UCLA kicked off Day Two of spring ball without much fanfare. There weren't many news and notes to report, and with the team still in jerseys, shorts and helmets, there wasn't a whole lot to write about on the field either. Nonetheless, here's the notebook:
-The storyline of the day had to be the quarterbacks. Josh Rosen earned his first significant reps, with Mike Fafaul also earning a big share with the ones. Jerry Neuheisel and Asiantii Woulard only really earned reps in 7-on-7. I'm not sure you could pick a clear-cut winner today. I thought Rosen threw the best ball, yet he had was harassed in the pocket, his receivers didn't get much separation and his walk-on center rolled about six balls back to him in shotgun. Neuheisel probably had the highest completion percentage, but didn't do much past 10 yards. Fafaul looked solid, but didn't do much to pop as a starting QB. Woulard had a pretty brutal 7-on-7 portion. So it wasn't a real great day for the quarterback competition.
-The starting units were just about the same on both sides of the ball. On offense: WR Jordan Payton, F Devin Fuller, LT Conor McDermott, LG Kenny Lacy, C Jake Brendel, RG Alex Redmond, RT Simon Goines, Y Thomas Duarte, WR Eldridge Massington, QB Mike Fafaul, RB Paul Perkins. On defense: CB Ish Adams, OLB Aaron Wallace, DE Eddie Vanderdoes, DT Kenny Clark, DE Takk McKinley, OLB Deon Hollins, CB Fabian Moreau, ILB Myles Jack, ILB Kenny Young, S Jaleel Wadood and S Randall Goforth.
-A couple notable roster moves: JUCO OL Zach Bateman worked with the second team at left guard today. Dwight Williams and Nate Meadors both got some run with the first team at safety. I've actually been surprised by Williams' move to DB. I thought it'd only be a matter of time before he was back at LB, but he's lost some weight and is moving well back there.
-Outside linebacker Deon Hollins had the play of the day in 1-on-1s, intercepting an endzone pass intended for Nate Iese. He's clearly worked on more this offseason than his pass-rushing moves.
-I thought Takk McKinley was a top performer on defense, often beating Simon Goines on running downs to make would-be stops at the line of scrimmage. On offense, I thought Paul Perkins was a top performer there. He's been much more active down the field catching the football, and he's starting to break off long runs just like Johnathan Franklin used to do when he was the lead back here.
-Alex Redmond got in a few fights today, chucking a few blows at a walk-on defensive end and then later in the day Eddie Vanderdoes. Wouldn't be a spring ball without Redmond going off.
-On the injury front, Steven Manfro, Caleb Benenoch and Austin Roberts all worked on the side after participating in individual drills early on.
-Walk-on ILB Willie Green had the overall play of the day, picking off Rosen in 7-on-7 for a would-be touchdown. Rosen came back to the right side of the field too late and Green stepped in front of it. It was Rosen's first INT as a Bruin.
-A lot of notable visitors out there today: Four-star WR Javon McKinley, three-star Pennsylvania tight end Cary Angeline, four-star 2017 CB Keith Taylor, 2015 OL signee Tevita Halalilo and five-star OLB commit Breland Brandt.
UCLA should be putting on the pads on Saturday. Practice starts at 9:30 a.m. and is open to the public.
-The storyline of the day had to be the quarterbacks. Josh Rosen earned his first significant reps, with Mike Fafaul also earning a big share with the ones. Jerry Neuheisel and Asiantii Woulard only really earned reps in 7-on-7. I'm not sure you could pick a clear-cut winner today. I thought Rosen threw the best ball, yet he had was harassed in the pocket, his receivers didn't get much separation and his walk-on center rolled about six balls back to him in shotgun. Neuheisel probably had the highest completion percentage, but didn't do much past 10 yards. Fafaul looked solid, but didn't do much to pop as a starting QB. Woulard had a pretty brutal 7-on-7 portion. So it wasn't a real great day for the quarterback competition.
-The starting units were just about the same on both sides of the ball. On offense: WR Jordan Payton, F Devin Fuller, LT Conor McDermott, LG Kenny Lacy, C Jake Brendel, RG Alex Redmond, RT Simon Goines, Y Thomas Duarte, WR Eldridge Massington, QB Mike Fafaul, RB Paul Perkins. On defense: CB Ish Adams, OLB Aaron Wallace, DE Eddie Vanderdoes, DT Kenny Clark, DE Takk McKinley, OLB Deon Hollins, CB Fabian Moreau, ILB Myles Jack, ILB Kenny Young, S Jaleel Wadood and S Randall Goforth.
-A couple notable roster moves: JUCO OL Zach Bateman worked with the second team at left guard today. Dwight Williams and Nate Meadors both got some run with the first team at safety. I've actually been surprised by Williams' move to DB. I thought it'd only be a matter of time before he was back at LB, but he's lost some weight and is moving well back there.
-Outside linebacker Deon Hollins had the play of the day in 1-on-1s, intercepting an endzone pass intended for Nate Iese. He's clearly worked on more this offseason than his pass-rushing moves.
-I thought Takk McKinley was a top performer on defense, often beating Simon Goines on running downs to make would-be stops at the line of scrimmage. On offense, I thought Paul Perkins was a top performer there. He's been much more active down the field catching the football, and he's starting to break off long runs just like Johnathan Franklin used to do when he was the lead back here.
-Alex Redmond got in a few fights today, chucking a few blows at a walk-on defensive end and then later in the day Eddie Vanderdoes. Wouldn't be a spring ball without Redmond going off.
-On the injury front, Steven Manfro, Caleb Benenoch and Austin Roberts all worked on the side after participating in individual drills early on.
-Walk-on ILB Willie Green had the overall play of the day, picking off Rosen in 7-on-7 for a would-be touchdown. Rosen came back to the right side of the field too late and Green stepped in front of it. It was Rosen's first INT as a Bruin.
-A lot of notable visitors out there today: Four-star WR Javon McKinley, three-star Pennsylvania tight end Cary Angeline, four-star 2017 CB Keith Taylor, 2015 OL signee Tevita Halalilo and five-star OLB commit Breland Brandt.
UCLA should be putting on the pads on Saturday. Practice starts at 9:30 a.m. and is open to the public.