UCLA Football 2022 Positional Preview: Defensive Backs

Heavy turnover at cornerback and safety left the Bruins thin up top, placing extra pressure on Devin Kirkwood, Stephan Blaylock and others to excel.

With UCLA football's offseason winding down, it's time to start looking ahead to the 2022 campaign and what lies ahead for the Bruins on the gridiron. Before scouting 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 sidelines.

All Bruins will be breaking down every position group over the next week, and the defensive backs are up next. To catch up on the positions already covered, take a look below:

Aug. 24: Quarterbacks
Aug. 25: Running Backs
Aug. 26: Wide Receivers
Aug. 27: Tight Ends
Aug. 28: Offensive Line
Aug. 29: Defensive Line
Aug. 30: Linebackers

Depth Chart

CB 1: Azizi Hearn, redshirt senior
CB 2: John Humphrey, junior
CB 3: Evan Thomas, redshirt sophomore
CB 4: DJ Justice, redshirt freshman

S 1: Stephan Blaylock, super senior
S 2: William Nimmo Jr., redshirt junior
S 3: Joshua Swift, redshirt sophomore
S 4: Kamari Ramsey, freshman
S 5: Clint Stephens, freshman

S 1: Mo Osling III, redshirt senior
S 2: Kenny Churchwell III, redshirt junior
S 3: Alex Johnson, redshirt junior
S 4: Jelani Warren, redshirt junior
S 5: Kaleb Tuliau, redshirt junior
S 6: Jax Harley, freshman

CB 1: Devin Kirkwood, sophomore
CB 2: Jaylin Davies, redshirt freshman
CB 3: Isaiah Newcombe, redshirt freshman
CB 4: Croix Stewart, freshman

The heavy turnover on the Bruins' roster hurt the secondary more than any other position group.

Safety Quentin Lake went to the NFL Draft. Cornerbacks Cameron Johnson and Obi Eboh ran out of eligibility, as did nickel back Qwuantrezz Knight. Safety DJ Warnell transferred to Arizona, cornerback Jay Shaw transferred to Wisconsin and nickel back Martell Irby retired from football.

That's seven of the 10 defensive backs from the late-season two-deep gone, and those ones weren't particularly effective against the pass to begin with, ranking No. 12 in the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed per game.

Hearn is the biggest addition to the group, coming in as a grad transfer from Wyoming. He started his collegiate career as a walk-on at Arizona before making Pro Football Focus' All-Mountain West Second Team with the Cowboys in 2021.

Kirkwood will start at the opposite cornerback spot after impressing as a freshman last season. One of the top defensive commits of the Chip Kelly era proved to have more than above-average ball skills to go along with his big frame, and he will be the undoubted No. 1 corner on the defense this time around. 

When UCLA rolls out five defensive backs, Hearn is expected to hold down the nickel role while Humphrey takes over outside. Humphrey hasn't played a ton of meaningful snaps in games the past two years, but he did start to come on towards the end of the 2021 regular season.

The top-three defensive backs in the Bruins' cornerback room are all 6-foot-2 or taller, giving them plenty of length to disrupt passes and give receivers trouble on deep balls.

Davies will be the fourth corner in the rotation, having transferred in from Oregon, where he didn't get much playing time.

Thomas and Newcombe are walk-ons, while Stewart is a true freshman and former three-star recruit. Justice only made the switch from receiver to corner a few weeks ago, so any serious playing time he gets this season would be a surprise.

The safety group is much deeper, and that starts with Blaylock returning as the starting strong safety. The veteran has appeared in all 43 games of the Kelly era and started the last 31, racking up 203 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defended over the last four years.

Osling has what it takes to step in and play at the opposite safety spot, having moved around to corner, nickel and safety amid lingering injuries the past few years.

Churchwell and Nimmo have also been in the program for a while, and Johnson just earned a scholarship.

Ramsey was UCLA's top defensive commit from last year's recruiting cycle, and although he has started out on the scout team, he has the skill to quickly climb his way through the ranks. Stephens is another athletic freshman who can bring more talent to the bunch, while Warren, Tuliau and Harley each bring solid tools to the table for walk-ons.

Predictions

The Bruins will have to really rely on internal growth and development this year.

Schematic changes can go a long way, but they can only do so much to cover up the loss of Lake, Knight, Eboh, Shaw, Johnson, Warnell and Irby. 

Only having four legitimate, high-level cornerbacks is concerning, to say the least. For the pass defense to take a step forward – or to even stay steady with last year – those four will have to stay healthy from start to finish.

Hearn can be a low-floor, reliable veteran in the same vein as Eboh. Kirkwood, on the other hand, will have to be a true shutdown corner.

The energetic, long No. 1 corner has an All-Pac-12 season in his future, and the Bruins are going to have to hope he brings that production to the table this year as opposed to next year. Teams probably won't end up throwing his way very often, and when they do, he'll put together enough good film to be a top NFL Draft prospect at the starting of the 2023 campaign.

Humphrey and Davies are both big question marks, given their lack of playing time at the college level. They have the tools to be good – Humphrey with his size and Davies with his quickness – but whether or not they can follow through on that potential remains to be seen.

Blaylock will be a solid game manager over the middle, making the plays he needs to and positioning himself as required. The same can be said for Osling, while Nimmo and Churchwell may be just a half-step behind.

The freshmen behind them could get their feet wet in garbage time early on, or later in the season as actual rotational reserves.

The pass defense stats will probably improve a hair due to a soft start to the season and schematic changes brought in by defensive coordinator Bill McGovern, but the improvements may not be as drastic as fans may have hoped.

Instead of allowing 260.3 passing yards per game, maybe that figure will dip down somewhere closer to 240. That would have ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 last year, so don't expect things to get completely flipped on their head given the personnel situation in the defensive backfield.

Going from a terrible pass defense to a slightly below average one doesn't sound great, but at least they would be taking some sort of step forward. Even in the best-case scenario of Hearn fitting in right away, Kirkwood ascending to elite status and the rest of the veterans staying completely healthy, a middling pass defense would probably be the result.

If the pass rush can be more effective without pulling extra defensive backs out of coverage, that may be enough to win UCLA the games it should have won a year ago. No one unit can exist in isolation, but the defensive backs have a lot of responsibility in turning this ship around.

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