Bruin defense could likely recover from loss of cornerback Ishmael Adams

This post was updated on Sept. 2 at 11:17 p.m.

It’s been a rough few months for Ishmael Adams.

In spring, the redshirt junior was demoted from starting cornerback to nickel back as fellow redshirt junior cornerback Marcus Rios rose ahead of him on the depth chart. In fall training camp, Adams suffered an ankle injury, which sidelined him for most of the first week.

Then, most recently, Adams was arrested early Sunday morning after allegedly stealing a cell phone from an Uber driver. That offense got Adams suspended indefinitely by coach Jim Mora, ruling him out of Saturday’s season opener against Virginia.

“As a football coach, as a parent, you hate to see young men get themselves into bad situations,” Mora said. “One thing that I do is I take this very seriously and I take this very personally as well.”

These events have put Adams’ career on a downward path. The question for the Bruins is whether they will fall with him.

Adams was integral to UCLA last year, starting every game and leading the team with two defensive touchdowns. His 95-yard pick-six at Arizona State was perhaps the Bruins’ most pivotal play all season, and his performance against Virginia was key in a 28-20 UCLA win. Adams also provided value and explosiveness as a kick and punt returner, finishing 26th in the nation with an average of 9.2 yards per punt return.

With his versatility and speed, Adams is hard to replace. But if there’s one team in the Pac-12 that can do it, it’s probably UCLA.

“There is more depth now at the (cornerback) position than we have ever had since I’ve been here,” Mora said in the spring.

The Bruin cornerbacks proved Mora right in fall camp, outperforming every defensive position group. Rios looked particularly strong, making Adams’ absence more of an afterthought than a pressing concern.

There’s little reason to believe that Rios won’t continue to impress in the season opener against Virginia. The Cavaliers’ passing game is pedestrian at best, and they only have one big-play receiving threat in 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior wide receiver Canaan Severin.

With Rios having essentially replaced Adams at cornerback already, the only other positions that UCLA needs to account for are kick returner and punt returner. Special teams and linebackers coach Scott White said he has those positions covered for the season opener against Virginia.

“We’re looking at (senior receiver) Devin Fuller (and redshirt junior free safety) Randall Goforth – (they) will be our main two,” White said. “Our starting punt return guy will be Randall Goforth, so it will be those two really handling most of the return duties.”

Missing from that list is sophomore wide receiver Mossi Johnson, who White was considering as a starting return man back in August.

“Ball security – that’s the main thing; that’s why we’ve got Mossi back there (on returns),” White said on Aug. 17.

Johnson is also the most explosive returner on the team outside of Adams, statistically speaking. Last year, Johnson finished second behind Adams with a long kick return of 67 yards and a 22-yard kick return average. He didn’t have a punt return.

Fuller is a viable selection for the kick return spot, but he’s lacked some of Johnson’s big-play ability in that department. There’s no doubt Fuller has speed and quickness, but he had two kick returns for an average of just 10 yards last year. The longest return of Fuller’s career is 38 yards and it came back in 2013.

As for Goforth, he returned one punt last year for six yards before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.