UCLA wrapped up another two-and-a-half hour, fully padded practice Monday night. The defense dominated, the offense struggled, and there were some standouts. The notes from the workout:
News
-Former receiver Mossi Johnson continued to work on the defensive side of the ball, getting reps as a cornerback this evening.
-Devon Modster was with the twos behind Josh Rosen. While Matt Lynch has probably outplayed Modster through the first week so far, Modster has earned more reps with the twos.
-Working at punt returner today were: Darnay Holmes, Jordan Lasley, Damian Alloway, Darren Andrews, Theo Howard, Mossi Johnson and Adarius Pickett. Stefan Flintoft continued to work as the starting punter.
-UCLA played host to arguably the top 2019 recruit in the country, DE Kayvon Thibodeaux. Mission Viejo OL Jarrett Patterson was also in attendance.
Day Four Depth Chart
-I don't think there was a single notable change here:
Offense
QB - Josh Rosen; Devon Modster
RB - Soso Jamabo; Bolu Olorunfunmi
WR - Jordan Lasley; Eldridge Massington
Slot - Darren Andrews; Stephen Johnson
WR - Theo Howard; Alex Van Dyke
TE - Jordan Wilson; Jimmy Jaggers
LT - Kolton Miller; Jake Burton
LG - Andre James; Josh Wariboko
C - Scott Quessenberry; Gyo Shojima
RG - Najee Toran; Michael Alves
RT - Kenny Lacy; Nolan Dellibovi
Defense
DE - Jacob Tuioti Mariner; Rick Wade
DT - Boss Tagaloa; Chigozie Nnoruka
DT - Matt Dickerson; Ainuu Taua
DE - Keisean Lucier-South; Jaelan Phillips
OLB - Dechaun Holiday; Breland Brandt
MLB - Kenny Young; Lokeni Toailoa
OLB - Josh Woods; Krys Barnes
CB - Nate Meadors; Colin Samuel
S - Adarius Pickett; Will Lockett
S - Jaleel Wadood; Octo Spencer
CB - Denzel Fisher; Darnay Holmes
Observations
-I'm not sure UCLA's offense had a gain of longer than seven yards tonight. Now, I will say this feels a little different than last spring camp's UCLA offense, which often went several practices in a row without a touchdown. This year, it feels more like the defense is just dominant and swarming more than it feels like a discombobulated offense. But still. It's got to be scary for Jim Mora to be watching this all over again. Receivers don't get open (Darnay Holmes, Denzel Fisher and Nate Meadors were on lock down all night) and running backs continue to show nothing to make you think UCLA has a bell cow or two on this current roster.
-UCLA implemented its "Pride Alley" drill during practice, though it was impossible to see. If somebody sees a Twitter video of it from the team, post it here!
-I spent a lot of time watching LB-RB/TE 1-on-1s (video on the front page). Some of my notes there: Mique Juarez looks like just a guy out there, and that's regardless of the 30 pounds of extra weight he's carrying. He struggled in coverage -- against Jalen Starks -- and struggled in pass rush, too. Kenny Young looks outstanding. While he was beaten by Soso Jamabo a few times in routes, he was still in good positions to affect the play. And during the pass-rush portion of the drill, he definitely got the better of Jamabo. I was also impressed with DeChaun Holiday for the second or third straight practice. He can really run with RBs and TEs down the field and he's definitely fending off Krys Barnes and Breland Brandt for the starting OLB job. Speaking of Brandt, he finally got the chance to show off some pass-rushing moves and it's clear that's where he belongs. In space, he does nothing to make you think he could be a big-time player here, but when he took his couple pass-rushing reps, he flashed special traits. You have to wonder if a switch back to DE is on the horizon. Also, Caleb Wilson deserves ink here, because for the fourth straight practice, he caught everything in 1-on-1s and blocked well, too.
-I had J.J. Molson at 1-for-2 during his in-practice field goal attempts from around 35 yards out apiece. I had walk-on Andrew Strauch at 1-for-1 from a similar distance.
-Darnay Holmes had a great 11-on-11 portion of practice. He laid the hit of the day on Brandon Stephens, blowing him up on the sidelines. He also had an impressive pass breakup on Stephen Johnson, and got into a fight with Darren Andrews that showed his toughness. He's everything a five-star freshman is supposed to be.
-In addition to the Holmes-Andrews fight, there were several other dustups. One featured Josh Woods vs. Scott Quessenberry. The others seemingly all featured Jordan Lasley vs. some DB.
-Alex Van Dyke had a few more bad drops tonight, with one leading to an Adarius Pickett interception. At this point, that looks like the way it's going to be for the veteran wideout.
