Can UCLAs offense finally dispense with its thin blue line?

It’s the position that will likely determine the fate of UCLA’s offense – if not its season.In recent years, it’s been given all sorts of unfortunate labels.Weak.Feeble.

Easy to move.Yep, we’re talking about the offensive line, which has been a thin blue line, if you will, far too often.A year ago, it led to all sorts of problems for one of the worst offenses in college football.There was the inert running game, not to mention quarterback Nico Iamaleava being forced to scramble on way too many plays.UCLA quarterbacks absorbed 27 sacks – tied for No.

96 among 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams – and Iamaleava couldn’t play against Ohio State as a result of the sustained physical toll.Enter coach Bob Chesney, along with some significant reinforcements.As part of his bid to fortify the line, Chesney brought two players who could be starters along with him from James Madison.Riley Robell projects as the likely starting center, given his heavy usage before going down with a sprained medial collateral ligament over the last week, and Carter Sweazie is in a heated battle to nail down one of the starting guard spots.Robell and Sweazie were part of a James Madison line that helped the Dukes rush for 3,381 yards last season – No.6 in the nation – and their familiarity with one another could be a significant boost to their new team.“Not only have they played together, they’ve played together in this same system with the same language, right?” Chesney said after practice Monday.

“Whether we’re doing the same stuff on offense as we did a year ago – it’s not going to be exactly the same, but at the same [time], the way we communicate is going to be similar, so to have a guy next to you that you played with all year, I think adds a lot of continuity and confidence in their communication.”Chesney said that Robell had suffered a mild sprain and could return soon; he was spotted on an exercise bike early in practice Monday and later worked off ...