UCLA 2006 Season | Team Page

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Special Athlon offer for SI.com readers The Lowdown 2007 Schedule Coach: Karl Dorrell (5th season, 29-21) 2006 record: 7-6 (Lost to Florida State in Emerald Bowl) Pac-10 finish: 5-4 (4th) 2006 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 63rd (129.8 ypg) Passing: 56th (200.3 ypg) 2006 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 9th (91.1 ypg) Passing: 87th (223.4 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 1 at Stanford Sept. 8 BYU Sept. 15 at Utah Sept. 22 Washington Sept. 29 at Oregon State Oct. 6 Notre Dame Oct. 20 California Oct. 27 at Washington State Nov. 3 at Arizona Nov. 10 Arizona State Nov. 24 Oregon Dec. 1 at USC Depth Chart: Offense 10 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. SE 9 Marcus Everett Sr. 10 Gavin Ketchum Jr. FL 1 Brandon Breazell Sr. 26 Joe Cowan Sr. LT 73 Micah Kia So. 68 Brian Abraham Sr. LG 74 Noah Sutherland Sr. 67 P.J. Irvin Sr. C 60 Chris Joseph Sr. 50 Aaron Meyer Jr. RG 71 Shannon Tevaga Sr. 75 Nick Ekbatani Jr. RT 78 Aleksey Lanis So. 68 Brian Abraham Sr. TE 86 Logan Paulsen Jr. 15 Ryan Moya Jr. QB 7 Ben Olson Jr. 12 Patrick Cowan Jr. FB 32 Michael Pitre Sr. 42 Chane Moline So. TB 28 Chris Markey Sr. 36 Kahlil Bell Jr. Depth Chart: Defense 10 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 96 Nikola Dragovic Sr. 89 Tom Blake Jr. DT 93 Brigham Harwell Sr. - Brian Price Fr. DT 75 Kevin Brown Sr. 50 Chase Moline Jr. DE 44 Bruce Davis Sr. 77 Kenneth Lombard Jr. SLB 42 Aaron Whittington Sr. 12 John Hale Jr. MLB 33 Christian Taylor Sr. 54 Kyle Bosworth Jr. WLB 51 Reggie Carter So. 8 Shawn Oatis So. CB 23 Trey Brown Sr. 22 Michael Norris Jr. CB 3 Rodney Van Sr. 1 Alterraun Verner So. SS 14 Chris Horton Sr. 25 Bret Lockett Jr. FS 11 Dennis Keyes Sr. 27 Aaron Ware So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. K 15 Kai Forbath Fr. P 17 Aaron Perez Jr. KR 3 Jeremy McGee So. PR 4 Terrence Austin So. To order your 2007 Athlon Sports annual and receive $1 off plus free shipping courtesy of SI.com, click here.

With the way UCLA flaunted its stunning 13–9 December upset of USC, selling everything from t-shirts to framed pictures on the athletic site’s web page, one would think the Bruins used the triumph to catapult to a Pac-10 championship.

However, the Trojans went on to win the Rose Bowl while the Bruins lost to Florida State in the Emerald Bowl and finished 7–6.

Such a topsy-turvy season should not appear to be an issue for the Bruins in 2007 as fifth-year coach Karl Dorrell looks to make the biggest, and most important, leap of his career. UCLA returns 20 starters, and a favorable schedule adds to the lofty goals.

“We have a good deal of experience back, a lot of guys that have played a lot of football, and now it’s time to make a move.’’ Dorrell says.

OFFENSE

Quarterback Ben Olson played significantly for the first time since 2001, but a knee injury cut his season short after five games and cost him vital experience. However, the 6-foot-5, 227-pound Olson still possesses arguably the strongest arm in the conference and enough agility to avoid pressure. Now, it is a matter of fulfilling potential.

UCLA is missing an explosive threat at running back, but senior Chris Markey brings an element of toughness and versatility to the offense. He led the Bruins in rushing and receptions in 2006 but acknowledges he could have run harder and with more of an edge late in the season.

Marcus Everett, Joe Cowan, Terrence Austin, Jeremy McGee, Gavin Ketchum and Brandon Breazell give UCLA plenty of depth at receiver, which should open up the passing game because of the experience.

The Bruins scrapped the strong-side, weak-side offensive line approach and went back to the traditional left and right side alignments, then altered pretty much everything else. Chris Joseph moved from guard to center, Noah Sutherland was moved from tackle to left guard, and Micah Kia was put at left tackle after spending 2006 as a rarely used backup.

DEFENSE

Although the Bruins plan to line returning senior All-America defensive end Bruce Davis up on the open side (away from the tight end) whenever possible, opponents are likely to make senior Nikola Dragovic prove he can impact a game before committing too many blockers to him. Davis, whose 12.5 sacks in 2006 is the most of any returning player in the nation, could see double teams if Dragovic does not play well.

Second-year defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker tries to utilize this unit’s speed and smarts to offset the lack of size. Senior middle linebacker Christian Taylor (6-foot, 222 pounds) was limited in spring practice as he continued to recover from a badly sprained ankle suffered midway through the season. Weak-side linebacker Reggie Carter is UCLA’s best hitter, and should be a tackling machine.

Senior cornerbacks Trey Brown and Rodney Van, free safety Dennis Keyes and strong safety Chris Horton comprise arguably the best secondary in the conference. Brown enters the season with 30 straight starts, but Van needs to be more consistent or he will lose playing time to Alterraun Verner. Walker likes to utilize nickel packages, and his choices will increase with the return of Michael Norris, who missed last season with a knee injury.

SPECIALISTS

Redshirt freshman Kai Forbath once kicked a 57-yard field goal in high school, so the leg strength is evident. However, he replaces All-American Justin Medlock, who made 28-of-32 field goal attempts last season.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Dorrell is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for a second straight season with the hiring of offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. Dorrell looked great in coaxing Walker from the NFL to be the defensive coordinator for the 2006 season; now Norvell gets the reins of an offense returning 10 starters.

Defensively, UCLA also returns 10 starters. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in speed. The tackling should be better than 2006, and knowledge of Walker’s scheme and approach should be a big benefit.

Add in UCLA’s favorable schedule — the Bruins’ Pac-10 road games are Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona and USC — and this team could be contending for a BCS berth.