UCLA football is entering a state of transition in 2024. They are no longer in the now-defunct PAC-12 and have made the move to the Big 10 conference. UCLA joins former conference rivals USC, Oregon, and Washington in the switch in conferences. With them joining a new league, they are going to need all hands on deck. Luckily for them, UCLA is returning three of their best players for the 2024 season in Ethan Garbers, Logan Loya, and J Michael Sturdivant.
Ethan Garbers is back at quarterback
UCLA fans did not expect to get as much Ethan Garbers as they did last season. They had Dante Moore, an exciting freshman phenom who was ranked as the number two prospect in the entire 2023 high school class. Moore played in nine games as a freshman, but he was not quite ready yet for that level of play.
He completed just 53.5% of his passes, averaged 7.6 yards per attempt, and had just 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions. His struggles led UCLA to return to Garbers at quarterback, who began and ended the season as UCLA's starting quarterback. He brought stability and competent play along the way. He completed 67.1% of his passes, averaged 7.8 yards per attempt, and 11 touchdowns to only three interceptions.
Moore has since transferred to Oregon, which should pave the way for Garbers to start in 2024. He has his work cut out for him with the jump to a new and better conference, but he does have experience on his side. Garbers has 29 games under his belt which will help him out immensely. UCLA hopes that will lead to wins in their first year in the Big 10.
The sure-handed Logan Loya
What will also help Gabers is the return of his two leading UCLA football receivers from last season. One of them is senior Logan Loya, who is returning to UCLA for his fifth season. Loya broke out last year in his fourth year of college ball. He caught 59 passes for 655 yards and five touchdowns. To put that in context, Loya had just 21 receptions, 311 yards, and three touchdowns in the three years prior.
Loya is best operating out of the slot and the short area of the field. That, along with his 5-foot-11 and 185-pound frame makes him arguably the best and most reliable receiver on this team. If UCLA football is going to go anywhere this year, they will need Loya to perform exceptionally well. He's more than capable of doing just that.
J. Michael Sturdivant is a UCLA football big play threat
Loya was UCLA's leading receiver last year. He is solid but he can't carry their offense alone. That's where J. Michael Sturdivant comes in. Strudivant arrived in Los Angeles last year after beginning his college career at California-Berkeley. He played well there before transferring. Sturidvant hauled in 65 receptions for 755 yards and seven touchdowns in his lone season there.
Sturdivant's numbers weren't as big in his first year with UCLA football. He brought in just 36 passes for 597 yards and scored just four times. However, that might have more to do with UCLA's quarterback situation and his role in his offense than anything else. They asked him to really take the top off of opposing defenses, and he showed he's capable of doing that.
Sturidvant and Loya are great complements to each other. Their dynamic poses a lot of problems for opposing defenses trying to slow them down. They'll need to replicate that again in 2024 in a new conference. How well UCLA football does in 2024 in the Big 10 will hinge greatly on whether or not those two can give Garbers windows to throw to.
Follow Us
Subscribe
