Next up in our Minnesota Golden Gophers 2024 schedule preview is the UCLA Bruins. One of the four new programs to the Big Ten this year, the Bruins will host the Golden Gophers on October 12 one week after the Gophers take on the USC Trojans at home.
This offseason was a big one for the Bruins beyond making the transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. The program saw head coach Chip Kelly leave to be the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, a move that wasn't too surprising considering the long-time head coach was on a hot seat heading into the offseason. The Bruins also saw their defensive guru D'Anton Lynn leave for crosstown rival USC this offseason as well.
Previous Schedule Previews: North Carolina | Rhode Island | Nevada | Iowa | Michigan | USC
On top of the coaching staff changes, 34 players left the program this offseason whether it was via the transfer portal, graduation, or the NFL.
That being said, despite all the changes this UCLA team by all measures is still expected to be a quality program in 2024 but in a now stacked Big Ten, it could be easy for the Bruins to get caught in the shuffle this fall.
Last season, the Bruins were led by one of the nation's best defenses that across most metrics was ranked amongst the top-15 in the country. Their offense, however, struggled averaging just 26.5 poitns per game. However, with plenty of new faces throughout the program, its a fresh start for UCLA in 2024.
HEAD COACH PROFILE: DeShaun Foster
The 44-year old Foster is entering his first season as UCLA's head coach after serving as the program's running backs coach since 2017. The first All-American tailback played for the Bruins from 1998 through 2001 before spending six seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Foster did look to make a splash when it came to his coaching hires as he tabbed former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to be his offensive coordinator with the Bruins. On the defensive side of the ball, he tabbed Ikaika Malloe as his defensive coordinator.
OFFENSIVE PREVIEW
Former five-star quarterback Dante Moore left Westwood after one season this past offseason. The Michigan native struggled in his first season of collegiate football, completing just 53.5% of his passing attempts for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions.
With Moore gone, Foster and the Bruins will turn to Ethan Gabers to lead the way. The redshirt senior quarterback was very good when on the field in 2023, completing 67% of his passes for 1,136 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions.
At tailback, Carson Steele is off to the NFL after rushing for 847 yards and six touchdowns a season ago but T.J. Harden who totaled 827 rushing yards and 142 receiving yards of his own a season ago returns and is expected to be the starting tailback for the Bruins this fall.
The Bruins enter this season with an intruing wide receiver room. They return their top two receivers from a year ago in Logan Loya and J. Micahel Sturdivant. The two combined last fall for 95 receptions and 1, 252 yards and nine touchdonws. They also added Rico Flores Jr.They also added sophomore wide receiver Rico Flores Jr out of the transfer portal this offseason. The California native recorded 27 receptions for 392 yards and one touchdown ffor Notre Dame last season.
The biggest question mark surrounding the Bruins offense this preseason is if their offensive line play will be able to improve. While they were strong in their run blocking last season, the Bruins struggled in pass protection allowing 42 sacks which ranked 122nd best in the country. The good news on the offensive line is that there is hope for improvement as four of five starters from a year ago return this fall.
DEFENSIVE PREVIEW
As mentioned above, this was one of the nation's top defensive units a season ago, allowing just 18.4 poitns per game and just over 300 yards of total offense per game. The Bruins were dominant against opposing rushing attacks, allowing just 81 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry, among the best marks in the country. Their secondary wasn't too shabby either, allowing 221 passing yards per game and kept opposing quarterbacks to just 6.4 yards per attempt.
That being said, the Bruins did lose defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn to USC this offseason but also lost several key defensive players including defensive end Laiatu Latu who was an unanimous All-American last season. Overall, the Bruins said goodbye to eight starters from last year's defense this offseason.
Notable key returnees on the UCLA defense this fall include linebacker Femi Oladejo (54 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT), defensive tackle Jay Toia (28 tackles, 4.0 TFL), and linebacker Kain Medrano (56 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 2.0 Sk).
The Bruins, however, addressed their defensive losses in the transfer portal heavily, picking up eight transfers that expect to be regulars on the field this fall including defensive end Drew Tuazama (South Carolina), Ramon Henderson (Notre Dame), Bryan Addison (Oregon), and K.J Wallace II (Georgia Tech).
The Bruins defense on paper once again should be a solid one but with so many moving pieces this offseason, its hard to truly guage just how good they will be as the season draws closer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This UCLA team underwnt a ton of change this offseason both in regards to its coaching staff and its roster. That much change can be tough for any program to overcome but when adding the factor of changing conferences and a rather difficult schedule that comes with now being in the BIg Ten, it may be just too much for the Bruins to overcome completely. They'll be a competitive program in 2024, they may even surprise some but overall, this is a team that will find themselves in the middle of the pack of the conference.
============================
- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.
- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @RivalsDylanCC
- SUBSCRIBE to Gophers Nation
