In a complete 180 from Monday afternoon's practice, UCLA came out and had a very crisp workout on Wednesday morning. For the first time really all spring, the offense had some semblance of a rhythm, and the team seemed to have a bit more urgency than usual. Here were the notes from the practice:
Notables
-On the injury front: LB Breland Brandt returned from a concussion to work with Sal Alosi on the sidelines. DBs Colin Samuel and DeChaun Holiday continued to sit out. LBs Josh Woods and Mique Juarez returned fully to practice. Marcus Rios did more work, joining the team for 1-on-1s. LT Conor McDermott left practice early with what appeared to be an injury.
-Tackle Zach Bateman was not at the workout this morning. RB Nate Starks was not present for the first half of practice, but finished the day with the team.
The Day 13 depth chart
-No notable changes from Monday, other than Kenny Young ran with the ones at MLB over Isaako Savaiinaea. With Josh Woods and Mique Juarez coming back, they both ran with the twos at the OLB spots with either Savaiinaea or Lokeni Toailoa in the middle.
Practice observations
-I don't know what happened between today and Monday (and really this entire spring), but UCLA's offense finally looked competent. The running game was particularly dominant. Bolu Olorunfunmi and Soso Jamabo had truck-sized lanes to run through. At one point, Scott White turned to the defense and yelled: "Can we stop getting pushed around?" I'm assuming a lot of this newfound offensive success can be attributed to Jayon Brown finally leaving the field and inexperienced Josh Woods / Mique Juarez filling in for him, but the ground game was still effective nonetheless.
-The passing game wasn't stellar, but compared to where it's been, it was certainly an improvement. For the most part, balls were on target and the pass protection held up nicely, despite Conor McDermott going out early. Later in 7-on-7s, Mike Fafaul and Josh Rosen completed about every pass I saw them throw, which was a far cry from Monday's workout as well.
-OL Josh Wariboko had a really tough day. In individuals, he couldn't get his assignments right, drawing criticism from Adrian Klemm, which eventually led to Wariboko running laps. In 11-on-11, Nick Terry beat him for a sack on a rep I saw. In 1-on-1s, Terry got Wariboko a few more times. After watching the OL this spring, it wouldn't shock me if it went LT - McDermott, LG - Andre James, C - Jake Raulerson, RG - Scott Quessenberry and RT - Kolton Miller.
-Nate Meadors had his best day of practice today. In 1-on-1s, I saw him break up a few passes, including one to Alex Van Dyke and one to Ishmael Adams. Later in 11-on-11s, he had great coverage on Cordell Broadus, forcing an incompletion in the endzone.
-Marcus Rios looked solid coming back from injury to show off some good press technique in 1-on-1s. He had a big pass breakup on Cordell Broadus that was impressive. Randall Goforth also flashed a bit for the first time this spring at corner, making a nice pass breakup of his own on a walk-on.
-After looking outstanding before hurting himself this spring, Josh Woods had a slow return to the field today. At one point, he got burned by Ainuu Taua for a touchdown in 1-on-1s, and got up slowly, causing Scott White to yell at him, "You're fine!"
-Speaking of Taua, he had the biggest highlight of the day, taking a handoff and bouncing it to the outside for a monster gain. He outran Woods to the edge, stiff-armed Octo Spencer in the second level and rumbled all the way down to the goal line. You're not going to see many 300 pounders run like he does.
-Mike Fafaul unleashed two ropes to Ishmael Adams on streak routes down the sideline in 11-on-11s. The first, Adams dropped. The second, which came about half an hour later, Adams caught for the score.
-Nate Iese had his best non-catch of the spring, hauling in a twisting reception out of bounds over Deon Hollins in the endzone from Josh Rosen. It was the first highlight reel caliber play I've seen Iese make this spring.
-Eldridge Massington finally had a nice morning out here. He had a touchdown over Denzel Fisher down in the redzone, and he came back with a few nice routes later in 7-on-7. I still think he's this team's fifth or sixth best receiver, though.
-Matt Dickerson had a couple more nice reps in OL-DL 1-on-1s, showing a violent inside move on Kenny Lacy that he beat Kolton Miller with on Saturday.
-Cam Judge had a nice interception off Matt Lynch in 7-on-7s toward the end of the drill.
