In the first portion of today's practice, the Bruins enjoyed no pads and a nice dip in the San Bernardino heat but the tempo was taken up a few notches. Here were the notes from this morning's practice.
-Coach Jim Mora emphasized tempo from the get go this morning and pulled Johnny Johnson from 11-on-11 when he didn't hustle to the ball quickly enough for the coach's liking.
-The starting offense was essentially the same with one huge exception. Alex Redmond was not at practice today and his spot at RG was occupied by Poasi Moala, who looked very good in his playing time. Fred Ulu-Perry also found himself sliding into the lineup with the ones at RG and said coach Adrian Klemm wanted him to have some run with the starting unit. Whatever happened to Redmond must be serious enough if the coaches are having a freshman take snaps with the ones and the usual starter is nowhere to be found. His absence meant Moala came up from the twos and his spot was taken by freshman Andre James, who has improved a ton since early last week. His hand placement was much better and he demonstrated solid footwork in pass protection.
-Mike Fafaul started the day off with the ones but when the practice turned to 11-on-11, he struggled with his accuracy and reads. Josh Rosen didn't have the best start to his day but really turned it on in the latter portions of practice, hitting his receivers in stride, placing the ball just where it needed to be and displaying plenty of arm strength. He seems to be developing a nice rapport with Thomas Duarte and Mossi Johnson, whom he hit for a long TD today. Rosen is the guy and it should only be a few more days before he officially claims the title. Jerry Neuheisel worked with the twos and showed good command of the offense but still has trouble getting the ball to where it needs to be and consistently puts too much air under the ball. Even at three-quarter speed, Rosen's ball is humming while Jerry's floats.
-Ishmael Adams returned to practice today and showed no ill effects from the ankle injury that had kept him out for a few days. The problem is the defensive backfield is quickly becoming very crowded with multiple players standing out. Marcus Rios is playing lights out and Fabian Moreau is a shutdown corner. Jaleel Wadood and Randall Goforth form an impressive, speedy tandem at safety. The question is, who will be the nickel back? Ish had it locked up before his injury but may find himself being squeezed out as players like Tahaan Goodman, Johnny Johnson or Denzel Fisher continue to perform well this camp.
-It was the first day of on-the-field work for highly touted Y receiver Chris Clark. He has slimmed down as was mentioned previously but looked good at about 225-230 pounds. He showed a good burst and was able to cut and get in and out of his breaks without gearing down. Obviously this was just his first day and he will have a lot to improve upon but for his first day back out he wasn't rusty and didn't seem unsure of himself.
-Speaking of the Y position, that is another place where the Bruins have a plethora of options. Duarte, Nate Iese, Chris Clark, Tyler Scott and Austin Roberts all give the Bruins matchups issues they can exploit due to their size and pure speed. Roberts looks to be buried on the depth chart here but would be a top-tier target in almost any other conference.
-Soso Jamabo continues to underwhelm at the tailback position especially on days with no contact. He just seems to not have the sense of urgency needed during practices and has quickly been overtaken by Bolu Olorunfunmi as the more complete back. That being said, the coaches are giving Soso every opportunity to get the ball and as a receiver he could see some touches. As a runner, however, he isn't showing enough of a burst and runs with such a high pad level.
-A few more quick bites for you: Tevita Halalilo still has not returned to practice following his heat related incident a few practices ago. Scott White said the Myles Jack experiment at returner probably won't become a reality in the regular season. There were also a few recruits visiting camp today including WR Theo Howard and JUCO QB Rico Bruton.
UCLA will resume practice tonight at 5:45 p.m.
-Coach Jim Mora emphasized tempo from the get go this morning and pulled Johnny Johnson from 11-on-11 when he didn't hustle to the ball quickly enough for the coach's liking.
-The starting offense was essentially the same with one huge exception. Alex Redmond was not at practice today and his spot at RG was occupied by Poasi Moala, who looked very good in his playing time. Fred Ulu-Perry also found himself sliding into the lineup with the ones at RG and said coach Adrian Klemm wanted him to have some run with the starting unit. Whatever happened to Redmond must be serious enough if the coaches are having a freshman take snaps with the ones and the usual starter is nowhere to be found. His absence meant Moala came up from the twos and his spot was taken by freshman Andre James, who has improved a ton since early last week. His hand placement was much better and he demonstrated solid footwork in pass protection.
-Mike Fafaul started the day off with the ones but when the practice turned to 11-on-11, he struggled with his accuracy and reads. Josh Rosen didn't have the best start to his day but really turned it on in the latter portions of practice, hitting his receivers in stride, placing the ball just where it needed to be and displaying plenty of arm strength. He seems to be developing a nice rapport with Thomas Duarte and Mossi Johnson, whom he hit for a long TD today. Rosen is the guy and it should only be a few more days before he officially claims the title. Jerry Neuheisel worked with the twos and showed good command of the offense but still has trouble getting the ball to where it needs to be and consistently puts too much air under the ball. Even at three-quarter speed, Rosen's ball is humming while Jerry's floats.
-Ishmael Adams returned to practice today and showed no ill effects from the ankle injury that had kept him out for a few days. The problem is the defensive backfield is quickly becoming very crowded with multiple players standing out. Marcus Rios is playing lights out and Fabian Moreau is a shutdown corner. Jaleel Wadood and Randall Goforth form an impressive, speedy tandem at safety. The question is, who will be the nickel back? Ish had it locked up before his injury but may find himself being squeezed out as players like Tahaan Goodman, Johnny Johnson or Denzel Fisher continue to perform well this camp.
-It was the first day of on-the-field work for highly touted Y receiver Chris Clark. He has slimmed down as was mentioned previously but looked good at about 225-230 pounds. He showed a good burst and was able to cut and get in and out of his breaks without gearing down. Obviously this was just his first day and he will have a lot to improve upon but for his first day back out he wasn't rusty and didn't seem unsure of himself.
-Speaking of the Y position, that is another place where the Bruins have a plethora of options. Duarte, Nate Iese, Chris Clark, Tyler Scott and Austin Roberts all give the Bruins matchups issues they can exploit due to their size and pure speed. Roberts looks to be buried on the depth chart here but would be a top-tier target in almost any other conference.
-Soso Jamabo continues to underwhelm at the tailback position especially on days with no contact. He just seems to not have the sense of urgency needed during practices and has quickly been overtaken by Bolu Olorunfunmi as the more complete back. That being said, the coaches are giving Soso every opportunity to get the ball and as a receiver he could see some touches. As a runner, however, he isn't showing enough of a burst and runs with such a high pad level.
-A few more quick bites for you: Tevita Halalilo still has not returned to practice following his heat related incident a few practices ago. Scott White said the Myles Jack experiment at returner probably won't become a reality in the regular season. There were also a few recruits visiting camp today including WR Theo Howard and JUCO QB Rico Bruton.
UCLA will resume practice tonight at 5:45 p.m.
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