UCLA wrapped up a shorts and spider pads practice Thursday night. Most of the workout was three-quarter speed, so it was tough to glean a whole lot from this one. Nonetheless, here were the notes:
Notables
-Three-star TE Moses Robinson-Carr visited campus for practice, and Jim Mora showed him a ton of love. At one point the two walked off the practice field together, as if Mora was showing him the Bruin Walk and Pauley and everything else surrounding the IM field. It was probably the most interaction I've seen him have with a recruit out here so far. Four-star 2018 ATH Jaiden Woodbey and three-star Colorado RB Marcus McElroy were also in attendance.
-Not much changed on the injury front, although Randall Goforth and Najee Toran did return (perhaps because it was a no pads practice, though). Josh Woods, Colin Samuel, Marcus Rios and the rest of the injured guys remained out.
-Kenny Walker had high praise for Theo Howard after practice: "I've never seen a freshman receiver come in with that type of technique before. I think he's going to be the next top Bruin receiver."
-Kolton Miller said Takkarist McKinley has been the toughest block on UCLA's defensive line this spring. Said the combo of power and speed has been difficult.
-Alex Van Dyke says he's put on about 10 pounds this offseason, up to about 225 now.
The Day 10 depth chart
-With Goforth back in the lineup, the DBs were back to normal, although Tahaan Goodman continued to replace Adarius Pickett with the first-team safeties: CB - Goforth, S - Goodman, S - Jaleel Wadood, CB - Nate Meadors.
-Isaako Savaiinaea started at inside linebacker over Kenny Young today.
Practice observations
-Jayon Brown had another outstanding practice. While there was no tackling and most of the evening was three-quarter speed, he still made just about every stop in 9-on-7. He then had an interception in RB-LB 1-on-1s vs. Ainuu Taua, and he loaded up a few more tackles the late 11-on-11 period as well.
-Stephen Johnson took a few more reps at CB today, but only in 1-on-1s. He lost the one I really watched to Alex Van Dyke.
-Cam Griffin had a terrific first hour of practice. He had a one-handed touchdown grab on a walk-on LB in 1-on-1s. Then he jumped over Lokeni Toailoa (albeit he was out of bounds) for a spectacular grab a few reps later. Toward the end of the drill, he blew by Kenny Young for a TD as well.
-Cordell Broadus had probably the highlight of 1-on-1s, pulling off a sweet stop-and-go double move on Octo Spencer for a long touchdown. It was one of Spencer's less memorable practices, as I saw him get beat a few more times in 1-on-1s. Late in 7-on-7, Theo Howard got him on a corner route as well.
-Ishmael Adams continued to be this offense's most explosive player. He had a long post route TD on Tahaan Goodman in 1-on-1s. In 11-on-11s later, he took a simple drag route and exploded it into a long gain. He had a post-route TD on Pickett later in the drill too.
-Alex Van Dyke had probably his most consistent day of practice, particularly in 11-on-11s. He usually wins more than his fair share of reps in 1-on-1s, but today, that translated to 11-ons, where he beat Randall Goforth a few times for chain-moving first downs.
-Jordan Lasley was open a lot today, especially in 1-on-1s, although his QBs failed to hit him a few times. He did have a long touchdown where he ran by DeChaun Holiday in the drill, and later in 11-on-11s he had a Devin Lucien-esque jump ball catch over Dylan Luther for a long gain down the sideline (a great throw from Matt Lynch, by the way).
-Austin Roberts was quiet for the past few practices, but he found himself with the football in his hands a lot early on in 11-on-11s. Mostly sneaking out on play-action boot legs, he caught a few passes, including a nice touchdown from Josh Rosen in the back of the endzone that drew praise from Jim Mora.
-Deon Hollins got the best of Zach Bateman all evening. I had him at two sacks where he ran by the former JUCO tackle. Hollins also had a few tackles for loss (one on Nate Starks and one on Bolu Olorunfunmi). He also helped the defense win the final rep of the day, chasing down Mike Fafaul for a sack after the QB couldn't handle a high snap in the shotgun.
-We saw the first Stanford-like package of the spring out here today. An unbalanced line with two fullbacks (Taua and Griffin) and a tight end.
-Nate Iese has not looked great at tight end this camp, but he did have one of the highlights of the day, beating both the Toailoas for a TD in the corner of the endzone late in 11-on-11s.
-Working at punt returner today were Stephen Johnson, Adarius Pickett, Ishmael Adams and Jordan Lasley.
-Denzel Fisher has been beaten like a drum for most of the practices this spring, but he provided arguably the highlight of the day, diving to break up a deep pass down the middle of the field to Theo Howard in 7-on-7.
-DeChaun Holiday recorded another pick off Josh Rosen in 7-on-7 today, playing a little center fielder on an inaccurate deep ball from the QB. He didn't have as good a practice overall as he did on Wednesday, though.
-Freshman kicker J.J. Molson finished practice 4-of-6 with a long of 47 and misses from 51 and 41.
