They’re nonetheless collectively … for now.
UCLA’s soccer workforce appeared to have a full roster of gamers at its disposal Monday after the Bruins reached the four-game threshold for redshirting and the midway level of the 30-day window for coming into the switch portal following the dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster.
Interim coach Tim Skipper mentioned no participant had knowledgeable him of an intention to redshirt or switch, although there’s nonetheless time to mull these choices earlier than the Bruins (0-4 general, 0-1 Huge Ten) face No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon on the Rose Bowl.
As soon as a participant participates in a fifth recreation, he can not redshirt.
Giving any participant contemplating such a transfer pause could be the scenario at Virginia Tech. An legal professional tweeted that he was representing a redshirting Hokies participant whose resolution, within the eyes of the varsity, constituted “ ‘opting out’ and fraudulent misrepresentation under the NCAA’s bylaws, justifying immediate termination of scholarships and revenue-sharing payments under the House settlement. Redshirting is a standard practice to preserve eligibility, not voluntary withdrawal from a program, and schools cannot void revenue-sharing payments on pay-for-play grounds.”
As of final weekend, three Virginia Tech gamers had reportedly entered the switch portal and two had determined to redshirt.
What destiny would possibly await the Bruins within the coming days and weeks?
“It’s going to be fluid through the rest of the season,” Skipper mentioned. “You know, as far as when you get to your fourth game, you decide [whether] to keep going. But my whole thing on that is that’s the rules, and if guys decide to do that, we’re not holding them hostage. They can go ahead and do that.
“We’re coaching them hard. We’re showing them a blueprint to go win games, and that’s what we’re going to do. And people that want to be a part of it stay, and then guys that choose to go the other way, they go the other way. But right now that’s not been a big emphasis in anything that we’re doing day to day. It’s getting better and trying to get us a win.”
One other fluid scenario
UCLA didn’t simply change the coach operating its protection, it additionally modified the protection. The in-season overhaul led to solely a portion of the playbook being put in within the first recreation underneath Kevin Coyle.
However that doesn’t essentially imply the total playbook can be put in in a matter of weeks.
“Northwestern compared to Penn State, as far as what they do schematically, is totally different,” Skipper mentioned, referring to final week’s opponent versus the subsequent one. “So we’re going to have to have a different plan and do different things. Probably how we are right now, we’ll never just have the whole playbook in. We’re going to game-plan as we go week to week because we’re going to play so many different offenses, so many different looks.”
Penn State makes use of extra pre-snap movement than Northwestern, presenting completely different challenges. The Nittany Lions are also much more potent than the Wildcats, averaging 39 factors per recreation.
Skipper mentioned he was happy with Coyle’s playcalling debut throughout UCLA’s 17-14 loss to the Wildcats, noting that the workforce had given up a median of 36 factors throughout its first three defeats. The Bruins additionally allowed 314 yards of offense, effectively beneath the typical of 431 that they had given up beforehand.
And so forth.
UCLA moved Garrett DiGiorgio to proper guard towards Northwestern whereas utilizing Reuben Unije and Courtland Ford at deal with earlier than Unije went down due to an unspecified harm. The Bruins then put DiGiorgio again at proper deal with and used Julian Armella at proper guard. The extent of Unije’s harm was not instantly identified. … Freshman linebacker Scott Taylor made his first profession deal with towards the Wildcats whereas having fun with extra intensive enjoying time. “Scott’s a guy that’s flashed,” Skipper mentioned. “He makes plays every day, whether it’s special teams or on defense, and I think he’s getting better and better and better. I think he can definitely be a guy that will keep having major contributions to the team.”
