With the 2022 UCLA football season on the horizon, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the Bruins’ outlook at each position group as the countdown to football begins. Lastly, Sports senior staffer Jon Christon breaks down the special teams.

Personnel

Nicholas Barr-Mira will be playing double duty in 2022.

The redshirt junior kicker is expected to run it back as the Bruins’ field goal kicker this season after handling those duties each of the past two years. Barr-Mira has connected on 20 of his 28 attempts as a Bruin while missing only three of his 85 extra point tries.

With the departure of punter Luke Akers for Northwestern, there is also an open punter spot that has Barr-Mira’s name written all over it.

Barr-Mira has been taking the No. 1 reps at punter so far in fall camp and has looked “great” while doing it, according to coach Chip Kelly. He would have punted for the blue and gold in December last year had the Holiday Bowl not been canceled, and he’ll likely be in that spot for UCLA’s first game in early September.

UCLA also rosters freshman punter Chase Barry – the only true punter specified on the roster – who should get some looks at that spot eventually given his heralded high school career.

Redshirt sophomore RJ Lopez was the kickoff specialist for UCLA a year ago and gave no reasons to look anywhere else at that position.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Bruins have quite a few candidates to replace former wide receiver Kyle Philips as the team’s new punt returner – chief among them is junior wide receiver Logan Loya.

Loya is expected to potentially replace Philips as the team’s primary slot receiver on offense and is the only player on the roster who has punt return experience with the Bruins. He’s been taking starting reps at that spot in practice, with redshirt junior wide receiver Kam Brown and redshirt senior wide receiver Jake Bobo backing him up.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Kazmeir Allen will continue as the team’s primary kick returner after pacing the conference in average kickoff return yards a year ago.

Predictions

Barr-Mira has yet to make a kick of 50 yards or more in his Bruin career.

That will change in 2022 – both as a kicker and a punter.

Notching that mark in his new position will be relatively easy. He’s been showcasing 50-yard boots consistently in fall camp and should be able to match Akers’ 2021 numbers on the punting side.

As a kicker, though, Barr-Mira’s long is only 48 yards. If he’s able to stretch that back this season and is more consistent beyond 30 yards – he missed a field goal from that distance in over half of UCLA’s games last season – the blue and gold will boast one of the best all-around kickers in the conference.

For Loya, trying to replicate Philips’ production will be a fool’s errand. Philips took two punts back and totaled eight returns of more than 25 yards in his four years with the blue and gold. But Loya is shifty enough to be a solid punt returner for the Bruins and will likely have a few long returns that could change a drive or two for UCLA.

Allen, on the other hand, will have a bit more expectations. He’s a preseason Paul Hornung Award watch list member – given to the nation’s most versatile player – and should add to his collection of highlight plays with a few long run backs. If he adds another kick return touchdown to his one last year, opposing coaches will start thinking twice about kicking toward him.