UCLA wrapped up its ninth spring practice Wednesday morning with another fairly crisp two-and-a-half hour workout. Here were the news and notes from the day:
News
-After appearing to get thrown out of Monday night's practice -- allegedly for late hitting/hard hitting -- Jaleel Wadood was benched in favor of Will Lockett with the ones.
-After sitting out most of Monday with a toe injury, Jaelan Phillips returned, rotating with Keisean Lucier-South with the ones at defensive end.
-Walk-on Markus Boyer shared time with Gyo Shojima at backup center earlier this month, but he worked exclusively with the twos today ahead of Shojima.
-Najee Toran didn't participate in OL-DL 1-on-1s and instead spent the portion of practice working on his shotgun snaps to Josh Rosen in 7-on-7 drills. It's clear that if Scott Quessenberry were to go down, UCLA is grooming Toran to be his replacement.
-J.J. Molson worked as the starting kickoff specialist. Damian Alloway worked as the starting kick returner (Jordan Lasley and Brandon Stephens took reps as well).
-2019 DB commit Chris Steele was in attendance.
Day Nine Depth Chart
Offense
QB - Josh Rosen; Devon Modster
RB - Soso Jamabo; Bolu Olorunfunmi
WR - Jordan Lasley; Theo Howard
WR - Darren Andrews; Demetric Felton
WR - Eldridge Massington; Alex Van Dyke
TE - Caleb Wilson; Jordan Wilson
LT - Kolton Miller; Jake Burton
LG - Andre James; Josh Wariboko
C - Scott Quessenberry; Markus Boyer
RG - Najee Toran; Paco Perez
RT - Kenny Lacy; Michael Alves
Defense
DE - Jacob Tuioti Mariner; Rick Wade
DT - Boss Tagaloa; Chigozie Nnoruka
DT - Matt Dickerson; Ainuu Taua
DE - Keisean Lucier-South, Jaelan Phillips
OLB - Breland Brandt; Mique Juarez
MLB - Kenny Young; Lokeni Toailoa
OLB - Josh Woods; Krys Barnes
CB - Nate Meadors; Colin Samuel
S - Adarius Pickett; Octo Spencer
S - Will Lockett; Jaleel Wadood
CB - Denzel Fisher; Darnay Holmes
Observations
-I think Josh Rosen has quietly put together a good camp. Today, he started 11-on-11 drills with a beautiful throw to Darren Andrews on a corner route that dropped in between a linebacker and a defensive back for a big gain. He's been very accurate this spring and is showing no signs that his surgically repaired shoulder is bothering him.
-Jalen Starks continued his great week of practice this morning. Since he's removed the club off his hand, he's earned a ton of reps, and he's made the most with them. Nobody wants to tackle him (Keyon Riley did his best thanks but no thanks in the open field early in 11-on-11s) and he's been a human bowling ball on outside runs. Jim Mora told us on Monday that Starks is currently trying to get DOWN to 265. Which means he's well above that weight currently. But he's carrying it well and has been a top three back so far this spring with Olorunfunmi and Stephens.
-Denzel Fisher was another guy who continued his big camp. He's a big reason Jordan Lasley has been quiet in 11-on-11s. He also had a tremendous rep against Dymond Lee in 1-on-1s where he wouldn't let Lee go anywhere.
-Darnay Holmes was probably the player of practice in my opinion (though Caleb Wilson made it a close race). Watching the freshman in WR-DB 1-on-1s was pretty special. He stuck with Lasley on one rep despite a double move, he locked up Dymond Lee, and later in the drill, he ran stride for stride with Lasley on a deep ball to break it up. Later in practice, he also blocked a J.J. Molson field goal attempt. He's really good.
-We saw more new wrinkles from Jedd Fisch today, including draws and a flea flicker.
-We also saw UCLA's OL and DL working on running/defending twists and stunts after 1-on-1 drills, something I'm not sure I've seen UCLA do over the last five years. With the Bruins' shaky offensive line, and no more Takkarist McKinley pass rushing, this appears to be a great thing to incorporate into practice.
