UCLA running game tries to pick up steam in Memphis

LOS ANGELES — Right tackle Andre James cut down two would-be Hawai’i rushers and right guard Michael Alves cleared out another as running back Nate Starks saw a rushing lane larger than almost anything the UCLA offense had produced in more than a year. The senior running back galloped through, untouched for 25 yards.

With quarterback Josh Rosen and the receivers surging, UCLA’s running game is hoping to catch up after showing a faint heartbeat last week, thanks a stronger camaraderie between the offensive linemen and running backs.

“We built our relationship with the O-Line over the offseason,” Starks said. “It’s important to do that because you want to play for your brother; and the guy over the line (on the defensive line) is not going to mess with my brother.”

The Bruins average 3.8 yards per carry entering Saturday’s 9 a.m. game at Memphis and haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in a game since Nov. 14, 2015.

First-year running backs coach DeShaun Foster said he preferred to have a featured running back, but after two games UCLA has yet to find its leading man.

Junior Soso Jamabo led the team with seven carries for 46 yards against Texas A&M but was held out last week due to a minor injury. With Jamabo sidelined, Starks got the start and had seven carries for 42 yards. Junior Bolu Olorunfunmi is the only running back with significant playing time in both games with 16 combined carries for 63 yards.

Six players carried the ball on 23 combined called runs against Hawai’i. Without its three quarterback sacks, UCLA averaged 6.7 yards per carry, including wide receiver Demetric Felton’s 12.3 yard-per-carry clip.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound redshirt freshman receiver rushed for 1,347 yards on 166 carries as a senior in high school, but is likely too small to carry the ball regularly for the Bruins, head coach Jim Mora said. However, Felton’s presence gives the Bruins another potential playmaker on a first-string offense that has scored 12 consecutive touchdown drives.

UCLA is 19th in the country in total offense (529.5 yards per game) with 7.62 yards per play.

“We moved the ball well (against Hawaii),” offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said. “I don’t really worry too much about the mix (of run and pass), I just worry about being efficient. And we were that.”

Advertisement

Extracurriculars

Mora made an exception to his strict football-only focus for this weekend as the Bruins plan visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. UCLA departed for its first road trip of the year Thursday, a day earlier than the team usually would for a Saturday game, and will visit the museum Friday.

Between meetings and walk-throughs, the team will spend about an hour in the museum on a private tour.

“We feel like it’s an opportunity to see something that’s special to the history of this country, very special — somber, meaningful, educational,” Mora said. “We think it will have an impact on our guys, we wanted them to see it.”

Early birds

UCLA is used to a Pac-12 After Dark game, but the Bruins get the early shift Saturday with a 9 a.m. PT kickoff in Memphis. The Bruins are typically a morning team, with weight-room sessions beginning as early as 6 a.m. and practices during the school year at 7 a.m., so they’re not worried about an early game time.

“Just kind of take it like every game,” tight end Caleb Wilson said. “Probably get a little more rest the night before, but it’s pretty much the same.”