Following a coaching and philosophy change, college football teams predictably struggle in adapting to and executing their new system.
Though there will be growing pains at times in Jim Mora's first season at UCLA, his Bruins should be well prepared to weather the changes towards a spread passing game favored by Mora, and away from Rick Neuheisel's Pistol attack that did not rank higher than 81st nationally in passing offense in the two years it was utilized.
An interesting assortment of wide receivers and "Y"-type tight ends will be put to use by the athletic Brett Hundley, whose mobility will be an asset behind an offensive line not expected to be among the Pac-12's elite units.
Hundley, a redshirt freshman who beat out seniors Richard Brehaut and Kevin Prince for the starting job, will have experienced wideouts Shaquelle Evans and Jerry Johnson to work with, as well as 6'7 tight end Joseph Fauria, who has eight career touchdown passes but will line up for the first time as a "Y"-type tight end with a heavier reliance on blocking.
In the absence of departed receivers Nelson Rosario, Josh Smith and Taylor Embree, Mora should still have plenty of options who will look to emerge from heavy competition as Hundley's preferred targets.
"I would say that probably three Y's, if you think about Joe and Darius [Bell], and Ian Taubler, who's doing a good job. So that's 10 receivers. Pretty heavy," Mora said of his rotation, including the tight ends. "But going at the pace that we go at, just like the defensive line, you're going to rotate receivers through, because we're really not going to huddle much. And so you run guys on, run guys off, and try to keep ‘em fresh through the whole game.
Speaking of competition, it appears as though acclaimed freshmen receiving recruits Jordan Payton, Kenny Walker and Javon Williams will see the field this fall and should not expect to redshirt.
"I like that the three of them are all real good players, but they're all very different," Mora said. "You start with Jordan Payton, and he's a big, physical, strong handed guy who uses his body well to position himself and make catches, and then you talk about Kenny Walker, and he's speed and elusive. Good open field runner. And then Javon Williams, the height, the ability to get long speed going and reach out and snatch it. They're still very inconsistent at this point, but they're building consistency, and I really like all three of those guys. I think that those three guys have a real chance to contribute this year."
"I think it's really important that we make the right decisions for the kids, and if a guy is someone that can really help us, and contribute, help us win games, then we certainly want to play him. But we don't want to waste anybody. We don't want to waste a year if you're not going to utilize him."
Payton, a four-star recruit out of Oaks Christian who at one point had committed to Cal, is one of several late commitments Mora received that bumped UCLA's recruiting class to 12th nationally, according to Scout.com. When Neuheisel was dismissed, the Bruins did not have a top-25 recruiting class.
Under Mora and wide receivers coach Eric Yarber, who has experience coaching receivers in Tampa Bay and San Francisco in the NFL and Arizona State, Washington and Oregon State of the Pac-12, that difficult-to-define consistency is being developed.
"That's the name of the game, every day," Payton said. "I truly believe if you want to be playing as a freshman, you have to come out every single day and just be the same person you were yesterday: a consistent player. That's what they've got to see every day. Every practice, they've got to count on you for something. That's huge. That's like my lifeline. That's the guideline I go by every day, is to stay consistent and just to continue to work hard with this team."
To help ease the transition both for the freshmen into college ball and the entire offense into a quick, no-huddle spread attack, Mora has favored working on situational scenarios with a quick, steady cadence as the team prepares for its season opener at Rice on August 30.
It will be the first game amongst many that will be counted on as an avenue towards building chemistry between a redshirt freshman quarterback in Hundley and the young receiving corps expected to develop around him in tandem.
"It's just fun to be competing with this team and see us get so tight knit as a group and just continue to get better," Payton said, while also acknowledging the challenges of facing defensive backs in training camp with ample collegiate experience.
"It's crazy. Like the first couple days, you don't know what hit you, because every play has got to be your best play. In high school, on one play you could go 50 percent and possibly get a corner. But out here, it's war. You're going at it every single play. It's just fun to be out here."
