UCLA football fortified by depth in receiving corps

The “Bear Raid” title seemed to better suit UCLA than its Northern California counterpart two plays into Saturday night. On the Bruins’ second play from scrimmage, quarterback Brett Hundley launched a pass nearly fifty yards down the field to connect with sophomore receiver Jordan Payton, setting UCLA up in the red zone. Hundley’s opening salvo to Payton wound up remaining as the game’s biggest gain in the 37-10 UCLA win. The completion stands as the longest gain by a UCLA wide receiver this season.

Despite the lack of a nifty moniker on offense, UCLA’s spread attack has followed its name to a T five games into the season. A committee approach has proven effective for the nation’s No. 17 passing yardage offense: seven wide receivers and 10 Bruins overall caught a pass from Hundley against Cal. No UCLA wide receiver currently owns a 100-yard performance this year.

Redshirt senior Shaquelle Evans and Devin Fuller lead the pack as Hundley’s favorite targets, with the former owning 20 catches on the year and the latter 22. The emergence of Payton and freshman Y receiver Thomas Duarte make a case for an even more generous pass distribution.

Payton collected a combined seven catches for 129 yards in performances against Utah and Cal. More of a possession receiver than a speed demon, Payton muscled his way through numerous tackles on his way to three gains of over 15 yards and a touchdown in Utah.

Payton said that he looks for UCLA to pressure opposing defenses and feature the long ball more as the comfort level in the offense rises.

As suggested by a breakout performance against Cal, Duarte figures to be a factor when UCLA looks downfield moving forward. The freshman totaled 76 receiving yards on three catches, with two of his receptions good for more than 25 yards. Despite owning starts at Y receiver, neither Grayson Mazzone nor Darius Bell, both redshirt seniors, has broken the 40-yard mark in a game this year.

Duarte easily beat a safety on a deep post and leaped for a ball to earn a 27-yard score, his first touchdown at UCLA, that gave UCLA a 24-10 lead over Cal just before halftime. He also showcased some wiggle by catching a long fourth-quarter ball on 3rd and 12: Duarte stopped on a dime and spun away from a would-be tackler before breaking another tackle to gain about 10 extra yards on a 31-yard gain.

Duarte stands at 6 feet 3 inches, giving him four inches of height on current starter Bell and seven inches of height on Mazzone, the Bruins’ season-opening starter. The freshman’s frame fits the notion of the Y receiver position as one that can exploit matchups on defense.

“(At the) Y position, we create those mismatches to where the linebackers can’t run with us, but the safeties can’t come down and bang heads with us,” said Duarte, who was a yard short of another touchdown on his first catch of the game.

The growing productivity of UCLA’s receiving corps comes as no surprise for Shaquelle Evans. The redshirt senior feels he and his fellow receivers are well on their way to earning a superlative name for themselves.

“This is what I predicted,” said Evans. “I knew four or five weeks into the season, I knew that this receiving corps would end up … as one of the best in the conference, and eventually … one of the best in the nation.”

Injury Update

Bell, UCLA’s current starter at the Y receiver position, left Tuesday’s practice after being shaken up on a hit. Coach Jim Mora said that Bell’s ankles “buckled,” and that he expects Bell to play Saturday against Stanford.

On the other side of the ball, Mora said Ellis McCarthy is “99 percent” ready. The sophomore defensive end sat out the Cal game with a head injury suffered in the Utah game.

Mora remained doubtful of Jordan James’s playing prospects in Palo Alto. The redshirt junior, UCLA’s starting running back, is still wearing a walking boot after injuring his ankle in a play against Utah.