UCLA O-line figures out sack problem in recent games

From the very first game of the season, UCLA’s offense has had a problem that keeps cropping up: sacks.

Throughout most of the season, the offensive line has been a study in inconsistency, both in terms of performance and personnel. From redshirt junior center Jake Brendel missing the Virginia game to sophomore left guard Alex Redmond’s ankle injury while playing against Arizona State keeping him out for several weeks, the line has been a revolving door of mixed and matched lineups.

The result hasn’t been pretty. The Bruins rank No. 112 nationally with 26 sacks allowed.

The offensive line’s lowest moment corresponded with the collective team’s: a loss to Utah in which redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley was sacked 10 times.

Since then, the offensive line has completely changed, both in terms of its lineup and its performance.

In the fourth quarter of the Oregon game, one week after the loss to Utah, redshirt sophomore Conor McDermott subbed in at left tackle and has held onto that spot since. In McDermott’s two games as a starter, the Bruins have surrendered just one sack, and the offensive line kept Hundley’s jersey clean in the most recent game against Colorado, giving up zero sacks.

“O-line has been playing amazing,” Hundley said. “And just looking at the film, when you have that kind of pocket as a quarterback, you can’t ask for much more. They’ve been blocking their butts off.”

An overlooked area in which the offensive line has actually excelled all season is in its run blocking. Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins is just four yards away from reaching the 1,000-yard mark on the season and has had holes created for him all year by the line.

But while the offensive line is at its peak heading into this week’s pivotal matchup against No. 12 Arizona, it is also at its most complicated, or rather, most competitive.

Redmond returned from his injury on Saturday to play a few snaps against Colorado, and junior offensive tackle Simon Goines, who has missed the entire season thus far after starting last year, is also available. Throw redshirt freshman offensive guard Kenny Lacy into the mix, and for the first time in years, the Bruins have a logjam of capable players competing for a starting spot.

“At this point in the season last year, it had been a war of attrition, especially on the offensive line. And this year seems like we’re getting some guys back,” said coach Jim Mora. “It’s a completely different vibe than it’s been in the past two years when we were kind of hanging on for dear life.“

The culture of competition that Mora and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm envisioned, which hasn’t been possible for a few years because of injuries, is finally becoming a reality. The starters now will have even more incentive and pressure to perform well, as capable replacements are readily available.

However, despite former starters like Goines and Redmond – who was a first-team freshman All-American last season – returning from injuries, Klemm said he doesn’t anticipate switching up the current starting unit he has.

“I want to have continuity. I don’t want to have a lot of moving parts, especially with (McDermott) being new to it,” Klemm said. “If we have an issue or something like that, then maybe we’ll address it, but until then, just keep on working hard and we’ll see how it goes.”