UCLA’s Alex Redmond might be healthy, but playing time isn’t assured

Offensive guard Alex Redmond returned to the field last Saturday against Colorado after injuring his leg against Arizona State, but not as the starter. In fact, he only played in one series.

A month ago, this would have been a bad thing for the Bruins. But after the emergence of Conor McDermott as the new starter at offensive tackle, Redmond doesn’t necessarily have a spot as a starter, even if he’s healthy.

For UCLA, this is a good problem to have.

“At this point in the season the last two years, it’s been a war of attrition, especially on the offensive line,” Coach Jim Mora said Tuesday. “This year, it seems like we’re getting some guys back .… It’s a completely different vibe than in the last two years, when we were kind of hanging on for dear life. Knock on wood that as we go through the rest of season, it continues that way.”

He later added: “We’re in a better spot than we’ve ever been in that position right now.”

Mora also said the offensive line was “the most committed group I’ve maybe ever been around.” The unit spends their free time in offensive line coach Adiran Klemm’s office, eat meals together and hangs out.

This could be why Redmond hasn’t complained or had a problem with losing his starting spot, according to the coaches, even though it looks like he won’t be in the lineup again unless the current group has a particularly bad outing or get hit with another injury.

“It could be [a problem], but it’s not with Alex,” Klemm said Wednesday. “He hasn’t made it hard. He just comes out here and fights, and he works, and he hasn’t gone in the tank or griped or complained. His attitude has been outstanding. He’s ready to play, we put him in for some plays the other day, but when you’re playing well, you don’t necessarily want to change things too much in terms of your personnel. But we know he’s there and he’s ready to go.”

Redmond is now playing a reserve role because McDermott, a redshirt sophomore, has essentially cemented himself as the starting left tackle the last few weeks, which allowed tackle Malcolm Bunche to move the guard spot. Bunche, a fifth-year senior, is a natural guard, and is playing much better on the interior line than the exterior.

“I want to have continuity,” Klemm said. “I don’t want to have a lot of moving parts, especially with Conor being new to it. [Right guard] Scott Quessenberry has gotten comfortable, and if we have an issue or something like that, maybe we’ll address it, but until then [Redmond] will just keep working hard and see how it goes. Him coming back is day to day, and in terms of how we approach it when he comes back, we’ll just deal with that when the time comes.”

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook