UCLA wrapped up Day Six, and it looked a whole lot like Day Five yesterday. Here were the news, notes and observations from the morning:
-It was a Mike Fafaul and Josh Rosen day, and actually I thought Fafaul had the best day of the bunch. Playing behind UCLA's strong O-line, he completed most of his passes and looked sharp for most of the day. His real issue is he's just a bit short, so seeing over the line and getting the ball over the line is a chore. As for Rosen, his O-line let him down for most of the morning and he was harassed into more incompletions than usual. Yet he still had the throw of the day on a scramble play where he ran to his left, ran back to his right and hit walk-on receiver Brad Sochowski with a perfect throw. I still find him to be the no-doubt starter here.
-As for Jerry Neuheisel and Asiantii Woulard, they actually both looked great in their 7-on-7 reps. It was undoubtedly the best Woulard has looked all spring, throwing several touchdowns and actually reading through his progressions. Neuheisel was accurate too. It was an overall good day to be a QB here.
-Working at punt returner today were Ish Adams, Devin Fuller, Randall Goforth, Mossi Johnson and Jordan Lasley.
-On the injury front today, Priest Willis, Caleb Benenoch and Eldridge Massington all sat out team drills again today.
-We saw our first bit of trickery of spring, with Fuller getting some offensive action in the Wildcat.
-A large portion of 11-on-11s today were goalline drills, and the offense and defense probably split the outcome. The one notable play I saw down there was from Matt Dickerson, who blew up a play in the backfield.
-Craig Lee still can't block, and he lost every 1-on-1 rep he took, but I thought his vision today was very good. That was always one of his knocks, but he's clearly improved in that area and is now finding holes and making yards with consistency.
-Jayon Brown continued his huge spring, particularly in 1-on-1 pass rush drills against running backs. He didn't lose a rep, always got to the quarterback, and then he even had a pass breakup on Taylor Lagace in 1-on-1 passing drills.
-On the running back pass protection front, Nate Starks was the best pass blocker. Paul Perkins wasn't far behind, and Nate Iese won most of his reps as well.
-Kenny Young had probably the play of the day in 1-on-1s, jumping a pass intended for Starks and nearly picking it off.
-In 11-on-11s, Cameron Judge probably had the play of the day there. Rosen looked off the safety to the right side of the field, came back to the left side of the field and tried to fire in a pass down the seam to a tight end. Judge, though, was running stride for stride with the tight end, dove and nearly picked off the pass. He had a great offseason in the weight room and it flashes from time to time out here.
-Alex Van Dyke scored another touchdown today and had a nice grab over Adams in 11-on-11s too. He drops way too many passes for my liking, but he's been consistent the past two days. He may be getting over the drops.
-In O-line 1-on-1s, Conor McDermott was once again a beast, stonewalling Takk McKinley. On the defensive side, Eddie Vanderdoes was the standout, beating Alex Redmond three straight times.
-Stefan Flintoft kicked instead of Ka'imi Fairbairn today, and the results were about the same. He went 6-for-9 with a bad miss from short but a long make from around 50 yards.
-Chris Sailer's No. 1-ranked kicker, JJ Molson, was the lone notable recruit in attendance today.
-It was a Mike Fafaul and Josh Rosen day, and actually I thought Fafaul had the best day of the bunch. Playing behind UCLA's strong O-line, he completed most of his passes and looked sharp for most of the day. His real issue is he's just a bit short, so seeing over the line and getting the ball over the line is a chore. As for Rosen, his O-line let him down for most of the morning and he was harassed into more incompletions than usual. Yet he still had the throw of the day on a scramble play where he ran to his left, ran back to his right and hit walk-on receiver Brad Sochowski with a perfect throw. I still find him to be the no-doubt starter here.
-As for Jerry Neuheisel and Asiantii Woulard, they actually both looked great in their 7-on-7 reps. It was undoubtedly the best Woulard has looked all spring, throwing several touchdowns and actually reading through his progressions. Neuheisel was accurate too. It was an overall good day to be a QB here.
-Working at punt returner today were Ish Adams, Devin Fuller, Randall Goforth, Mossi Johnson and Jordan Lasley.
-On the injury front today, Priest Willis, Caleb Benenoch and Eldridge Massington all sat out team drills again today.
-We saw our first bit of trickery of spring, with Fuller getting some offensive action in the Wildcat.
-A large portion of 11-on-11s today were goalline drills, and the offense and defense probably split the outcome. The one notable play I saw down there was from Matt Dickerson, who blew up a play in the backfield.
-Craig Lee still can't block, and he lost every 1-on-1 rep he took, but I thought his vision today was very good. That was always one of his knocks, but he's clearly improved in that area and is now finding holes and making yards with consistency.
-Jayon Brown continued his huge spring, particularly in 1-on-1 pass rush drills against running backs. He didn't lose a rep, always got to the quarterback, and then he even had a pass breakup on Taylor Lagace in 1-on-1 passing drills.
-On the running back pass protection front, Nate Starks was the best pass blocker. Paul Perkins wasn't far behind, and Nate Iese won most of his reps as well.
-Kenny Young had probably the play of the day in 1-on-1s, jumping a pass intended for Starks and nearly picking it off.
-In 11-on-11s, Cameron Judge probably had the play of the day there. Rosen looked off the safety to the right side of the field, came back to the left side of the field and tried to fire in a pass down the seam to a tight end. Judge, though, was running stride for stride with the tight end, dove and nearly picked off the pass. He had a great offseason in the weight room and it flashes from time to time out here.
-Alex Van Dyke scored another touchdown today and had a nice grab over Adams in 11-on-11s too. He drops way too many passes for my liking, but he's been consistent the past two days. He may be getting over the drops.
-In O-line 1-on-1s, Conor McDermott was once again a beast, stonewalling Takk McKinley. On the defensive side, Eddie Vanderdoes was the standout, beating Alex Redmond three straight times.
-Stefan Flintoft kicked instead of Ka'imi Fairbairn today, and the results were about the same. He went 6-for-9 with a bad miss from short but a long make from around 50 yards.
-Chris Sailer's No. 1-ranked kicker, JJ Molson, was the lone notable recruit in attendance today.
