UCLA’s defense works at exploiting talent

Talent has never been an issue for this UCLA defense — there are future NFL players aplenty. The trick is figuring out how to use that talent.

The defense is looking pretty good a week after holding Arizona’s offense, one of the best in the Pac-12, to seven points and 255 total yards. A big reason for that is defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes, who is anchoring a run defense that now ranks fourth in the conference.

After a rough game against Oregon that included a punch thrown at a Duck offensive lineman, Vanderdoes has been on a tear. The sophomore has 13 tackles in his last two games.

“Obviously he’s a great talent,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said Wednesday. “I think we’ve just allowed him, freed him up a little bit, to be Eddie. I think that’s the key to our success as of late, was just finding these niches for these guys, letting them play within the defense, but at the same time really playing to their strengths. Eddie’s got some traits that are very uncommon and unique.”

Another player Ulbrich is trying to find the perfect spot for is Fabian Moreau. The talented cornerback had an unbelievable training camp, with Coach Jim Mora calling him a future first-round draft pick.

But the first two months of Moreau’s season were poor, to say the least. He struggled mightily in zone pass coverage packages, man-to-man packages, really with everything.

In Moreau’s last three games, though, he’s shown flashes of becoming that player. He had three pass breakups and had arguably the best game of his season against Arizona last weekend.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Ulbrich said. “That’s kind of how it is with cornerbacks sometimes. You start having some success, you start winning consistently and you get that swagger back. I think he’s definitely got his confidence back, and I definitely think he’s playing at a very high level.”

Ulbrich was the Bruins’ linebackers coach last year and is in his first season as defensive coordinator. As his defense gets more experience, and he gets more experience coaching it, tailoring the lineup to the strengths of his personnel becomes easier.

“We’ve got some young guys that just haven’t shown all they can do, all they’re capable of,” Ulbrich said. “Every once in a while, you get a little glimmer, and you say, ‘We’ve got to take advantage of that.’ If we continue to keep doing that, I think that will obviously increase the success of the entire unit, collectively.

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