UCLA offensive line coach Juan Castillo revisits a phrase whenever his players are in a difficult situation. If the odds are stacked against them in a game or they’re endlessly drilling technique in practice, he asks them:
“What would you say to your son?”
The desired answer involves working hard and ignoring outside noise to overcome challenges and become mentally tougher. Redshirt senior Josh Carlin lives and breathes this as the guardian of an offense that has been continuously tested this season.
“The thing about him is there’s a burning desire inside,” Castillo said. “You see it. His goal is to play in the NFL and I think he has enough talent to do it. But what’s going to help him is what’s inside.”
UCLA’s offensive line has had varying levels of success this season. They struggled to protect the quarterback in the opening stretch of Big Ten Conference games and allowed No. 2 Oregon’s defense to sack Ethan Garbers four times before the quarterback eventually left the game.
A forlorn Carlin, who was playing center at the time, addressed the media in the postgame press conference and shouldered the blame for the offensive line’s shortcomings.
“I take responsibility because I am the leader of the room and those are my guys and so we need to continue to stress the importance of keeping him up,” Carlin said. “There was a sense of urgency throughout practice and going forward of just what is at stake and what we need to do as an offensive lineman.”
UCLA offensive lineman Josh Carlin. (Photo courtesy UCLA Athletics)
The line has given up fewer sacks since that game but the Bruins, whose overall record is 1-5, are still working to fulfill the potential of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s designs.
The offensive line has been reconfigured as UCLA continues its efforts to improve. Carlin, who is 6-foot-5 and 310-pounds, has moved from center to right guard and Sam Yoon has taken over at center. It gives Carlin another asset as an NFL hopeful and Yoon the opportunity to gain experience.
Carlin jokes that he might have potential as a running back in Bieniemy’s offense, too, since he played the position in Pop Warner. It doesn’t seem like the line is willing to sacrifice his talents, though — he still makes calls even at right guard.
“When you’re on the road you always use a silent count,” Castillo said. “When we were on the road and he was able to make the calls, it took a lot of pressure off of Sam, who’s having to snap and handle the silent count part of it. It really helped us a lot.”
Players have said that Bieniemy’s offense is complicated, which has a lot to do with the code words and lengthy play calls that the quarterback has to receive through his headset and distribute to the huddle before going out and making his reads. Plays calls can be up to 15 words long.
Bieniemy advises the Bruins to listen for the words that speak to them and for the offensive line, those words tend to be at the heart of the call. The line quickly learned the system in the spring and is making small adjustments based on the opponent.
The challenge now is to find ways to improve on a weekly basis. Castillo emphasizes technique, which is embodied in lengthy pregame warmups with and without pads.
“The biggest thing is to warm up like we are for the game and get our steps down and get in the motion,” Carlin said. “Once we come back outside the locker room, it’s go time.”
Efforts to improve the offensive line are happening in quieter settings, too. Players talk about what it takes to win their one-on-ones both on the field and in a metaphorical sense as they critique film from previous games in team meetings.
Castillo went around the room after UCLA’s game against No. 3 Penn State and asked each lineman if they are getting better. Carlin was affirmative, Castillo recalls, and spoke of the ups and downs of the game and the toughness required to continuously approach his one-on-ones.
“As we went through the room,” Castillo said, “I wanted everybody to hear everybody talking so that they hear about how they’re getting better and we will overcome.”
Carlin, who prepped at Sierra Canyon, is at the forefront of developing that mindset and players follow his lead because he lives it honestly while maintaining a friendly demeanor. He’s a player his teammates want to follow.
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“Easy guy to play for, easy guy to play with,” receiver J.Michael Sturdivant said. “He’s got a lot of confidence in himself, he knows what he’s doing, and he helps bring up everyone around him.
“That o-line is definitely following his lead. Those guys have a lot of confidence in him just like I have confidence in him and the rest of the o-line.”
When times are tough, Castillo asks his players to reflect on what they might tell their future children. Even before the question was posed at any time this season, Carlin already had his answer tattooed on his right arm.
“Protect my family.”