Najee Toran lines up in new position for sophomore season

At the end of UCLA’s fifth spring football practice, the one question that’s been dominating the minds of fans since the Alamo Bowl still lingered: Did UCLA pick a starter yet?

“Yeah,” said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. “Jake’s going to start at center. Jordan’s going to start in the X.”

Redshirt senior center Jake Brendel and senior receiver Jordan Payton – the receiver in the X position – were probably not the names people were hoping to hear as Mazzone began circumventing questions regarding UCLA’s next starting quarterback with what he called his “coach speak.” But Mazzone said the names he mentioned were incumbent starters he’d call upon to provide veteran leadership to a team that’s going through a change in quarterback.

“Well the positive is we’ve got a bunch of other guys who’ve been doing this offense for three years,” Mazzone said. “That’s a lot easier than when they’re all new like three years ago.”

As for a timeline for when either redshirt junior Mike Fafaul redshirt junior Jerry Neuheisel, freshman Josh Rosen or redshirt sophomore Asiantii Woulard would be named the successor to Brett Hundley, Mazzone doesn’t foresee himself giving that answer anytime in the near future.

“By Virginia,” Mazzone said. “We’ll go through spring. Like I told these kids last year, their world changed when Brett walked off this field for the last time. … They’re all in the mix, they’re all going to get opportunities to perform.”

Behind enemy lines

Prior to spring practice, coach Jim Mora and sophomore defensive lineman Najee Toran had a little chat.

After a freshman season in which Toran started one game at left guard, Mora thought it was time for Toran to play on the other side of the ball.

As Toran recalled, his face did a good job at hiding the excitement about the news he’d been waiting a while to hear.

“On the inside I was jumping for joy. … I’ve been wanting to play defense since my freshman year,” Toran said. “Once they told me, on the inside I was like, ‘That’s what I’m talking about! I’m ready to go.’ But on the outside I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll play.’ I was calm.”

For Toran, his experience playing on the offensive line last season and for a bulk of his high school career has helped him with the cerebral side of the game.

What other players on the defensive line will have to pick up through copious amounts of video, Toran already knows through experience.

“You can tell where (the ball) is going,” Toran said. “Certain things that (the offensive lineman) say, they tell you what they’re going to do.”

On the physical side, defensive line coach Angus McClure was able to pinpoint which part of the defensive game Toran will need to get a better grasp on.

“Using his hands before his feet,” McClure said. “It’s opposite of what he’s been doing and we’ve done some elementary drills to teach him how to do that, some balance drills so he can learn, he’s picked them up quickly. He’s quite an athlete.”

As for the athlete going through the position change, Toran said he saw a more holistic approach to developing himself into a defensive asset.

“Everything,” Toran said with a laugh, “It’s a new position, so everything’s got to get better. In O-line I already knew, I’ve been doing it for so long it was easier for me. Now it’s a whole new world, I just got to get better at everything.”

But the hands-on approach that Toran has been given with the spring football sessions has allows the lineman a chance to adapt to the defensive game without the pressures of a looming Saturday game.

That was a reason McClure said he decided spring would be the right time to give Toran a chance to try his hand at rushing, rather than protecting the passer. And it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

“I love to get a guy who’s never played defense before, teach him the base fundamentals of defensive line and watch him grow,” McClure said. “He got almost half the reps today, so he’s playing defensive tackle, possibly a little nose down the road.”

With a chunk of spring practice over, Toran has nine scheduled practices left before the showcase on April 25 to keep working on his new position, and have a good time doing it.

“I’m having a whole bunch of fun,” Toran said. “Getting to the ball, tackling people … that’s what we do out here. It’s fun to me.”