One of the biggest culprits in UCLA’s slide to a 4-8 record last year came as a result of poor play along the offensive line. While many expect a big jump out of the unit coming into 2017, the Bruins’ line will once again be tested after some bad news out of Westwood.
After practice on Thursday, head coach Jim Mora confirmed reports that senior offensive lineman Kenny Lacy was done for the year after suffering an injury to his hip earlier in the week.
“Kenny had an injection so he could get an MRI and it showed he had some structural damage to his hips,” Mora told reporters. “So he’s going to have surgery and that will end his season.”
Mora didn’t say much with regards to Lacy’s future, noting that he has a redshirt year available to take, but also noted the possibility that he turns into a graduate transfer or even retires from football. Lacy had started 19 games the past two seasons at UCLA but was expected to be the first guy off the bench at right tackle behind Kolton Miller and possibly a few other positions along the line given his flexibility to play guard.
Given his experience, it goes without saying that the loss of Lacy is a blow to the team’s depth in the trenches -- an area the Bruins have struggled to be consistent in long before this injury.