Bruins Tackle a Growing Problem: Tackling

Like many of his teammates, UCLA running back Maurice Drew watched USC’s season-opening victory over Virginia Tech last weekend with great interest. One of the things he noticed was the high number of tackles missed by the Trojans early in the game.

It’s a tendency that has grown into a problem for college football programs. With more and more teams adopting the NFL approach of limited-hitting practices, it’s rare to see a good tackling college team early in the season.

“I really don’t think, I just react when I run with the ball,” said Drew, who will make his first regular-season start Saturday when the Bruins play host to Oklahoma State at the Rose Bowl. “That’s what most running backs do. Making defenders miss or lowering the shoulder and bowling them over is just part of the process.”

A process defenders often lose early in the season because they are not used to taking a runner down. Today’s defenders are more familiar with getting into tackling position and delivering a blow, instead of wrapping their arms to complete a tackle.

At UCLA, they call it thud tempo when a practice drill is full contact except when it comes to the tackle. It’s a practice style made popular by former NFL and college coach Bill Walsh in the 1980s with the San Francisco 49ers.

“The key is to have someone left to tackle,” UCLA defensive line coach Don Johnson said about football’s softer style of practice. “You can only do it full speed so many times. Those that have it, will have it. Those that don’t, won’t.

“I had the pleasure of working a training camp with Bill Walsh and his philosophy was, ‘Let’s get them on the bus for the real game.’ He believed that it was more important not to leave them in the training room. It must have worked because [Walsh] did pretty well with the teams he coached.”

However, in the NFL, players are expected to have strong fundamental skills. That’s not the case on the college level, where many players learn good and bad habits.

Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy said he would love to have his players hit more but that’s not possible under NCAA rules.

“You used to have 110 scholarships on a team compared to the 85 you have now,” said Bieniemy, a former standout at Colorado who played nine seasons in the NFL. “You just don’t have enough depth to hit all of the time.

“When I played, it wasn’t uncommon for big-time programs to have future All-Americans on the bench waiting.

“That’s not the case now. Because of the fewer numbers, schools have had to change their approach.”

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For UCLA’s defensive coaches, the USC game had special interest because of the Trojans’ early difficulties slowing Virginia Tech’s mobile quarterback Bryan Randall.

Randall gave USC’s defense fits with his running, which also happens to be a strength of Oklahoma State redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Woods.

At 6 feet 2 and 215 pounds, Woods has the size and speed to take advantage of poor tackling by the Bruins.

“Football is a physical game and you have to finish, especially on defense where you have to finish by tackling,” UCLA defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said. “We’ve done enough drills in camp where we’ve had some live tackling, but that’s always a concern.

“Tackling is the No. 1 thing you have to work on as a defense, especially for your first game. You would like to be good tacklers your first game because if you are, you have a good chance to win.”

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Coach Karl Dorrell said that either freshman Kenneth Lomard or sophomore Robert Garcia would start in place of injured C.J. Niusulu at defensive tackle Saturday. Niusulu had surgery on his left knee Wednesday and Dorrell said he expects him to be sidelined for two or three weeks.... Linebacker Tim Warfield did not practice because of a knee injury and will not play against Oklahoma State.