-I had J.J. Molson at 2-for-3 to end practice, but I've been told the one I thought he missed actually snuck in. So another perfect day for the freshman.
UCLA practices again on Thursday evening.
Notables
-On the injury front: LB Breland Brandt returned from a concussion to work with Sal Alosi on the sidelines. DBs Colin Samuel and DeChaun Holiday continued to sit out. LBs Josh Woods and Mique Juarez returned fully to practice. Marcus Rios did more work, joining the team for 1-on-1s. LT Conor McDermott left practice early with what appeared to be an injury.
-Tackle Zach Bateman was not at the workout this morning. RB Nate Starks was not present for the first half of practice, but finished the day with the team.
The Day 13 depth chart
-No notable changes from Monday, other than Kenny Young ran with the ones at MLB over Isaako Savaiinaea. With Josh Woods and Mique Juarez coming back, they both ran with the twos at the OLB spots with either Savaiinaea or Lokeni Toailoa in the middle.
Practice observations
-I don't know what happened between today and Monday (and really this entire spring), but UCLA's offense finally looked competent. The running game was particularly dominant. Bolu Olorunfunmi and Soso Jamabo had truck-sized lanes to run through. At one point, Scott White turned to the defense and yelled: "Can we stop getting pushed around?" I'm assuming a lot of this newfound offensive success can be attributed to Jayon Brown finally leaving the field and inexperienced Josh Woods / Mique Juarez filling in for him, but the ground game was still effective nonetheless.
-The passing game wasn't stellar, but compared to where it's been, it was certainly an improvement. For the most part, balls were on target and the pass protection held up nicely, despite Conor McDermott going out early. Later in 7-on-7s, Mike Fafaul and Josh Rosen completed about every pass I saw them throw, which was a far cry from Monday's workout as well.
-OL Josh Wariboko had a really tough day. In individuals, he couldn't get his assignments right, drawing criticism from Adrian Klemm, which eventually led to Wariboko running laps. In 11-on-11, Nick Terry beat him for a sack on a rep I saw. In 1-on-1s, Terry got Wariboko a few more times. After watching the OL this spring, it wouldn't shock me if it went LT - McDermott, LG - Andre James, C - Jake Raulerson, RG - Scott Quessenberry and RT - Kolton Miller.
-Nate Meadors had his best day of practice today. In 1-on-1s, I saw him break up a few passes, including one to Alex Van Dyke and one to Ishmael Adams. Later in 11-on-11s, he had great coverage on Cordell Broadus, forcing an incompletion in the endzone.
-Marcus Rios looked solid coming back from injury to show off some good press technique in 1-on-1s. He had a big pass breakup on Cordell Broadus that was impressive. Randall Goforth also flashed a bit for the first time this spring at corner, making a nice pass breakup of his own on a walk-on.
-After looking outstanding before hurting himself this spring, Josh Woods had a slow return to the field today. At one point, he got burned by Ainuu Taua for a touchdown in 1-on-1s, and got up slowly, causing Scott White to yell at him, "You're fine!"
-Speaking of Taua, he had the biggest highlight of the day, taking a handoff and bouncing it to the outside for a monster gain. He outran Woods to the edge, stiff-armed Octo Spencer in the second level and rumbled all the way down to the goal line. You're not going to see many 300 pounders run like he does.
-Mike Fafaul unleashed two ropes to Ishmael Adams on streak routes down the sideline in 11-on-11s. The first, Adams dropped. The second, which came about half an hour later, Adams caught for the score.
-Nate Iese had his best non-catch of the spring, hauling in a twisting reception out of bounds over Deon Hollins in the endzone from Josh Rosen. It was the first highlight reel caliber play I've seen Iese make this spring.
-Eldridge Massington finally had a nice morning out here. He had a touchdown over Denzel Fisher down in the redzone, and he came back with a few nice routes later in 7-on-7. I still think he's this team's fifth or sixth best receiver, though.
-Matt Dickerson had a couple more nice reps in OL-DL 1-on-1s, showing a violent inside move on Kenny Lacy that he beat Kolton Miller with on Saturday.
-Cam Judge had a nice interception off Matt Lynch in 7-on-7s toward the end of the drill.
-I had J.J. Molson at 2-for-3 to end practice, but I've been told the one I thought he missed actually snuck in. So another perfect day for the freshman.
UCLA practices again on Thursday evening.
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