UCLA Football: How Injuries Have Impacted Bruins' Tight End Room

The Bruins new OC Eric Bieniemy speaks to the changes UCLA is making to prevent further injuries to their tight ends.

Dec 16, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins tight end Hudson Habermehl (81) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos during the first quarter of the Starco Brands LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Despite having a surprisingly impressive season last year, the UCLA Bruins faced a major problem: injuries, particularly at the tight end position.

This may have been tough in the Pac-12 Conference, but it will be even more difficult in the Big Ten Conference where teams tend to be much tougher.

During an interview with David Woods of Bruin Report Online, UCLA's new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy spoke about how tight end is a critical position and how the Bruins' staff will try to prevent this issue in the future.

"So, first of all, you hate to say this -- and, knock on wood -- injuries happen, right? And you never want injuries, so we always have to remain flexible," Bieniemy said, So that's the beauty of having the personnel groups. Yes, the tight ends are working their tails off; Jerry's doing a helluva job with those guys, and they're a smart, intelligent group. So, all of those guys, they take personal pride in working."

"Like I said, the thing I've learned since coordinated: Tight ends are very, very smart. It's probably why Marcedes [Lewis] is still playing. (Laughter) But they do a great job together. Now, I'm proud of 'em, but also, too, it's still a process of learning."

A tight end for the Bruins from 2002-2005, Marcedes Lewis has played in the NFL ever since he graduated from UCLA. In his 17+ years in the NFL, Lewis has been played in the Pro Bowl once and named second-team All-Pro in 2010. He was entered into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

"When it's all said and done, we're just slowly churning these groups and making sure that -- regardless of what personnel groups that we're playing with, we're putting them in the right situations to have some success," Bieniemy concluded. "So that's what it's about right now."

Despite attempts to address this issue, injuries remain a problem for UCLA. On April 16, it was reported that defensive back Donavyn Pellot, running back Troy Leigber, and tight end Hudson Habermehl all suffered torn ACLs.

“I’ve been a player,” Foster lamented, “so I know how it feels when you’ve worked so hard for something and the opportunity gets taken away from you.”

The news about Habermehl is particularly concerning, given that he was expected to be a starter this season. Hopefully, he'll be able to make a full recovery and come back soon.

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