Staff writer Matt Joye was out covering the action today. His report:
UCLA held its annual “Big Man Camp” for high school offensive and defensive linemen on Thursday afternoon at the Intramural Field.
Of the 200-plus participants at the camp, only about a handful were legitimate recruiting targets for the Bruins. Specifically, recent defensive line commit Aaron Maldonado (class of 2018) was there, as were O-line targets Marco Brewer (who committed after the camp) and Syr Riley (class of 2018). One of the key defensive line targets present was Samson Reed (class of 2018), a three-star from Hawaii.
Also present was offensive line target Steven Jones (class of 2018) from Temecula, but Jones was in street clothes and didn’t participate in any of the drills at the camp.
In other news, Sonny Odogwu – who recently enrolled at UCLA as a graduate transfer – was also present at the camp. Odowgu not only looked to be in good shape, but he also towered over basically everyone else on the field. It’s safe to say that Odowgu’s listed height of 6 feet, 8 inches is no exaggeration.
Camp observations
The player we kept close a watch of on Thursday was definitely Aaron Maldonado. This was one of the first times we got to see Maldonado in a camp setting, and we were curious to see how he’d perform.
First off, we have to credit Maldonado for even participating on Thursday. After all, the three-star defensive lineman already received his offer from UCLA, and verbally committed as well, so it didn’t seem like he had much left to gain by competing in the camp. Nevertheless, Maldonado appeared to be eager to get a head start learning from the UCLA coaches, and that kind of motivation reflects well on his part.
During the camp, Maldonado was kind of a mixed bag. He definitely had his moments, but he also appeared to be overeager on some drills – as if he was trying to validate his scholarship offer. He measured in at 6 feet, 2.5 inches and 270 pounds, and showed quick hands and feet during the drills. But was he the most dominant player in the camp on Thursday? No.
The most dominant player, at least from a 1-on-1 standpoint, was 6-foot-3-inch offensive lineman Marco Brewer. The Corvallis, Oregon native made the trek down to Westwood, and then promptly dominated just about every defensive lineman he faced in the OL/DL 1-on-1s. We didn’t see Brewer go up against Maldonado unfortunately, but he made mincemeat of fellow three-star defensive lineman Alexandre Dumais on the edge.
Another player who caught the attention of UCLA coaches was the relatively unheralded Aubrey Cole (class of 2019), a defensive end from Saint John Bosco.
Cole, who measured in at 6 feet, 1.5 inches and 217 pounds, was probably the most explosive edge rusher in the group, winning four of his five battles in 1-on-1s. At one point, Cole stood out so much that UCLA running backs coach DeShaun Foster made a point of tracking him down after a rep just to get a few words in with him. Though still undersized for the position, Cole’s explosiveness and low pad level make him an intriguing pass-rushing prospect to watch out for over the next year.
The UCLA Elite Camp will continue tomorrow with the skill players session, which begins at 11 a.m. at the Intramural Field.
UCLA held its annual “Big Man Camp” for high school offensive and defensive linemen on Thursday afternoon at the Intramural Field.
Of the 200-plus participants at the camp, only about a handful were legitimate recruiting targets for the Bruins. Specifically, recent defensive line commit Aaron Maldonado (class of 2018) was there, as were O-line targets Marco Brewer (who committed after the camp) and Syr Riley (class of 2018). One of the key defensive line targets present was Samson Reed (class of 2018), a three-star from Hawaii.
Also present was offensive line target Steven Jones (class of 2018) from Temecula, but Jones was in street clothes and didn’t participate in any of the drills at the camp.
In other news, Sonny Odogwu – who recently enrolled at UCLA as a graduate transfer – was also present at the camp. Odowgu not only looked to be in good shape, but he also towered over basically everyone else on the field. It’s safe to say that Odowgu’s listed height of 6 feet, 8 inches is no exaggeration.
Camp observations
The player we kept close a watch of on Thursday was definitely Aaron Maldonado. This was one of the first times we got to see Maldonado in a camp setting, and we were curious to see how he’d perform.
First off, we have to credit Maldonado for even participating on Thursday. After all, the three-star defensive lineman already received his offer from UCLA, and verbally committed as well, so it didn’t seem like he had much left to gain by competing in the camp. Nevertheless, Maldonado appeared to be eager to get a head start learning from the UCLA coaches, and that kind of motivation reflects well on his part.
During the camp, Maldonado was kind of a mixed bag. He definitely had his moments, but he also appeared to be overeager on some drills – as if he was trying to validate his scholarship offer. He measured in at 6 feet, 2.5 inches and 270 pounds, and showed quick hands and feet during the drills. But was he the most dominant player in the camp on Thursday? No.
The most dominant player, at least from a 1-on-1 standpoint, was 6-foot-3-inch offensive lineman Marco Brewer. The Corvallis, Oregon native made the trek down to Westwood, and then promptly dominated just about every defensive lineman he faced in the OL/DL 1-on-1s. We didn’t see Brewer go up against Maldonado unfortunately, but he made mincemeat of fellow three-star defensive lineman Alexandre Dumais on the edge.
Another player who caught the attention of UCLA coaches was the relatively unheralded Aubrey Cole (class of 2019), a defensive end from Saint John Bosco.
Cole, who measured in at 6 feet, 1.5 inches and 217 pounds, was probably the most explosive edge rusher in the group, winning four of his five battles in 1-on-1s. At one point, Cole stood out so much that UCLA running backs coach DeShaun Foster made a point of tracking him down after a rep just to get a few words in with him. Though still undersized for the position, Cole’s explosiveness and low pad level make him an intriguing pass-rushing prospect to watch out for over the next year.
The UCLA Elite Camp will continue tomorrow with the skill players session, which begins at 11 a.m. at the Intramural Field.
