Anyone watching UCLA deploy its linebackers in what’s officially been dubbed a 3-4 defense might come away slightly confused.
On any given play, it could more closely resemble a 5-2 or a 4-3, depending on how many linebackers are blitzing versus dropping back into pass coverage.
“A lot of pressures and disguises,” linebacker Josh Woods explained, “just keeping the offense on their toes with different looks, playing with their minds and just chess pieces.”
The biggest difference between the formations that the Bruins are running under new defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro versus the 4-3 alignment favored by predecessor Tom Bradley is the direction in which the linebackers are running.