Bruins' secondary ready to take lead
LOS ANGELES » There will be a healthy mix of veteran experience and youth in secondary this season, as UCLA aims to fill the void left by last year's starters Stephan Blaylock, Mo Osling III and Azizi Hearn.
Not any one player can step into that leadership role, but instead it will be a combination of players with in-game experience, like John Humphrey, Kenny Churchwell III, Devin Kirkwood and graduate transfer Jordan Anderson, who will have to embrace the new challenge.
The team will also lean on young up-and-comers Kamari Ramsey, D.J. Justice and Jaylin Davies, who came on strong to close the 2022 season and led the team with three interceptions.
“We gotta step up as far as leadership, that was a big piece that (Blaylock and Osling III) brought to this team,” Ramsey said. “Being a leader and showing how to work day in and day out. So we gotta step up and bring that to the table.”
It's not just the players who are tasked to help fill the leadership roles. New defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn has brought a level of professionalism to the program, with a special familiarity with the secondary having played cornerback in college.
Lynn, the son of former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, joined the Bruins after spending the past two years as the safeties coach with the Baltimore Ravens.
“A lot of NFL-style coverages, being aggressive, a lot of the pro-style plays,” Ramsey said about Lynn's coaching style. “Coming from a player that played your position, so he knows what it's like and coming from the NFL, it's kind of surreal sometimes because you're getting coaching from the league.”
“He's brought a more professional side to my game,” Humphrey said. “Coming from the NFL as a secondary coach, he knows what it's supposed to look like.”
The Bruins' secondary will be tested in the season opener against Coastal Carolina.
The Chanticleers like to sling the ball behind the arm of redshirt senior Grayson McCall. They also return their top three receivers.
Having gone against its own receivers the last few weeks, the Bruins' secondary is ready for the challenge.
“We've been game planning a little bit, looking at the quarterback, the new system they got going in and we're ready,” Justice said. “We're excited to see another team. We know everybody on the other side of the ball on our team, strengths and weaknesses. We've been going at it every day for about two and a half weeks now, so we're definitely itching to get to another team and get after it.”