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After leading a top-ranked defensive unit in his first year at UCLA last season, defensive coordi

Defensive coordinator Larry Kerr doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s thought about it before.

In fact almost everyone associated with the UCLA football team has thought about it at least once, even if it was nothing more than a fleeting thought: the possibility of “what if?”

What if the Bruins had last year’s defense coupled with this year’s offense? If it were even possible, the UCLA football team would surely be better than it is now, and Kerr’s job would be much easier.

“I’m sure that’s crossed my mind,” Kerr said. “If we had those two together, we would be an awfully tough team.”

Last season, Kerr coached one of the best defenses in the country, a unit ranking second in the Pac-10 and 18th in the nation. But that success came at a cost since five starters from last year’s defense now play in the NFL, leaving big shoes to fill.

One could only imagine the possibilities of those players combined with this year’s much improved offense.

The harsh reality is that the Bruins’ defense is a far cry from what it was last year. The same players who helped carry the load for the 2003 season are long gone, and now Kerr, for all intensive purposes, has had to start over.

“The struggle from last year was that we couldn’t play a lot of young guys from last year because the defense carried the team and the offense was struggling,” Kerr said. “We couldn’t really develop any of the young players.

“We came into this year and it was like starting over.”

The Bruins’ defensive woes have been well documented this year. Loaded with young, inexperienced players, and dealing with several major injuries, UCLA now ranks near the bottom of almost every defensive statistic in the conference. Out of 117 Division I schools, the Bruins rank 111th in rushing defense (237.3 yards per game), 66th in passing defense (214.6 yards), and 108th in total defense (451.9 yards).

Most of the struggles have originated from the defensive line, where tackle C.J. Niusulu was the only returning player with any game experience.

Thus, because of the young make-up of the Bruins, who have played six true freshmen and nine redshirt freshmen this year, Kerr has had to alter his coaching style.

“I’ve had to adapt to who I’m coaching in order to get it done,” Kerr said. “It’s like when my kids are five and then 20, they’re different, you know?”

“When you have an older, mature group, sometimes you don’t have to push them as hard. You don’t have to hold their hand, you don’t have to be as intense with them.”

Several veteran players have also noticed subtle changes in Kerr’s coaching style, but understand the changes are warranted.

“He’s a little more intense on the sidelines,” junior linebacker Spencer Havner said. “He tends to go after people a little bit more than last year. Last year, we knew what we had to do and what we had to take care of. This year, we have a lot of young guys, so it’s different.”

In only his second year at UCLA, players agree that Kerr has made a significant impact after taking over for former Bruin defensive coordinator Phil Snow. Kerr was one of several new coaches who came to Westwood after head coach Karl Dorrell took over the program in 2003.

“Coach Kerr is a great teacher,” linebacker Justin London said. “He’s someone I respect a great deal. He’s the type of coach you can rely on. He’s not going to give you a bunch of garbage talk for no reason.”

Snow had only been at UCLA for two years before the coaching change took place. Consequently, Kerr’s hire means that the redshirt senior players have had three different defensive coordinators.

Fortunately, the set of defensive schemes Kerr brought with him emphasized simplicity, making the adjustment easier on the players.

“The biggest challenge last year was to take a group who had several different defenses throughout their careers and reteach them another,” Kerr said. “Our whole job last year was to get those guys to buy into what we did. And they did and that’s why we had great success.”

Although the system has remained the same in Kerr’s second season, results have been different.

Kerr’s new challenge is to remain tolerant of his young players’ mistakes and be patient until they develop into the players he believes they can become.

“Sometimes I’ve gone overboard and done too much to help them and set them back,” he said. “You have to be careful and fortunately I saw that early and pulled back on some things. I think bringing these guys along at that right time is important.”

But as the growing pains intensify with each game, the question emerges of when the defense will find its niche.

“I really feel like this year’s group was where last year’s offense was to some extent,” Kerr said. “If we can make the step through the end of this year, we could be very good.”

As UCLA progresses into the final stage of its season, Kerr understands the last four games will be a bumpy ride. Still, he’s glad that some of last season’s pressure is gone now.

“Fortunately our offense is so good, that it has allowed the defense to not carry the burden,” Kerr said.

“If we were carrying the burden, we would be in deep trouble right now. That’s honest.”

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