UCLA football sees abundance of running backs for 2016
Lineman Deon Hollins (right) anchored the defense for the Bruins alongside Takkarist McKinley. (Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
By Matt Joye
Aug. 9, 2016 7:39 p.m.
The UCLA football team has a problem that many teams would actually like to have: an overload of talent at the running back position.
Heading into the 2016 season, a big question facing offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu is “How do I get all of these guys enough touches?” Sophomore Soso Jamabo is a former five-star recruit, Nate Starks a former four-star player with a 6.4 yards-per-carry average last season, and sophomore Bolu Olorunfunmi was called the biggest offensive standout of spring camp,per coach Jim Mora.
“I want them to compete for the starter (position),” Polamalu said. “I think they can all handle it, so they just have to earn that first call.”
Heading into fall camp, some thought that UCLA might opt to distribute the carries evenly across all three of those running backs – a by-committee approach. Polamalu doesn’t want that – he wants one starter to emerge from the group.
“I’d like to have one guy at the top of the list,” he said. “Then the other guys will get their playing time. We’re going to play all those backs.”
The front-runners for the starting position appear to be Jamabo and Starks so far. On the first day of camp, Jamabo got all of the first-team reps. On Tuesday, Starks took reps with the first team.
Last season, in then-offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s system, UCLA’s lead rusher – Paul Perkins – took 51.6 percent of the offense’s carries. Jamabo followed with 14.3 percent, then Starks with 10.9, and finally Olorunfunmi with 7.4 percent.
While Polamalu didn’t specify exactly how he’d like to distribute the carries this year, he did say that he wants his lead rusher to get about 15 to 20 touches per game, which is what Perkins’ usage rate was last year. He averaged 18.2 carries per game in 2015.
“I’ve kind of put a mark around 15 or 20 snaps, and then give him a little breather,” Polamalu said. “It’s kind of a feel. … It all depends on the situations.”
Polamalu hasn’t set a specific date on when he’ll name the starting running back. The wait may go all the way until Sept. 3, when UCLA plays its season opener against Texas A&M.
New D-line combination?
For the second straight day, UCLA practiced with helmets but no pads. This form of practice plays more to the defense’s advantage on the line, and it showed once again. Senior defensive ends Takkarist McKinley and Deon Hollins wreaked havoc on the edge, just like they did in Monday’s practice.
The Bruins offered a new personnel group on defense for a small portion of Tuesday’s practice – they put both McKinley and Hollins together on the first-team defensive line. McKinley was on one side and Hollins flanked him on the opposite edge of the D-line.
McKinley and Hollins haven’t played together on the field typically because they play the same position – rush end, or razor.
The duo proved effective, but it will be interesting to see if UCLA sticks with it going forward. The Bruins have preached a new commitment to strength on the line this offseason, and the McKinley-Hollins combination is more fit to speed than strength.
Field goal struggles
The end of Tuesday’s practice was perhaps the poorest showing yet for UCLA’s two young kickers, freshman J.J. Molson and redshirt freshman Andrew Strauch.
Molson missed two of his five field goal attempts – all from about 30 yards – and Strauch missed two of his three attempts from the same distance. The conditions were seemingly perfect for kicking, with little to no wind and clear skies.
