Biggest Storylines, Takeaways From UCLA Football Spring Camp 2022

From a potential succession plan at quarterback to question marks at several position groups, there was plenty to keep an eye on in Westwood in April.

(Photo Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

The offseason has officially resumed for the Bruins.

UCLA football held spring camp from late March through the entirety of April, coming together for 14 practice sessions at Wasserman Football Center plus a spring showcase at Drake Stadium. The unorthodox format of playing the spring showcase a week before the end of spring camp resulted in an odd progression for the Bruins, but they got their 15 sessions in regardless.

All Bruins is sorting through our biggest takeaways from the five weeks of work on the practice field, from position battles to individual growth and the new-look coaching staff.

Justyn Martin could be the future

For most of last year, it was generally assumed that Dorian Thompson-Robinson would be turning pro and that 2022 would be Ethan Garbers' year to take over.

Garbers was Thompson-Robinson's backup in 2021, and he filled in when he missed one start and briefly left two other games with injuries. As a former four-star local kid who transferred to Westwood from Washington, Garbers was set up to be the next man up for coach Chip Kelly.

But with Thompson-Robinson returning for his fifth year of college football, he remains in the top-tier of Pac-12 quarterbacks, and he looked like it for most of spring camp.

Garbers is thus the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart again, but he'll have two years of eligibility remaining after this season. But while he certainly has a tight grip on the backup job heading into 2022, his status as Thompson-Robinson's heir apparent is up in the air.

Justyn Martin, an early enrollee from Inglewood (CA), was one of the highest-rated quarterback recruits in the nation and set multiple records his senior year. That raw talent has already translated to the next level, looking like he might have the best raw arm strength and athleticism in the quarterbacks room.

Just from the start of camp to the end, Martin's throwing motion and timing improved drastically. Martin is still far from ready to play real games against college defenses, but the speed of his development in a one-month span is very promising for what he can be moving forward.

So while Garbers is surely going to be the guy to fill in for Thompson-Robinson if need be this coming fall, Martin has already shown that the 2023 quarterback battle will be a tight one.

Running backs room filled with question marks

Zach Charbonnet is still absolutely that guy, maybe even more so than he was in 2021.

Missing from the backfield, though, is Brittain Brown, or any experienced replacement for him.

Kelly's offense has used multiple running backs for the past three seasons, when the Bruins have boasted the best ground attack and arguably best overall offense in the Pac-12. In 2019, it was Joshua Kelly and Demetric Felton. In 2020, it was Felton and Brown. In 2021, it was Charbonnet and Brown.

Heading into 2022, the backup options behind Charbonnet are Keegan Jones, Deshun Murrell and Tomarion Harden.

Jones has been part of the program since 2019, and he has yet to show any real pop. He can eat up snaps, but his 3.4 career yards per carry may show Jones' lack of burst. Murrell redshirted his freshman year last fall, so even if he's a strong back with decent speed, he does not bring any reliable production to the table.

Harden is the biggest of the group, with the early enrollee coming in at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. That makes him an interesting short-yardage option, but again, not someone Kelly is likely to rely on at the stage in his development. 

Walk-on Brian Kowall and receiver Kazmeir Allen are the only other options, but neither should be counted on to be anything close to a true No. 2 back.

From what we saw out of Murrell and Harden, there is certainly talent there, but there are also some obstacles to overcome in terms of agility, wiggle and quickness. One of them will probably end up taking that next step over the next few months, or at least that's what Kelly and his staff have to be praying for.

Kelly may have to reshape his offense to be more reliant on a No. 1 feature back, or he's going to put a lot of faith in running backs coach DeShaun Foster to get one of the young options ready before the regular season kicks off.

Plenty of options at tight end

Greg Dulcich joining the Denver Broncos leaves a massive void in the Bruins' offense, but not an unfillable one.

After all, Dulcich was a walk-on receiver and had hardly any production to his name before he broke out in 2020. UCLA has several players who could try and step in to replace Dulcich's playstyle and production, even if their NFL prospects might not be as tangible.

