Football CB makes up for short stature with savvy

For Ishmael Adams, playing cornerback is a case of mind over matter – if he can get inside the receivers head, it won’t matter if they tower over the diminutive junior cornerback.

Adams has seemed particularly frustrating to receivers, whether it be his aggressive style of play or his talk – the 5-foot-8 defensive back has been a big pain for opposing receivers. One needs to look no further than an early-spring practice scuffle between Adams and freshman wide receiver Mossi Johnson, who stands four inches over the corner. But that’s not to say Adams is incapable of backing up his talk, as he has clearly caught the eyes – let alone the ears – of the UCLA coaching staff.

“He’s doing a heck of a job, I’d say he’s probably had one of the best camps of all the defensive players,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. “He’s just a scrapper, football savvy, high football IQ – for what he doesn’t have in the measurables, he overcomes with his mind.”

For his part, Adams seems determined to ensure his play does that talking for him. The junior said he spent time refining his technique over the winter and has become more comfortable moving inside when the Bruins go to their 4-2-5 nickel package – which they’ve practiced almost exclusively this spring.

“(I’ve) been able to get good hands on wide receivers which is real challenging for them always … and I’m 5-8, so it’s always annoying when you have a smaller guy on you and sometimes you can’t do anything about it,” Adams said.

Rush Committee

UCLA is still trying to figure out just what it will do about its pass rush. The Bruins will be without Anthony Barr and Cassius Marsh who, combined, were responsible for half of UCLA’s sacks a year ago.

Junior outside linebacker Kenny Orjioke will likely fill Barr’s spot on the depth chart, and sophomore outside linebacker Deon Hollins has had a strong spring as well. Meanwhile, redshirt senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa has taken over for Marsh along the defensive line and has drawn rave reviews this spring.

The person most integral to addressing UCLA’s pass rushing may never tackle an opposing quarterback. Enter Mike Tuiasosopo, who was hired in February to coach the outside linebackers and special teams. Prior to coming to UCLA, Tuiasosopo spent time as the defensive line coach for a number of schools and is renowned for his ability to produce pass rushers.

Tuiasosopo’s time in the trenches may prove invaluable to the Bruins, as the team has featured four more lineman sets this spring, as opposed to the typical 3-4 alignment seen under former defensive coordinator Lou Spanos. Additionally, UCLA expects replacing Barr’s productivity to be a group effort and won’t just fall on the shoulders of the player who fills his spot as outside linebacker.

“You want it to be (a group effort). Not just Kenny Orjioke or Deon Hollins, but Owa, Owa’s an unbelievable player,” Tuiasosopo said. “He has a unique combination of speed on the edge, but he also has unbelievable power, great body control. Those three guys in some form of combination with our rush, boy that brings us a lot of hope.”

Hope springs eternal

One player playing with a renewed sense of hope this spring is sophomore cornerback Priest Willis. Willis struggled throughout his freshman campaign and admitted that he lost confidence as the season progressed.

Ulbrich said that he has seen more maturity in his young corner through camp, and Willis acknowledged that his confidence is up, due in part to his increased time on the field this spring after playing sparingly his first season.

“It wasn’t the year I wanted, I wasn’t happy with it, but everyone learns differently. Sometimes you just can’t be a Myles Jack,” Willis said. “I feel like (this) spring was a big learning curve for me and now I’m easing into things and everything is going slower for me now and I’m adjusting to this corner spot.”

While Willis seems eager to leave the mistakes of last year behind, one question that he can’t seem to escape is whether or not that corner spot is the right spot for him. A highly-rated safety his senior year of high school, Willis moved to corner after entering fall camp and has stayed there since.

Willis admitted that he had initially wanted to play safety and struggled moving down to corner. While he remains open to playing either position, Willis reiterated that his main priority is making an impact on the field, regardless of where he lines up.

“I feel like if I’m in the secondary, I want to be a big help for the team. If that’s at safety, I’ll play safety, if that’s at corner, I’ll play corner,” Willis said. “Right now they have me at corner, so they obviously feel a need for me to be there, so I am going to do everything I can to get better at this position.”