Report Card: UCLA football spring camp 2016 – Offense

Editor’s note: A player’s year refers to his NCAA eligibility for next season. So a player who is a freshman in school this spring is called a sophomore because he will be a sophomore when the NCAA football regular season starts in fall.

Now that UCLA football’s spring practice season is officially over, it’s time to look back and see how each position group performed overall. Here are our grades for the Bruin offense. Part II, which will look at the defense and special teams, will be released tomorrow.

Quarterbacks: B+

Sophomore Josh Rosen faced his fair share of turmoil in the pocket this spring, as the offensive line constantly buckled before him upon the snap. But even still, Rosen managed to turn in some of the standout throws that he showed the college football world last year.

At least once or twice each practice, Rosen would make a throw that stood out from all the rest, whether it be a touch pass to the back of the endzone or a bullet on a crossing route in coverage. There were still a few too many of those instances, though, where Rosen tried to do too much – such as rolling far out to his right and throwing back against his body.

“If you saw him over the course of the last seven or eight practices, they’re not all great, but you saw some pieces of improvement every time,” said coach Jim Mora. “I think a lot of it is just getting a feel for the receivers he’s throwing to. You know, a lot of these guys he really hasn’t thrown a lot of passes to.”

What will be key for Rosen this offseason, Mora said, is getting some extra work in with his new receiver group to develop rapport.

Behind Rosen, the battle for the backup quarterback spot was a healthy one. Incoming freshman Matt Lynch showed his youth early in camp, throwing multiple interceptions, but gathered his bearings as camp progressed. Meanwhile, redshirt senior Mike Fafaul showed some improved arm strength and rapport with the receivers, making some standout throws that even rivaled Rosen on some days.

As of now, Fafaul looks like the primary option at backup quarterback, but the battle between him and Lynch should persist on into fall camp.

Running backs: A

This was probably the most impressive offensive position group all spring, mostly because of how consistent the group was. While other position groups – like the wide receivers – showed flashes of brilliance here and there, the running backs didn’t really have one off day.

The depth of the group certainly helped with maintaining consistency, as sophomore Soso Jamabo, sophomore Bolu Olorunfunmi and junior Nate Starks all complimented each other very well. Jamabo lowered his pad level significantly from where it was last year during fall camp, and Starks had seemingly two or three highlight-reel juke moves a day.

Meanwhile, Olorunfunmi emerged as the biggest offensive standout of spring camp, Mora said on Saturday. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound bruiser from Clovis, California showed some increased quickness and body control from last fall, and looks to be a key factor in the Bruin offense come 2016. His receiving skills are still a work in progress – Olorunfunmi admitted he had “brick hands” last year – but he looks to be making an improvement in that area as well.

Fullbacks: B+

This group is a new addition to the UCLA offense this year, but it seems to already have made a name for itself. Redshirt sophomore Cameron Griffin used his linebacker and rugby skills to his advantage all spring, paving the way for many of the solid runs by the tailbacks. Griffin also surprised Mora with his soft hands, although he and the other fullbacks don’t figure to play a huge role in the passing game in the 2016 season.

Meanwhile, fellow redshirt sophomore Ainuu Taua brings a completely new level of physicality to the UCLA offense. Weighing over 290 pounds, Taua almost always pushes the pile forward when he is in the game. The converted defensive lineman brings a power attitude to the UCLA offense that was absent before this season, when the team ran spread offense concepts almost exclusively.

Wide receivers: B

This group still has room to grow, but it seemed to take baby steps as camp wore on. After a dropped-passes epidemic spread throughout the camp in week one, the receiver corps improved with running routes and catching the football.

Redshirt senior Kenny Walker finally showed an ability to catch the ball in traffic and with consistency, and redshirt junior Darren Andrews looked to be one of the quicker players on the field. Meanwhile, incoming freshman Theo Howard made a handful of standout plays over the course of camp, drawing “oohs” and “aahs” from spectators at the Intramural Field.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the UCLA receiver group was junior Alex Van Dyke. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver has always had the size and athletic grace to be a star receiver – he was compared to Randy Moss as just a freshman – but he finally showed his full potential in this spring camp.

In past seasons, Van Dyke said he had struggled with mastering the playbook and running crisp routes. But in spring camp, Van Dyke played like a veteran, going over the middle and into contact multiple times and catching the ball in traffic.

Woah, unbelievable catch by Van Dyke in the end zone after being leveled. pic.twitter.com/HBDLqXoXYG

— Matt Joye (@mattjoye) April 2, 2016

“I think his confidence level is up,” Mora said of Van Dyke on April 2. “I mean you look at his body, you can tell he’s filled out; he’s matured, he’s physical. I think his concentration level has improved because his confidence has improved.”

Lastly, any talk of the UCLA wide receivers needs to include Ishmael Adams, a former all-conference cornerback who made the move to slot receiver this offseason. Adams, like Howard, has made some of those highlight-reel catches that stand out, but needs to work on consistency with his route-running.

Mora said Adams has the tendency to freelance a little bit too much as of now, and that he needs to refine his fundamentals. Still, Mora sees Adams as being a key weapon in the UCLA offense this fall due to his ability to make plays in open space.

Tight ends: B+

This looked to be one of UCLA’s question marks heading into spring camp, as there wasn’t a true tight end on the roster. On signing day, Mora said the only true tight end he had was incoming freshman Jordan Wilson, who won’t be with the team until fall camp. But in came redshirt sophomore Austin Roberts, who quickly silenced the worries about the tight end position.

The 6-foot-2 converted receiver looked like a natural at tight end, much like his father Alfredo, who was in the NFL from 1988 to 1993. In addition to Roberts, converted F-back Nate Iese looked more than competent at the tight end position, showing as much receiving ability as he has yet in his UCLA career.

The redshirt senior hauled in a one-handed touchdown catch 20 yards downfield in the Spring Showcase Saturday, and also turned in a fair share of catches on crossing routes and out routes during spring practice sessions.

Rosen hits Nate Iese for a one-handed catch and a 20-yard TD in 11v11s #SpringShowcase pic.twitter.com/TSWbRzaZNz

— Matt Joye (@mattjoye) April 23, 2016

There were still some dropped passes for Iese in spring camp, but overall he appeared to be the X-factor receiving threat that UCLA has hoped for him to be for years now.

Offensive line: D+

Almost every practice for the first two weeks of spring camp, there was either a slew of penalties or breakdowns in pass protection. The former problem got fixed by week three of camp, but the latter problem persisted all the way until the end of the Spring Showcase Saturday.

Mora said that heading into the summer, his main concern with the team is the interior of his offensive line, which featured three new starters this spring – redshirt sophomore Najee Toran at left guard, redshirt junior Scott Quessenberry at center and redshirt junior Poasi Moala at right guard.

Though the O-line went through some growing pains while adjusting to the new under-center schemes and cadence systems, Moala was a bright spot. About halfway through camp, he leapfrogged redshirt junior Kenny Lacy on the depth chart, and showed strength and agility on the inside. The position battle at guard – between Lacy, Moala and Toran – should persist on into fall camp.

Though the inside three spots on UCLA’s offensive line are in flux, the two starters on the outside appear to be stalwarts. Redshirt senior Conor McDermott figures to be one of the best – if not the best – left tackles in the Pac-12. Also, redshirt sophomore Kolton Miller is building on a strong finish to last season, when he assumed the starting right tackle role.

Both McDermott and Miller have the benefit of facing two great edge rushers in senior Takkarist McKinley and junior Matt Dickerson every day.