Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
The UCLA Bruins face the difficult challenge of replacing a program-defining quarterback this spring as they start to move past the Brett Hundley era. Head coach Jim Mora has set expectations high for the program with a strong first three years on the job and he will need someone to continue that momentum into 2015, and his best bet will be the most experienced quarterback on his roster, Jerry Neuheisel.
Last season, Neuheisel stepped up in a major way and played the hero when Hundley went down with an injury against the Texas Longhorns. On the road in a hostile environment, the then-sophomore signal caller showed some serious heart, completing 23 of 30 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 33-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Payton with just three minutes to play, in a wild 20-17 victory.
That remains his only significant playing time during his collegiate career in two seasons at UCLA, but it kind of exemplifies the type of player that he is. He won’t jump off the tape as a dynamic playmaker, lacking the athleticism or arm strength that Hundley had, but he knows how to get it done. His presence under pressure and football IQ can’t be overstated and will be the key, along with his experience in the system, to him winning the starting job this spring.
He certainly won’t be able to coast into the job, however. UCLA has some excellent talent on the roster at quarterback with sophomore Asiantii Woulard and true freshman Josh Rosen jockeying for position on the depth chart. Woulard came to UCLA with plenty of hype as an incredibly athletic dual-threat quarterback but hasn’t been able to make his mark during practice, making him the likely No. 3 signal caller this fall.
That leaves Neuheisel to contend with Rosen, who was rated as one of the best prep quarterbacks in the entire 2015 recruiting class. The young man has great size at 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds and has all the physical gifts you could want in a starting quarterback. The only problem with him is that he has no experience at the college level and making the leap from high school football to Pac-12 title contention is a pretty difficult one to make, no matter how physically gifted you are.
If Rosen were to be thrown into the deep end before he was ready, it would do immense damage to UCLA’s chances to compete in the Pac-12 South not only this season, but in the future as well. Say that Rosen is named the starter and then gets pummelled by the defenses of the Pac-12. Not only is he taking sacks, he’s throwing interceptions and having his confidence shaken to the core, stunting his development and keeping him from truly reaching his full potential for the Bruins.
Let’s not forget that the man that UCLA is currently trying to replace, Hundley, came to Westwood with all the physical attributes you could want in a quarterback, too. But then-coach Rick Neuheisel (Jerry’s dad) decided to give the star freshman a year to develop and learn, likely costing himself his job as head coach of the Bruins. At the end of the day, redshirting Hundley was a huge help to his game and allowed him to step in as a redshirt freshman the next season under Mora and become a program-changing talent under center for UCLA.
Rosen has the same chance to sit and develop for a year without getting thrown to the wolves (or Ducks, Cardinal and Trojans, as it were) of the Pac-12 before he’s ready. Letting him take a season to acclimate himself will not only allow Rosen to get more comfortable as a student-athlete at the college level, he’ll be more likely to step into the starting lineup as early as 2016 ready to take the UCLA offense to new heights.
And when you look at this roster, they are pretty set without needing to be bailed out by their quarterback. Often times, Hundley had to pick up the slack for some of UCLA’s offensive deficiencies but that won’t be the case in 2015. The Bruins welcome back almost everyone other than their quarterback, including their leading rusher Paul Perkins (1,575 yards rushing, 6.27 yards per carry, 9 TDs in 2014) and the top six receivers from last season, headlined by Payton, who caught 67 passes for 954 yards and seven touchdowns last fall.
This is a roster that is deep and experienced pretty much everywhere but the quarterback position. They don’t need someone to come in and play transcendent football under center. With this supporting cast, the Bruins can compete with a quarterback who gives them consistency and protects the football, as Neuheisel could do. What will sink them is a quarterback trying to do too much and making costly mistakes, like a young quarterback in over his head might do. Rosen might be the future of the program, sure, but there’s no reason to rush him into the spotlight prematurely and ruin him forever.
The entire Pac-12 is gearing up to make a run at the conference title and most of them have a legitimate shot to make it there. UCLA has the talent to be in the mix this season even without the dynamic playmaking of Hundley under center but they don’t have the margin for error to overcome the valleys that often come from playing a young quarterback too soon.
Neuheisel is not going to set the college football world on fire with his ability but he also won’t burn down UCLA’s chances to compete in 2015 by trying to do too much. He knows his skill set and he knows what he has around him, and will be able to lean on the more dynamic playmakers in the offense to make the highlight reel plays to get the Bruins going.
His steady, if unspectacular, play and gutsy leadership will bring the consistency that UCLA needs this season. He may not be the flashy, exciting choice, but Neuheisel is the best choice for the Bruins to get the most out of their offense in 2015.
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