UCLA Football: 5 takeaways from 2019 spring game

UCLA football held its annual spring game with a new format on Saturday afternoon. What’d we learn from the offense’s 3-0 victory?

Who would have thought defense would steal the show during UCLA’s spring game? Chip Kelly and the Bruins watched as the offense beat the defense by a score of 3-0. Though the offense technically won, the defense was the real winner on Saturday afternoon.

No touchdowns were scored and the red-zone defense stepped up on multiple occasions.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Austin Burton battled it out for the starting quarterback job and both looked more than serviceable, but there wasn’t enough to make a final decision.

There are plenty of question marks heading into the 2019 season after spring ball, but what did we learn from UCLA’s spring game on Saturday.

5. Patrick Jolly is a rising star in the secondary

A name that may not have been on anyone’s radar heading into spring ball was redshirt freshman Patrick Jolly. He seemed to have been a forgotten commodity, but he may have just played himself into the two-deep at cornerback this fall with a strong spring game.

Jolly had himself quite the day for the Bruins in the defensive backfield. He was all over the field despite getting targeted plenty by each quarterback, even breaking up a 60-yard bomb to the end zone. That wasn’t his only highlight of the game, though.

Guys like Darnay Holmes and Elijah Gates may have locked down the starting cornerback jobs, but Jolly is pushing to join that regular rotation and he’ll be a player to watch when the season kicks off.

If you’re looking for a potential breakout candidate on the defensive side of the ball in 2019, Jolly could be a safe choice.