UCLA Football 2021 Positional Preview: Linebackers
With UCLA football's shortened offseason already winding down, it's time to start looking ahead to fall 2021 and what lies ahead for the Bruins on the gridiron. Before scouting out opponents and projecting the Pac-12 pecking order, it's best to look within by picking apart how UCLA will shape up on its own sideline.
All Bruins will be breaking down every position group over the next few weeks, with the linebacking corps next up on the slate. To catch up on the positions already covered, take a look below.
Aug. 9: Quarterbacks
Aug. 10: Running Backs
Aug. 11: Wide Receivers
Aug. 12: Tight Ends
Aug. 13: Offensive Line
Aug. 16: Defensive Line
Depth Chart
Will 1: Jordan Genmark Heath, redshirt senior
Will 2: Ale Kaho, redshirt junior
Will 3: JonJon Vaughns, sophomore
Will 4: Jeremiah Trojan, freshman
Will 5: Carson Schwesinger, freshman
Mike 1: Caleb Johnson, senior
Mike 2: Kain Medrano, redshirt sophomore
Mike 3: Damian Sellers, sophomore
Mike 4: Kobey Fitzgerald, senior
Mike 5: Erich Osteen, redshirt sophomore
Raider 1: Bo Calvert, senior
Raider 2: Carl Jones, junior
Raider 3: Joquarri Price, redshirt freshman
Raider 4: Adam Cohen, redshirt sophomore
Raider 5: James Dinneen, redshirt sophomore
Like many position groups on this Bruin team, the linebackers didn't lose much over the offseason – only Leni Toailoa left the program, and his role had diminished drastically over the previous two years anyways.
One of the guys in the middle taking that roster spot is Genmark Heath, a former safety who transferred in from Notre Dame in the offseason. From what we've seen in practice and in talking to him in a couple interviews, Genmark Heath is a very heady linebacker who stands to be a good leader calling the shots for this defense. He's also put on some pounds to cap off his transition, and it shows.
Kaho was the other key addition in the transfer portal, and he joined UCLA in the spring alongside Genmark Heath. The former Alabama linebacker doesn't seem to have meshed with the Bruins and their system as quickly as Genmark Heath, but Kaho still feels like an athletic upgrade over what they've had at the Will recently.
Vaughns is back with the team after missing spring camp to play with UCLA baseball, and he looks like he's getting more reps than he did last year, even with the new bodies joining the fray. He and Sellers look like they can play all three linebacker positions in defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro and assistant head coach Brian Norwood's defense.
Johnson played a bit of Mike and Will in 2020, but he's seemingly settling in at the Mike more in 2021 with Calvert moving to the raider. Johnson was a pass-rushing stud from the middle last year, in addition to being generally all over the field.
The former junior college transfer led the Bruins with 44 tackles and 5.5 sacks, ranked second with 7.0 tackles for loss and also tacked on an interception and fumble recovery all in his first year with the team. Johnson has a nose for the ball, and he thrives in the all-out, aggressive defense the Norwood brought in last fall.
Medrano was one of the biggest standouts in spring ball, excelling in coverage especially. He still doesn't look like he has the bulk to be a reliable, consistent finisher at the start of the season, but he can continue to step up by locking up running backs and tight ends better than almost any other guy in the linebacking corps.
Calvert's transition to raider was one of the biggest headlines in the early days of camp, and it made plenty of sense, all things considered. The senior felt a little flat footed in coverage and was a little slow to react in general – it felt more like a scheme fit issue than an athleticism or football IQ issue with Calvert. By moving him to the outside and placing him in more of a pass-rushing role, the UCLA staff is banking on Calvert's pure strength and long 6-foot-3 frame to cause disruptions behind the line of scrimmage.
One casualty of Calvert's move is Jones, who, by all accounts, was really good at the raider last year. Another guy who transitioned from safety to linebacker, Jones is a hard-hitting athletic freak, and we'll surely still see plenty of him on Saturdays despite the crowd closing in around his and surrounding jobs.
Price got some solid reps in spring, but is a distant third man in the raider group. Cohen has looked hurt for the past week, spending most of the last few practice sessions on the stationary bike.
Vaughns, Sellers and Trojan stand to be the future of these linebacking corps, and even Medrano has several years left of eligibility. That crew will have its day, but for now, Genmark Heath, Johnson, Calvert, Kaho and Jones stand to be the biggest contributors at the position in 2021.
Predictions
The linebackers accounted for 36.5% of the Bruins' tackles for loss and 39.1% of their sacks last year.
For UCLA's defense to take a leap in 2021, at least one of those numbers is going to have to go up, plus more.
Through the air especially, the Bruins linebackers left much to be desired last year. That is poised to change with Genmark Heath replacing the more bulky duo of Calvert and Toailoa, and a better understanding of the 4-2-5 defense should do everyone favors in reading opponents' blocking schemes and zone coverages.
More snaps for Medrano and Vaughns should give UCLA a boost in covering tight ends and running backs, too. Their presence, in addition to Johnson's partial role change, should give the staff enough weapons to throw around in the middle.
The blitzing corners and safeties, therefore, can either dial it back a bit due to the linebackers' improved pass-rush skills or go even harder behind the line of scrimmage with some better coverage linebackers stepping in behind them.
Johnson was the only linebacker to pick up an interception last year, and Sellers and Calvert were the only ones to force fumbles. The corps are going to have to be a little more disruptive in creating turnovers in 2021, especially when it comes to serving as threats to pick off passes in the slot and over the middle.
More so than any other position group we've scouted, it's hard to project stats for the linebackers. They're deeper and more athletic than before, but a lot of it is up to scheme and fits that we aren't going to be able to get a full read on until the season kicks off.
Still, they should account for just under 20 sacks, 30 tackles for loss and eight turnovers created – interceptions and forced fumbles combined. If they don't come close to those benchmarks or help the secondary in improving the pass defense, UCLA's ceiling this year will have a pretty hard cap.
The stakes are high and there are a lot of moving parts in the linebacking corps, and this just might be the group to lift the Bruins to new heights.
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