to ground and aerial attacks posed by Graham and Vanderdoes, among others, reinforce and bolster a Bruin defensive unit that had the fourth-most sacks in the nation last season, but ranked 73rd out of 124 Football Bowl Series teams in total yardage defense.