Plenty of hitting, big plays and big news. The UCLA Bruins took the field for their final practice before tomorrow's fan appreciation day for what amounted to an eventful scrimmage. With a final score of 39-16, the blue team dominated. Here were the notes from tonight's practice:
-The Bruins divided the team into two teams, white and blue with the blue team composed of mostly the two deep players including both Josh Rosen and Jerry Neuheisel. I had Rosen at 10-for-18 for 90 yards with one passing touchdown of around 15 yards and a one-yard quarterback sneak for a score. Rosen also had about 30 yards scrambling. He also had two fumbles that were bad snaps from Alex Redmond and one interception that was a blatant pass interference. I had Jerry at 9-for-12 for 105 yards and a score from about 45 yards out. Rosen looked his best when he had a stable running game behind him and was able to use play action. Mora said in his press conference that he would like to name a starter by the end of next week by the latest and while Rosen had some snap trouble from a new center and looked a little flustered at times playing behind a re-forged line, he played well enough that he should lock it up with another solid week of practice back in Westwood.
-The scoring began on a bad snap from Redmond that was kicked around by Rosen and was scooped up by Cameron Judge, who then took it to the house. Judge actually played very well and was a force in the run game and displayed speed chasing sideline to sideline. Scoring would continue mostly, however, in the hands of the running backs.
-This stable of running backs is ridiculously deep and finally Soso Jamabo showed something tonight. He was elusive at the line of scrimmage and powerful at the point of contact. His first run of the night wasn't a beauty as he missed a huge hole but it likely was just due to jitters. After that run he broke off a run of about 25 yards and would have been the workhorse if not for the impressive effort by Bolu Olorunfunmi. Bolu is a bowling ball of a back. He displayed impressive open field ability and had to be gang tackled on many efforts. He reminds me of a bigger MJD with his build and ability to get low and powerful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no matter who lines up behind center, the running backs are going to make life so much easier. Paul Perkins was strong although he didn't play long and Nate Starks had about an 8-yard score but sat out much of the game with a foot issue that was bothering him.
-The defense, not to be outdone, was flying around the field tonight. Myles Jack is an absolute freak, which goes without saying. In the run game, he was crushing backs and he completely erased options in the passing game. Even on special teams he was a terror, blocking an extra point attempt and snatching the ball one-handed off a bounce and taking it the distance. Kenny Young was shooting gaps like everyone else was in slow motion. His ability to penetrate into the backfield and key the ball carrier could make him great. And don't think you'll just get around the edge and break it for a gain because that edge belongs to Deon Hollins, who had 1.5 sacks tonight. He came screaming off the edge making the big bear of a tackle Kolton Miller dance to his tune. The defensive line was a menace as well with Eddie Vanderdoes and Kenny Clark constantly pushing offensive linemen into the laps of quarterbacks and knocking backs around with tree trunk arm tackles. It wasn't all the front seven either.
-The defensive backs closed throwing windows and punished ball carriers. This type of defensive performance makes Neuheisel and Rosen's performances all that more impressive considering what they were trying to move the ball against. It wasn't the just the usual suspects laying the wood in the backend either. Mossi Johnson absolutely crushed Roosevelt Davis as he played safety. Coincidentally, safety turned ball carrier Adarius Pickett looked good with the ball in his hands again. Strangely, this came days after hearing from Mora that Pickett was a safety and had no plans to move him to running back.
-Ka'imi Fairbairn had a poor performance tonight. He hit on a 31-yard field goal but missed on a PAT and a 37-yard try as well. He wasn't pushed too much in camp and tonight was actually the worst he looked.
-The big news of the night however was the UCLA press release announcing the Adrian Klemm situation, which put a bit of a damper on the Bruins' night. Klemm will be suspended for the first two games of the season but according to Mora, will be allowed to practice with the team. Continue following Bruinsportsreport.com and Ed for more on the situation as it develops.
