Incoming Transfer to Start in Completely New Position for UCLA

From Louisville, Kentucky to the palm trees of Westwood, linebacker/safety Ben Perry will aim to make his final collegiate season count.

Perry is a redshirt senior, spending four years at Louisville but not getting a real crack until his sophomore season, where he became an immediate staple for the Cardinals.

For the most part, though, it seemed like Perry dealt with coverage issues, likely a big reason why DeShaun Foster wants to slide him in at linebacker.

David Woods of Bruins Report Online via 247Sports stated that Perry “looks more like a safety masquerading as a linebacker,” which could be an intriguing wrinkle for a UCLA defense that opposing quarterbacks attacked often last season.

Even though Perry struggled in coverage, his background as a defensive back could be helpful to the myriad of newcomers arriving in the secondary.

Could Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe unlock Perry as a legitimate linebacker?

“Throughout my career, I’ve always been the tweener (safety/linebacker) type, and here, they just said ‘whatever you can do, we’re going to put you there.’ So if it’s linebacker, safety, EDGE rusher, whatever, I’m going to do it,” Perry told reporters at spring camp in April.

When asked what intrigued him about UCLA, a word came out of his mouth quickly.

“They offered me versatility. The program itself, Coach Fos(ter). Coach Fos is the greatest guy, and I always told myself when I entered the portal, I want a coach that I can run through a brick wall for. And that’s Coach Malloe.”

That versatility will allow Perry to run the gamut. When you watch his game, you see a linebacker, the way he’s quick to wrap up a pass catcher, rush the quarterback, or shut down the run.

With that God-given ability, Malloe could unlock dimensions Perry didn’t even know existed after spending years playing safety.

When Perry speaks, it’s all business. He mostly gives short, direct answers — but there’s a fire behind those eyes. He brings that same energy onto the field.

His play style is reminiscent of a Jamal Adams-type, a player with plenty of brawn who prefers to be an option in the secondary, but thrives downhill.

Still, the fit at linebacker feels too perfect, not just for Perry, but for the Bruins as a whole. UCLA brought in multiple new additions in the secondary who can excel in coverage. And realistically, few defensive backs could perform worse than last year’s unit.

So if Perry has to drop into coverage, he can do it. But at this point, it should be a last resort.

It’s clear what the vision is for Perry: rush, rush, rush.

So much rush, in fact, that Tom Sawyer might as well be blaring from the loudspeakers.

He can do it at a high level. And with a top-tier defensive coordinator like Malloe steering the ship, the possibilities are endless.