They’re still together … for now.
UCLA’s football team appeared to have a full roster of players at its disposal Monday after the Bruins reached the four-game threshold for redshirting and the halfway point of the 30-day window for entering the transfer portal following the dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster.
Interim coach Tim Skipper said no player had informed him of an intention to redshirt or transfer, though there’s still time to mull those decisions before the Bruins (0-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) face No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.
Once a player participates in a fifth game, he can no longer redshirt.
Giving any player considering such a move pause might be the situation at Virginia Tech. An attorney tweeted that he was representing a redshirting Hokies player whose decision, in the eyes of the school, constituted “ ‘opting out’ and fraudulent misrepresentation under the NCAA’s bylaws, justifying immediate termination of scholarships and revenue-sharing payments under the House settlement. Redshirting is a standard practice to preserve eligibility, not voluntary withdrawal from a program, and schools cannot void revenue-sharing payments on pay-for-play grounds.”
As of last weekend, three Virginia Tech players had reportedly entered the transfer portal and two had decided to redshirt.
What fate might await the Bruins in the coming days and weeks?
“It’s going to be fluid through the rest of the season,” Skipper said. “You know, as far as when you get to your fourth game, you decide [whether] to keep going. But my whole thing on that is that’s the rules, and if guys decide to do that, we’re not holding them hostage. They can go ahead and do that.
“We’re coaching them hard. We’re showing them a blueprint to go win games, and that’s what we’re going to do. And people that want to be a part of it stay, and then guys that choose to go the other way, they go the other way. But right now that’s not been a big emphasis in anything that we’re doing day to day. It’s getting better and trying to get us a win.”
Another fluid situation
UCLA didn’t just change the coach running its defense, it also changed the defense. The in-season overhaul led to only a portion of the playbook being installed in the first game under Kevin Coyle.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the full playbook will be installed in a matter of weeks.
“Northwestern compared to Penn State, as far as what they do schematically, is totally different,” Skipper said, referring to last week’s opponent versus the next one. “So we’re going to have to have a different plan and do different things. Probably how we are right now, we’ll never just have the whole playbook in. We’re going to game-plan as we go week to week because we’re going to play so many different offenses, so many different looks.”
Penn State uses more pre-snap motion than Northwestern, presenting different challenges. The Nittany Lions also are a lot more potent than the Wildcats, averaging 39 points per game.
Skipper said he was pleased with Coyle’s playcalling debut during UCLA’s 17-14 loss to the Wildcats, noting that the team had given up an average of 36 points during its first three defeats. The Bruins also allowed 314 yards of offense, well below the average of 431 they had given up previously.
Etc.
UCLA moved Garrett DiGiorgio to right guard against Northwestern while using Reuben Unije and Courtland Ford at tackle before Unije went down because of an unspecified injury. The Bruins then put DiGiorgio back at right tackle and used Julian Armella at right guard. The extent of Unije’s injury was not immediately known. … Freshman linebacker Scott Taylor made his first career tackle against the Wildcats while enjoying more extensive playing time. “Scott’s a guy that’s flashed,” Skipper said. “He makes plays every day, whether it’s special teams or on defense, and I think he’s getting better and better and better. I think he can definitely be a guy that will keep having major contributions to the team.”