UCLA is back at it again at 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
News
-Former receiver Mossi Johnson continued to work on the defensive side of the ball, getting reps as a cornerback this evening.
-Devon Modster was with the twos behind Josh Rosen. While Matt Lynch has probably outplayed Modster through the first week so far, Modster has earned more reps with the twos.
-Working at punt returner today were: Darnay Holmes, Jordan Lasley, Damian Alloway, Darren Andrews, Theo Howard, Mossi Johnson and Adarius Pickett. Stefan Flintoft continued to work as the starting punter.
-UCLA played host to arguably the top 2019 recruit in the country, DE Kayvon Thibodeaux. Mission Viejo OL Jarrett Patterson was also in attendance.
Day Four Depth Chart
-I don't think there was a single notable change here:
Offense
QB - Josh Rosen; Devon Modster
RB - Soso Jamabo; Bolu Olorunfunmi
WR - Jordan Lasley; Eldridge Massington
Slot - Darren Andrews; Stephen Johnson
WR - Theo Howard; Alex Van Dyke
TE - Jordan Wilson; Jimmy Jaggers
LT - Kolton Miller; Jake Burton
LG - Andre James; Josh Wariboko
C - Scott Quessenberry; Gyo Shojima
RG - Najee Toran; Michael Alves
RT - Kenny Lacy; Nolan Dellibovi
Defense
DE - Jacob Tuioti Mariner; Rick Wade
DT - Boss Tagaloa; Chigozie Nnoruka
DT - Matt Dickerson; Ainuu Taua
DE - Keisean Lucier-South; Jaelan Phillips
OLB - Dechaun Holiday; Breland Brandt
MLB - Kenny Young; Lokeni Toailoa
OLB - Josh Woods; Krys Barnes
CB - Nate Meadors; Colin Samuel
S - Adarius Pickett; Will Lockett
S - Jaleel Wadood; Octo Spencer
CB - Denzel Fisher; Darnay Holmes
Observations
-I'm not sure UCLA's offense had a gain of longer than seven yards tonight. Now, I will say this feels a little different than last spring camp's UCLA offense, which often went several practices in a row without a touchdown. This year, it feels more like the defense is just dominant and swarming more than it feels like a discombobulated offense. But still. It's got to be scary for Jim Mora to be watching this all over again. Receivers don't get open (Darnay Holmes, Denzel Fisher and Nate Meadors were on lock down all night) and running backs continue to show nothing to make you think UCLA has a bell cow or two on this current roster.
-UCLA implemented its "Pride Alley" drill during practice, though it was impossible to see. If somebody sees a Twitter video of it from the team, post it here!
-I spent a lot of time watching LB-RB/TE 1-on-1s (video on the front page). Some of my notes there: Mique Juarez looks like just a guy out there, and that's regardless of the 30 pounds of extra weight he's carrying. He struggled in coverage -- against Jalen Starks -- and struggled in pass rush, too. Kenny Young looks outstanding. While he was beaten by Soso Jamabo a few times in routes, he was still in good positions to affect the play. And during the pass-rush portion of the drill, he definitely got the better of Jamabo. I was also impressed with DeChaun Holiday for the second or third straight practice. He can really run with RBs and TEs down the field and he's definitely fending off Krys Barnes and Breland Brandt for the starting OLB job. Speaking of Brandt, he finally got the chance to show off some pass-rushing moves and it's clear that's where he belongs. In space, he does nothing to make you think he could be a big-time player here, but when he took his couple pass-rushing reps, he flashed special traits. You have to wonder if a switch back to DE is on the horizon. Also, Caleb Wilson deserves ink here, because for the fourth straight practice, he caught everything in 1-on-1s and blocked well, too.
-I had J.J. Molson at 1-for-2 during his in-practice field goal attempts from around 35 yards out apiece. I had walk-on Andrew Strauch at 1-for-1 from a similar distance.
-Darnay Holmes had a great 11-on-11 portion of practice. He laid the hit of the day on Brandon Stephens, blowing him up on the sidelines. He also had an impressive pass breakup on Stephen Johnson, and got into a fight with Darren Andrews that showed his toughness. He's everything a five-star freshman is supposed to be.
-In addition to the Holmes-Andrews fight, there were several other dustups. One featured Josh Woods vs. Scott Quessenberry. The others seemingly all featured Jordan Lasley vs. some DB.
-Alex Van Dyke had a few more bad drops tonight, with one leading to an Adarius Pickett interception. At this point, that looks like the way it's going to be for the veteran wideout.
UCLA is back at it again at 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
