Jacob Tuioti-Mariner is quite the fill-in for UCLA’s defensive line

He is the prescription for whatever ails UCLA’s defensive line.

Takkarist McKinley is sidelined by a groin injury? Deon Hollins plays only sparingly because of a concussion? Eddie Vanderdoes hurts his knee?

There’s no need to worry as long as Jacob Tuioti-Mariner is around. He slides in wherever needed.

“He’s like our putty guy,” Bruins defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said Tuesday. ‘We have to put him all over the place when something happens.”

It’s been happening a lot more than UCLA would like.

McKinley aggravated a groin injury during the opener against Texas A&M and returned briefly before sitting out the Bruins’ 42-21 victory over Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday. Hollins sat out the opener and barely played against the Rebels because of a concussion he sustained halfway through training camp. Vanderdoes suffered a strained left knee during the first half Saturday and did not return.

Enter Tuioti-Mariner, a junior who is listed as a 6-foot-2, 285-pound defensive end but has filled three of the four spots on the line in the Bruins’ two games. Sometimes his only preparation has come during team meetings where he’s studied the nuances of each position.

“Whatever they need you to play,” Tuioti-Mariner said, “you just gotta accept the responsibility.”

Tuioti-Mariner has made seven tackles in two games as part of a line that has struggled to apply pressure to quarterbacks, partly because of continuity issues. The Bruins have recorded only one sack but did knock down UNLV quarterback Johnny Stanton about eight times, according to Bradley.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said he hoped to eventually find Tuioti-Mariner one designated spot.

“Everything changes when you change positions,” Mora said. “You see the game differently from different points of vision along that line. It’s just really important that we do a good job of managing that and don’t take him for granted and say, ‘Oh, he’ll get it’ and then all of a sudden we put him in a position where we’re not giving him a chance to succeed.

“It’s a catch-22 at times, but I just appreciate the fact that he has such a great attitude about it.”

One issue that has repeatedly surfaced for UCLA’s line is gap control, something that will be tested again Saturday. BYU’s Taysom Hill is a dual-threat quarterback whose biggest play in the Cougars’ first two games was a 39-yard run; he has not completed a pass for more than 19 yards.

Even though his playing time might dwindle, Tuioti-Mariner is rooting for the speedy return of his injured teammates.

“The guys we have right now, I’m comfortable with,” Tuioti-Mariner said, “but having Eddie and Takk back, it’ll be a plus.”

It remains unclear when that might be. Vanderdoes was on the sideline with injured players Tuesday during the warmup portion of practice that media were allowed to observe. McKinley departed practice late in the session, but Mora said “he got some work in and if he’s ready to go Saturday, we’ll play him.”

Tuioti-Mariner also logged time on the injury report during training camp. He felt discomfort in his side while stretching and was diagnosed with appendicitis. There was a debate whether to alleviate the condition through surgery or antibiotics.

“I’m glad I took the antibiotics way,” said Tuioti-Mariner, who returned a week later. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come back.”

Sneak peak

Mora completed some advance scouting work on Pac-12 Conference rivals Arizona and Utah in recent days because they happened to play BYU during the season’s first two weeks.

“You find yourself [asking], ‘Huh, what are they doing?’ and you’ve got to bring yourself back to the fact that we’re playing BYU and not Utah this week,” Mora said. “It gives you a little jump, but the focus has to be BYU and it is.”

UCLA will play Arizona on Oct. 1 and Utah on Oct. 22, with both games at the Rose Bowl.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch