UCLA football is loaded with talent at the hybrid F-back position, a necessity for an effective pistol offense

One look at UCLA’s depth chart affirms that F-backs come in all shapes and sizes.

There’s rising junior Damien Thigpen ““ the shortest, at 5 feet 8 inches.

Conversely, rising sophomore Anthony Barr is the tallest, at 6 feet 5 inches.

And then there’s rising junior Morrell Presley ““ the heaviest, weighing in at 245 pounds.

Just as there is no one body type of an F-back ““ a hybrid tight end and running back position unique to the pistol offense ““ there’s no knowing who will be in on a given play.

“They’ll all be specialists at certain things,” F-backs coach Jim Mastro said. “That’s how you get the most out of your players, you ask each guy to do a certain amount of things.”

The trio is composed of two converted running backs ““ Thigpen and Barr ““ and a former tight end in Presley.

Thigpen has made his name as an open-field creator, and Barr ““ who has seen time at running back during the spring ““ was given the ball on the ground and through the air in his time at F-back last year.

But the player making the biggest impression at practice is the biggest of the three. Presley, who led UCLA with three catches for 45 yards during Sunday’s small scrimmage, packed on more than 20 pounds over the summer. His listed weight of 245 pounds might even be a conservative figure.

Now, Presley ““ once the No. 1 tight end recruit in the nation ““ is settling in to a more comfortable role at the versatile position.
“With this new weight that I’ve got, I’m able to block bigger guys and be in the offense a little bit more, instead of going in and everybody knowing that it’s just pass because I’m in there,” Presley said.

“I’m starting to go back to high school; everything’s starting to come back familiar, so I’m enjoying it.”

Consistency at the position, something noticeably absent in 2010, will be key if UCLA wants the pistol to develop into anything more than a predictable, run-heavy system.

“Honestly, I don’t think it evolved at all,” Barr said of the pistol last season. “We were basically one-dimensional … and teams kind of keyed in on our running game. This year we’ve kind of evolved a lot more as far as the pass game goes and we’re real excited about that.”

Sidelined on Saturday

Thigpen, who has been sitting out with a minor hamstring injury, will join a couple of other Bruins who won’t see the field during Saturday’s Spring Game, which will begin at 5 p.m. at Drake Stadium.
Coach Rick Neuheisel said Tuesday that rising redshirt freshman tight end John Young (shoulder) and starting rising redshirt senior offensive lineman Sean Sheller (broken hand) would both sit.
Rising redshirt senior center Kai Maiava (ankle) is expected to play. Neuheisel added that rising senior safety Tony Dye (left knee) “may get a little” work in on Saturday.
UCLA will hold a light walk-through on Thursday that is closed to the public.