Tight Ends Prove Their Worth

A big question for UCLA heading into Saturday’s opener revolved around the Bruins’ collection of tight ends trying to replace Marcedes Lewis, last season’s John Mackey Award winner as the best player in college football at his position.

Logan Paulsen and Ryan Moya gave UCLA an early answer with a strong effort in the Bruins’ 31-10 victory over Utah at the Rose Bowl.

“I think we did well, but there’s always room for improvement,” said Paulsen, who finished with a team-high five catches for 90 yards. “Ryan had a fantastic touchdown in the first quarter that really got us going. I had a couple of catches, and we all blocked well as a group. We know with Marcedes gone there was a lot of people wondering about us, but the tight ends did OK today.”

Moya’s only reception gave UCLA its first touchdown of the game when he beat Utah’s Steve Tate with a nice move for a 16-yard score.

“We try not to talk about what we don’t have, but instead talk about what we do have,” UCLA offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda said. “Those young kids did a nice job today.”

*

Utah safety Eric Weddle, who had eight tackles, on the way UCLA helped quarterback Ben Olson, who passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns: “They protected him very well. They moved him around with a lot of [bootleg passes], and they didn’t have him drop straight back too often. Their misdirection, play-action stuff kept our pressure from getting to him.”

*

UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell on his coaching staff, which has six new assistants from last season: “[Offensive coordinator] Jim Svoboda did a tremendous job, [Defensive coordinator] DeWayne Walker called a very good game, too. I was very pleased with how both coordinators managed the game.”

*

Three of the top four tacklers for UCLA were defensive backs. Free safety Dennis Keyes led the way with seven, including one for a loss; strong safety Chris Horton added five; and cornerback Rodney Van matched linebacker Aaron Whittingham with four.... The Bruins out-gained Utah, 219 yards to 79, in the second half.... UCLA’s Aaron Perez hit a career-best punt of 53 yards in the second quarter.... UCLA freshman safety Aaron Ware suffered a concussion.... Attendance was 59,709. UCLA drew 44,808 last year for its 63-21 opening victory over Rice.... UCLA is 8-0 all-time versus Utah.