Mike Martinez will come back and be a blocking specialist like he was last year before his season-ending leg injury, and Michael Ezeike should be a secondary pass-catching option just like he was in 2021. That means the Bruins can keep those two in their previous roles while looking elsewhere on the roster for the players who can fill in for Dulcich.

Carsen Ryan impressed as an early enrollee, and he came out of high school as a four-star recruit. Jack Pedersen, another four-star freshman, will enroll over the summer.

But beyond the fresh faces are the returning options, all of whom boast similar physical profiles and could turn out to be interchangeable in certain ways. Sam Summa, David Priebe, Grant Norberg and Michael Churich are all at least 6-foot-6 with enough muscle to be effective blockers while also not being too burly.

Hudson Habermehl was the standout of camp, though, and our pick to follow in the footsteps of Dulcich, Devin Asiasi and Caleb Wilson as a high-level contributor. His hands, length and long strides are all big plusses in the pass game, and he certainly has the potential to rise to the challenge this coming season.

Offensive, defensive tackle depth is worrying

With Sean Rhyan and Alec Anderson both leaving for the NFL Draft, it was clear UCLA was going to take a step back at offensive tackle. But in spring camp, that step back looked more like a chasm.

Garrett DiGiorgio, who played two games as a true freshman in 2021, was the Bruins' starting left tackle throughout all of camp. Josh Carlin – primarily a special teams blocker in year's past – and Tyler Manoa – a very recent defensive line transplant – split time at right tackle. All three seemed to struggle with pass blocking and conditioning, which was further exposed thanks to the complete lack options behind them.

A more surprising area of need was on the interior line on the other side of the ball.

Otito Ogbonnia declared for the NFL Draft and Datona Jackson ran out of eligibility, but those were expected losses. Then AJ Campbell, Tyler Kiehne, John Ward and Tia Savea entered the transfer portal in the winter. Odua Isibor joined them in the middle of spring camp, robbing UCLA of another starter.

That left only two real defensive line pairings for the last two weeks of camp – Jay Toia and Quintin Somerville, plus Martin Andrus Jr. and Hayden Harris.

A bevy of reinforcements at both spots will solve the issue of depth, but the lack of proven contributors and continuity remains worrying.

Freshman offensive tackle Sam Yoon will enroll over the summer, as will Rutgers transfer Raiqwon O'Neal and Oregon transfer Jaylan Jeffers. Duke transfer Gary Smith III was hurt for almost all of camp, as was Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi, and they should be back by the fall alongside Harvard transfer Jacob Sykes on the defensive line.

Still, look for the Bruins to pursue transfers at both positions, since they're likely going to need all the bodies they can get.

Energetic defensive assistants making real changes

Most of the focus this offseason, in regards to the Bruins' defense, was on the change at defensive coordinator. Jerry Azzinaro stepping away and Bill McGovern coming in to replace him got a lot of people talking, and there will certainly be changes made schematically on that side of the ball in the fall.

The more immediate and obvious impact, however, came from the new-look assistant pool on defense. On top of Chad Kuaha'aha'a signing on as the new defensive line coach, the biggest hires were Ikaika Malloe at outside linebackers coach and Ken Norton Jr. at inside linebackers coach.

Malloe had a reputation as a high-level recruiter, but the energy he brought to the practice field was palpable from day one. The former Washington co-defensive coordinator was more hands on we've seen any UCLA coach be in the Chip Kelly era, fully participating in drills and getting players riled up on the regular.

That kind of juice is nice, as are his pass rush tips that could help the Bruins create more pressure without bringing extra blitzers.

Norton's return to Westwood was long-awaited, and the former All-American coming back to his alma mater is a feel-good story in it's own right. But seeing him work up close has shown just how great he is with this group of student-athletes, getting loud while staying technical and encouraging.

It doesn't hurt that their position groups are two of the better-stocked on the whole roster, either. The overall linebacker corps are in a good spot, both in terms of personnel and coaching.

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