If you look back at the UCLA football 2017 roster, you’re basically looking at a strange time capsule of "what ifs" and "almosts." It was the year everything changed for the Bruins. One minute, Josh Rosen is orchestrating the second-largest comeback in FBS history against Texas A&M. The next, Jim Mora is out of a job on his birthday, and Chip Kelly is being fitted for a visor.
It was a weird season. Honestly, it was a mess.
People forget how much NFL talent was actually walking around the Wasserman Football Center that year. You had a future first-round quarterback, a legendary left tackle in Kolton Miller, and guys like Kenny Young and Jaelan Phillips who were clearly built differently. But the chemistry? The defense? That was a whole different story. UCLA finished 6-7, but looking at the names on that 2017 depth chart, they probably should have won nine games.
The Josh Rosen Factor and the Quarterback Room
Everything centered on "The Chosen One." Josh Rosen was the undisputed face of the UCLA football 2017 roster. He was polarizing, sure. He had the hot tub in his dorm room, he had the outspoken views on NCAA amateurism, and he had that beautiful, effortless throwing motion that scouts drool over.
In 2017, Rosen threw for 3,756 yards. That’s a lot of production to lose. Behind him, the depth was... questionable. Devon Modster was the primary backup, a guy who actually played pretty well in the Cactus Bowl against Kansas State after Rosen was sidelined with a concussion. Then you had Matt Lynch and a young Austin Burton. But let’s be real: if Rosen wasn’t under center, the 2017 Bruins were a completely different team.
Rosen’s favorite targets that year included Jordan Lasley and Darren Andrews. Lasley was a beast—when he was on the field and not suspended. He averaged over 140 receiving yards per game over his final few starts. He and Rosen had this weird telepathy where Rosen would just chuck it deep, and Lasley would somehow find the ball in double coverage. Andrews was the steady hand, the reliable chain-mover until he suffered a brutal knee injury late in the season.
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The Trenches: Where Things Got Shaky
If you want to know why the UCLA football 2017 roster struggled despite having an elite QB, look at the run game. Or the lack thereof.
UCLA couldn't run the ball. At all.
Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks, and Bolu Olorunfunmi were the guys in the backfield. On paper, that’s a solid rotation of former four-star and five-star recruits. In reality? They averaged less than 120 rushing yards per game as a team. That is abysmal for a Power Five program.
The offensive line had Kolton Miller at left tackle. Miller was a literal giant who went on to be a pillar for the Raiders. But around him, the unit struggled with consistency. You had Scott Quessenberry at center, who was tough as nails and a multi-year starter, but the guard positions were often a revolving door of Andre James (who also became a long-time NFL starter) and Sunny Odogwu. It’s actually wild, looking back, how many of those offensive linemen made it to the pros considering how poorly the unit performed as a run-blocking group in 2017.
A Defensive Identity Crisis
The defense was the real Achilles' heel. Tom Bradley was the defensive coordinator, and his scheme just didn't seem to click with the personnel.
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They gave up nearly 200 yards per game on the ground. Teams like Stanford and Arizona just bullied them. Khalil Tate, the Arizona QB, ran for 230 yards against UCLA by himself. It was painful to watch.
The UCLA football 2017 roster featured Jaelan Phillips, the #1 recruit in the nation. He was a freak athlete. But injuries started piling up for him early, a trend that unfortunately defined his time in Westwood before his eventually successful transfer to Miami and a pro career with the Dolphins.
Linebacker Kenny Young was the heart of that defense. He led the team with 110 tackles and was basically the only reason the middle of the field wasn't a total highway for opposing running backs. In the secondary, you had Adarius Pickett and Jaleel Wadood. These guys were undersized but played with a massive amount of heart. Pickett, specifically, was a hitting machine. But heart doesn't always make up for a scheme that leaves you out-leveraged by 250-pound tight ends every Saturday.
The Coaching Transition
By the time the USC game rolled around, the writing was on the wall. Mora had lost the fanbase. The Rose Bowl was seeing more and more empty seats. The 28-23 loss to the Trojans was the final straw.
When Mora was fired, Jedd Fisch took over as the interim head coach. Fisch brought a different energy. He was the offensive coordinator who had unlocked some of Rosen’s best traits, and the players seemed to genuinely like him. He led the team to a win over Cal to clinch bowl eligibility, which felt like a mini-championship given how bleak the mid-season had been.
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But then came the Chip Kelly hire. The 2017 roster was the bridge between the Mora era's "Hollywood" recruiting style and Kelly's "culture and sports science" approach. A lot of guys on that 2017 squad didn't survive the transition.
Why the 2017 Roster Still Matters
We talk about this specific year because it represents the end of an era. It was the last time UCLA felt like it was trying to out-talent everyone. Since then, the program has moved toward a more developmental model.
When you scan the names—Keisean Lucier-South, Rick Wade, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner—you see a lot of talent that perhaps wasn't maximized. That's the tragedy of the UCLA football 2017 roster. It was a group capable of greatness that got stuck in the mud of coaching changes and defensive lapses.
If you’re researching this roster for a deep dive or just nostalgia, here are the real takeaways:
- NFL Pedigree: Despite the 6-7 record, this roster produced over a dozen players who spent time on NFL active rosters.
- The Texas A&M Game: This was the peak. Rosen’s "fake spike" touchdown pass is still one of the most iconic moments in UCLA history.
- Injury Bug: The loss of Darren Andrews and the nagging injuries to Jaelan Phillips essentially capped the team's ceiling.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Researchers
If you want to truly understand the impact of this team, don't just look at the stats. Do these three things:
- Watch the 2nd Half of the Texas A&M Game: It's the purest distillation of what that roster was capable of when the passing game was clicking.
- Trace the NFL Careers: Look at Kolton Miller, Kenny Young, and Andre James. Their longevity in the pros proves that the 2017 team was not lacking in raw material.
- Compare to 2018: Look at how the roster shifted once Chip Kelly took over. The "purge" of 2018 makes the 2017 roster look like a star-studded cast in comparison.
The 2017 season wasn't a success by wins and losses, but it remains one of the most talented collections of players UCLA has seen in the last decade. It was the end of a specific brand of Bruin football, for better or worse.