The Bruins will hold a fan appreciation day tomorrow at 9 a.m. but there will be no practice. They will then return to Westwood to begin preparing for their season opener on Sept. 5.
-The Bruins divided the team into two teams, white and blue with the blue team composed of mostly the two deep players including both Josh Rosen and Jerry Neuheisel. I had Rosen at 10-for-18 for 90 yards with one passing touchdown of around 15 yards and a one-yard quarterback sneak for a score. Rosen also had about 30 yards scrambling. He also had two fumbles that were bad snaps from Alex Redmond and one interception that was a blatant pass interference. I had Jerry at 9-for-12 for 105 yards and a score from about 45 yards out. Rosen looked his best when he had a stable running game behind him and was able to use play action. Mora said in his press conference that he would like to name a starter by the end of next week by the latest and while Rosen had some snap trouble from a new center and looked a little flustered at times playing behind a re-forged line, he played well enough that he should lock it up with another solid week of practice back in Westwood.
-The scoring began on a bad snap from Redmond that was kicked around by Rosen and was scooped up by Cameron Judge, who then took it to the house. Judge actually played very well and was a force in the run game and displayed speed chasing sideline to sideline. Scoring would continue mostly, however, in the hands of the running backs.
-This stable of running backs is ridiculously deep and finally Soso Jamabo showed something tonight. He was elusive at the line of scrimmage and powerful at the point of contact. His first run of the night wasn't a beauty as he missed a huge hole but it likely was just due to jitters. After that run he broke off a run of about 25 yards and would have been the workhorse if not for the impressive effort by Bolu Olorunfunmi. Bolu is a bowling ball of a back. He displayed impressive open field ability and had to be gang tackled on many efforts. He reminds me of a bigger MJD with his build and ability to get low and powerful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no matter who lines up behind center, the running backs are going to make life so much easier. Paul Perkins was strong although he didn't play long and Nate Starks had about an 8-yard score but sat out much of the game with a foot issue that was bothering him.
-The defense, not to be outdone, was flying around the field tonight. Myles Jack is an absolute freak, which goes without saying. In the run game, he was crushing backs and he completely erased options in the passing game. Even on special teams he was a terror, blocking an extra point attempt and snatching the ball one-handed off a bounce and taking it the distance. Kenny Young was shooting gaps like everyone else was in slow motion. His ability to penetrate into the backfield and key the ball carrier could make him great. And don't think you'll just get around the edge and break it for a gain because that edge belongs to Deon Hollins, who had 1.5 sacks tonight. He came screaming off the edge making the big bear of a tackle Kolton Miller dance to his tune. The defensive line was a menace as well with Eddie Vanderdoes and Kenny Clark constantly pushing offensive linemen into the laps of quarterbacks and knocking backs around with tree trunk arm tackles. It wasn't all the front seven either.
-The defensive backs closed throwing windows and punished ball carriers. This type of defensive performance makes Neuheisel and Rosen's performances all that more impressive considering what they were trying to move the ball against. It wasn't the just the usual suspects laying the wood in the backend either. Mossi Johnson absolutely crushed Roosevelt Davis as he played safety. Coincidentally, safety turned ball carrier Adarius Pickett looked good with the ball in his hands again. Strangely, this came days after hearing from Mora that Pickett was a safety and had no plans to move him to running back.
-Ka'imi Fairbairn had a poor performance tonight. He hit on a 31-yard field goal but missed on a PAT and a 37-yard try as well. He wasn't pushed too much in camp and tonight was actually the worst he looked.
-The big news of the night however was the UCLA press release announcing the Adrian Klemm situation, which put a bit of a damper on the Bruins' night. Klemm will be suspended for the first two games of the season but according to Mora, will be allowed to practice with the team. Continue following Bruinsportsreport.com and Ed for more on the situation as it develops.
The Bruins will hold a fan appreciation day tomorrow at 9 a.m. but there will be no practice. They will then return to Westwood to begin preparing for their season opener on Sept. 5.
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