UCLA practices next on Saturday morning.
Notables
-Three-star TE Moses Robinson-Carr visited campus for practice, and Jim Mora showed him a ton of love. At one point the two walked off the practice field together, as if Mora was showing him the Bruin Walk and Pauley and everything else surrounding the IM field. It was probably the most interaction I've seen him have with a recruit out here so far. Four-star 2018 ATH Jaiden Woodbey and three-star Colorado RB Marcus McElroy were also in attendance.
-Not much changed on the injury front, although Randall Goforth and Najee Toran did return (perhaps because it was a no pads practice, though). Josh Woods, Colin Samuel, Marcus Rios and the rest of the injured guys remained out.
-Kenny Walker had high praise for Theo Howard after practice: "I've never seen a freshman receiver come in with that type of technique before. I think he's going to be the next top Bruin receiver."
-Kolton Miller said Takkarist McKinley has been the toughest block on UCLA's defensive line this spring. Said the combo of power and speed has been difficult.
-Alex Van Dyke says he's put on about 10 pounds this offseason, up to about 225 now.
The Day 10 depth chart
-With Goforth back in the lineup, the DBs were back to normal, although Tahaan Goodman continued to replace Adarius Pickett with the first-team safeties: CB - Goforth, S - Goodman, S - Jaleel Wadood, CB - Nate Meadors.
-Isaako Savaiinaea started at inside linebacker over Kenny Young today.
Practice observations
-Jayon Brown had another outstanding practice. While there was no tackling and most of the evening was three-quarter speed, he still made just about every stop in 9-on-7. He then had an interception in RB-LB 1-on-1s vs. Ainuu Taua, and he loaded up a few more tackles the late 11-on-11 period as well.
-Stephen Johnson took a few more reps at CB today, but only in 1-on-1s. He lost the one I really watched to Alex Van Dyke.
-Cam Griffin had a terrific first hour of practice. He had a one-handed touchdown grab on a walk-on LB in 1-on-1s. Then he jumped over Lokeni Toailoa (albeit he was out of bounds) for a spectacular grab a few reps later. Toward the end of the drill, he blew by Kenny Young for a TD as well.
-Cordell Broadus had probably the highlight of 1-on-1s, pulling off a sweet stop-and-go double move on Octo Spencer for a long touchdown. It was one of Spencer's less memorable practices, as I saw him get beat a few more times in 1-on-1s. Late in 7-on-7, Theo Howard got him on a corner route as well.
-Ishmael Adams continued to be this offense's most explosive player. He had a long post route TD on Tahaan Goodman in 1-on-1s. In 11-on-11s later, he took a simple drag route and exploded it into a long gain. He had a post-route TD on Pickett later in the drill too.
-Alex Van Dyke had probably his most consistent day of practice, particularly in 11-on-11s. He usually wins more than his fair share of reps in 1-on-1s, but today, that translated to 11-ons, where he beat Randall Goforth a few times for chain-moving first downs.
-Jordan Lasley was open a lot today, especially in 1-on-1s, although his QBs failed to hit him a few times. He did have a long touchdown where he ran by DeChaun Holiday in the drill, and later in 11-on-11s he had a Devin Lucien-esque jump ball catch over Dylan Luther for a long gain down the sideline (a great throw from Matt Lynch, by the way).
-Austin Roberts was quiet for the past few practices, but he found himself with the football in his hands a lot early on in 11-on-11s. Mostly sneaking out on play-action boot legs, he caught a few passes, including a nice touchdown from Josh Rosen in the back of the endzone that drew praise from Jim Mora.
-Deon Hollins got the best of Zach Bateman all evening. I had him at two sacks where he ran by the former JUCO tackle. Hollins also had a few tackles for loss (one on Nate Starks and one on Bolu Olorunfunmi). He also helped the defense win the final rep of the day, chasing down Mike Fafaul for a sack after the QB couldn't handle a high snap in the shotgun.
-We saw the first Stanford-like package of the spring out here today. An unbalanced line with two fullbacks (Taua and Griffin) and a tight end.
-Nate Iese has not looked great at tight end this camp, but he did have one of the highlights of the day, beating both the Toailoas for a TD in the corner of the endzone late in 11-on-11s.
-Working at punt returner today were Stephen Johnson, Adarius Pickett, Ishmael Adams and Jordan Lasley.
-Denzel Fisher has been beaten like a drum for most of the practices this spring, but he provided arguably the highlight of the day, diving to break up a deep pass down the middle of the field to Theo Howard in 7-on-7.
-DeChaun Holiday recorded another pick off Josh Rosen in 7-on-7 today, playing a little center fielder on an inaccurate deep ball from the QB. He didn't have as good a practice overall as he did on Wednesday, though.
-Freshman kicker J.J. Molson finished practice 4-of-6 with a long of 47 and misses from 51 and 41.
UCLA practices next on Saturday morning.
