LOS ANGELES — UCLA defensive back Robert Stafford III made a highlight interception during the live portion of practice Wednesday, three days before his team takes on Cal on the road Saturday night.
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It’s been a journey for Stafford, who started his career at Miami after growing up in Melbourne, Florida, before joining UCLA last season. Stafford made 16 tackles and five starts last season.
Now he’ll get an opportunity to play a larger role under defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler.
“He’s been through it,” Hitschler said. “A big-time recruit that goes to Miami and then comes out here with the coaching change. A lot of these kids, the adversity they’ve been through in their college experience only makes them more ready for the moments that are coming ahead. Can’t wait to see him live the career he’s always wanted to have.”
Here’s what was learned from UCLA’s practice three days before opening its season against Berkeley.
Understanding the depth philosophy
UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy has a philosophy that echoes head coach Bob Chesney’s stance on not keeping a depth chart.
Rather than a depth chart, he looks at each player and analyzes the different sizes, strengths and weaknesses.
Some players are bigger and stronger, while others might be quicker, have better hands or a higher football IQ. Create a roster that fits your scheme, build and then mix.
“Tight ends and running backs,” Kennedy said. “You don’t want the same body type. You don’t want the same person. You want to be able to do different things. Those two positions, we have a multitude of tight ends and running backs that offer a lot of different things and have different strengths. One person’s weakness might be another person’s strength. What that allows you to do is get creative. Get creative. Get creative in the formation and schemes you run.”
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On Saturday, Kennedy schemes against first-year Cal defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings, who served as defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings the past two seasons after being the safeties coach in 2023.
Kennedy explained how he game-plans for a defensive coordinator who is the main play-caller for the first time.
“Any first game everybody deals with the same challenges,” Kennedy said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s them to us or us to them. When it rains, everybody is dealing with a wet surface. It’s no different. By no means do we look at that as an excuse, but that is part of Game One that every coaching staff deals with. They might have completely changed their defense. They may not. They might run stuff from last year; they may not. Who knows?”
Which is where in-game adjustments come into play for UCLA.
“That’s how you win this game in Game One, and that goes for everybody,” Kennedy said. “The players recognizing what they’re trying to do. Us recognizing what we are trying to do and getting on the same page.”
Mixing in different players fits the puzzle of Hitschler’s defense as well.
“It’s not just apple for apple,” Hitschler said. “You mix it up with what you put in there. Sometimes the second-string guy in that position does different things well than the first guy. You got to know that and put that puzzle together as a coach as well. I think the guys have really embraced their roles, and we are going to have a lot of people make a variety of different plays.”
Developing Iamaleava
Kennedy continues to see the growth of quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Connecting with teammates and being vocal are areas in which Iamaleava has shown marked improvement after coming to UCLA from Tennessee last season.
“Leadership across the board,” Kennedy said. “Everybody is starting to listen to him. You hear his voice across the board. He’s done a great job of getting an understanding of the offense and putting people on the same page. All that goes into leadership and making sure all 11 people are executing at a high level.”
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