UCLA Football: 5 incoming freshmen who could start in 2018

The Bruins’ 2018 recruiting class is chock-full of Army All-Americans. Four-star offensive guard Chris Murray is the third to make the list and he has the potential to be a day one starter as well.

In fact, UCLA is losing left tackle Kolten Miller to the NFL and center Scott Quessenberry is gone as well. Although Murray doesn’t fit either of those positions as a natural guard, their departures could force a guard who is already in place to move to that center spot or even tackle. That may open up a job for Murray.

Murray has a strong upper body, but he has a tendency to stand up instead of creating a low, wide base. It may just be in a couple of instances in his highlights, but he’s strong enough to handle any defender lined up across from him, but when he stands up, he allows the opponent to get a decent pop in. He will polish up at the next level and he has the strength to dominate in the trenches.

The four-star from Santa Ana, Calif., picked UCLA over Stanford on Jan. 6. He is ranked the No. 157 overall recruit and sixth-best guard in the class. It’ll be mighty difficult to penetrate a line led by a 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive guard.