UCLA Football 2021 Positional Preview: Safeties
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, and the safeties are next on the list. 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
Aug. 17: Linebackers
Depth Chart
Safety 1: Quentin Lake, senior
Safety 2: Kenny Churchwell III, redshirt junior
Safety 3: Elisha Guidry, redshirt junior
Safety 4: Deavyn Woullard, redshirt sophomore
Safety 5: Kaleb Tuliau, redshirt sophomore
Safety 6: Isaiah Newcombe, freshman
Safety 1: Stephan Blaylock, senior
Safety 2: DJ Warnell, sophomore
Safety 3: Alex Johnson, redshirt junior
Safety 4: Parker Hogan, redshirt freshman
Safety 5: Jelani Warren, redshirt sophomore
Safety 6: Josh Moore, freshman
Striker 1: Qwuantrezz Knight, redshirt senior
Striker 2: William Nimmo Jr., redshirt sophomore
Striker 3: Shea Pitts, redshirt senior
Striker 4: Martel Irby, redshirt junior
Striker 5: Jake Newman, redshirt freshman
This group of safeties is nearly identical to last year's.
Lake is the lead man up top, as a leader both on and off the field. He missed two games in 2020 due to COVID-19 contact tracing, and if it weren't for that, he would have led the Bruins in tackles and passes defended.
While Lake will be a near-every down player, Churchwell has been filling in behind him with the 2s in practice over the past week or so. Guidry was the de facto backup in 2020, so it has been interesting to see him lose reps recently.
The gap between the two likely isn't that large, though, and Guidry is surely in play for more time as the season goes on.
Woullard has also been rotating in during fall camp, and he could very well get his first game action in three years at UCLA. Newcombe has been a regular in special teams drills during the fall, his first camp with the team.
Blaylock ranked second on the team with 42 tackles and co-led them with two interceptions. He didn't record a single pass deflection or tackle for loss, so he stood out more as a consistent, fundamental staple than playmaking ball hawk.
Warnell has been Balylock's backup in fall camp following the major leap he made in spring camp. He stood out as a guy who powered through multiple nicks, tweaks and injuries to earn himself a healthy dose of snaps when real games do roll around next week. Johnson stepped up as a reserve defensive back in 2020, and he'll be the same in 2021.
Hogan started getting reps during walkthroughs Wednesday, so he may play a bit more than initially expected, but he, Warren and Moore still project to be primarily special teams assets.
At striker – the linebacker-safety hybrid introduced by defensive backs coach Brian Norwood in 2020 – Knight stands to be the most vocal, explosive and expressive player on the entire defense. He was a menace behind the line of scrimmage, and his scoop-and-score touchdown against Oregon is not going to be a one-off either.
Pitts and Nimmo are likely going to split time as Knight's backup, and even Irby is getting a lot of reps at practice. Irby's playing time may be higher now than it will be in game situations, however, just so the coaching staff can better integrate him into the defense after moving him over from running back in the offseason.
Most of the strikers are upperclasmmen, meaning Newman could have a role in the group in the near future. He's been sidelined with an injury for the past week or so of camp, so he probably won't do much for the Bruins early in the season.
Predictions
The biggest strength of the safeties last season was their disruptiveness and nose for the ball, and that stands to be the case again this fall.
Knight will lead the way yet again, in terms of being a downhill tackler who can hit hard and contribute in both the running and passing games.
Lake and Blaylock are solid tacklers, but they're both going to need to step up in coverage in order to help UCLA improve its pass defense for a second-straight season. The Bruins' 274.1 passing yards allowed per game was the second worst mark in program history, only behind 2019's 310.8 yards allowed.
Simply put, numbers anywhere in that vicinity are unacceptable for UCLA in 2021, and a lot of the improvement falls on the shoulders of the safeties.
In addition to crashing towards the ball near the line of scrimmage with more efficiency, Lake and Blaylock are going to have to make better reads and do an overall better job in coverage. They have both proven to be good, all-around defensive backs, and now it's just a matter of fitting better in Norwood and defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro's system.
Statistically, expect the safeties and strikers to combined for six interceptions, four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Lake should lead the way with 80-plus tackles, with Blaylock and Knight in the 70s not far behind.
The rest of the position's contributions will have to shine through in team stats, and allowing somewhere around 230 passing yards and 140 rushing yards per game should position UCLA's defense in the top half of the Pac-12.
With the way the offense was humming last fall and how it projects to improve even more so in 2021, it's up to the defense to make sure those yards gained and points scored aren't all for naught, as they were at times in 2020.
Pass coverage and run stuffing doesn't fall squarely on the safeties, but the group's experience and continuity position them to play a key role in turning things around this season.
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