Football sees improvement after rearranging offensive line in light of injuries
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa has missed one game over the past two seasons for UCLA football. Odighizuwa has a career-high three sacks and 21 tackles in seven games this year. (Liz Ketcham/Assistant Photo editor)
By Sam Connon
Oct. 31, 2018 5:36 p.m.
The Bruins have been shuffling their offensive line like a deck of cards.
Junior center Boss Tagaloa moved from the defensive line to the offensive line this offseason, and since he rejoined the team Sept. 25, coach Chip Kelly said the unit has made strides.
“(The game against Utah) was (Tagaloa’s) fourth game ever playing center, so (the offensive line is) starting to gel together,” Kelly said. “I think there’s been some familiarity with all those guys and that’s natural. … You can see improvement from those guys, so that’s a positive that, hopefully, we can continue to improve upon.”
The Bruins’ offensive line has been rearranged several times, with redshirt junior left tackle Andre James being one of the lone constants. Tagaloa has only started five of UCLA’s eight games since making the shift to the offensive side of the ball.
The mind behind UCLA’s offensive line this season is first-year offensive line coach Justin Frye. Kelly said he knew Frye when he was a graduate assistant at Florida, and that he knew others who coached with him at Temple University and Boston College.
“(Frye) is a great technician,” Kelly said. “He played the position, but he has a great way of communicating and having our players understand.”
Frye coached for two years at Temple before moving on to Boston College for five seasons. Frye’s Eagles produced two offensive lineman taken in the NFL Draft – Ian Silberman and Andy Gallik.
Frye has had to handle another curveball in 2018 – the extended injury history of graduate transfer right guard Justin Murphy.
Murphy hinted on Twitter last week he would miss the rest of the season, making this the third straight year he sustained a season-ending injury.
However, Kelly said the medical staff is yet to rule him out for the remaining four games.
Regardless of his outlook for the rest of 2018, Kelly and Frye have had to work around Murphy’s absence. Tagaloa moved from center to guard, while freshman Christaphany Murray filled in at center.
Rest and recovery
The Bruins have had more than just Murphy and freshman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson go down with injuries this fall.
UCLA has lost five players – senior running back Bolu Olorunfunmi, senior running back Soso Jamabo, sophomore linebacker Jaelan Phillips, – for the season to concussions. The other 11 teams in the Pac-12 have lost a combined one.
Kelly said Thompson-Robinson and junior long snapper Johnny Den Bleyker are making progress with their injuries, but he said that he is not ready to make a decision on a starting quarterback against Oregon on Saturday.
However, not every Bruin has struggled with injuries.
“It’s honestly the best I’ve felt this far in the season ever,” said redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa. “Last year, I wasn’t feeling too good around this time. Even when I was a redshirt, I wasn’t feeling too good around this time. So I feel like the rest and recovery has been huge this year.”
As for what helped the defensive tackle stay in such great shape, he said getting ahead of the curve and constantly getting treatment has made a major difference.
“(I’ve) been ice-tubbing a lot,” Odighizuwa said. “Just been working on my flexibility more and trying to stay loose and take care of things immediately when I start to feel some type of nick or pain in my body. Just taking care of myself.”