-Audie Omotosho continued to come on strong today. He had a huge leaping catch in 1-on-1s on Colin Samuel. He also routed Keyon Riley pretty good later in the drill. In 7-on-7, he caught a big deep ball from Rosen. He and Demetric Felton have really caught some eyes in the last two or three practices.
-Adarius Pickett had an interception guarding Stephen Johnson in 1-on-1s. It's probably his sixth or seventh interception of camp so far.
-My notes from OL-DL 1-on-1s: Josh Wariboko just hasn't progressed at all. He loses probably eight of every 10 reps he takes. Jacob Tuioti-Mariner continues to push Kolton Miller. Andre James continues to win every rep. Scott Quessenberry continued to handle Boss Tagaloa (who really only has a bull rush at the moment).
-Devin Asiasi had the catch of the day in 7-on-7s, hauling in a left-handed stab from Matt Lynch over Jaleel Wadood. Later in 11-on-11s, he scored a touchdown on a drag route on Brandon Burton, showing he's still one of this team's most elite players.
-Caleb Wilson had the route of the day, running a skinny corner-post that turned around Kenny Young. Rosen found him for the score, and Wilson talked trash.
-I had J.J. Molson at 0-for-2 (one blocked) on the day. Andrew Strauch was 1-for-1 from around 27 yards on his lone attempt.
UCLA is changing its practice time Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m.
News
-After appearing to get thrown out of Monday night's practice -- allegedly for late hitting/hard hitting -- Jaleel Wadood was benched in favor of Will Lockett with the ones.
-After sitting out most of Monday with a toe injury, Jaelan Phillips returned, rotating with Keisean Lucier-South with the ones at defensive end.
-Walk-on Markus Boyer shared time with Gyo Shojima at backup center earlier this month, but he worked exclusively with the twos today ahead of Shojima.
-Najee Toran didn't participate in OL-DL 1-on-1s and instead spent the portion of practice working on his shotgun snaps to Josh Rosen in 7-on-7 drills. It's clear that if Scott Quessenberry were to go down, UCLA is grooming Toran to be his replacement.
-J.J. Molson worked as the starting kickoff specialist. Damian Alloway worked as the starting kick returner (Jordan Lasley and Brandon Stephens took reps as well).
-2019 DB commit Chris Steele was in attendance.
Day Nine Depth Chart
Offense
QB - Josh Rosen; Devon Modster
RB - Soso Jamabo; Bolu Olorunfunmi
WR - Jordan Lasley; Theo Howard
WR - Darren Andrews; Demetric Felton
WR - Eldridge Massington; Alex Van Dyke
TE - Caleb Wilson; Jordan Wilson
LT - Kolton Miller; Jake Burton
LG - Andre James; Josh Wariboko
C - Scott Quessenberry; Markus Boyer
RG - Najee Toran; Paco Perez
RT - Kenny Lacy; Michael Alves
Defense
DE - Jacob Tuioti Mariner; Rick Wade
DT - Boss Tagaloa; Chigozie Nnoruka
DT - Matt Dickerson; Ainuu Taua
DE - Keisean Lucier-South, Jaelan Phillips
OLB - Breland Brandt; Mique Juarez
MLB - Kenny Young; Lokeni Toailoa
OLB - Josh Woods; Krys Barnes
CB - Nate Meadors; Colin Samuel
S - Adarius Pickett; Octo Spencer
S - Will Lockett; Jaleel Wadood
CB - Denzel Fisher; Darnay Holmes
Observations
-I think Josh Rosen has quietly put together a good camp. Today, he started 11-on-11 drills with a beautiful throw to Darren Andrews on a corner route that dropped in between a linebacker and a defensive back for a big gain. He's been very accurate this spring and is showing no signs that his surgically repaired shoulder is bothering him.
-Jalen Starks continued his great week of practice this morning. Since he's removed the club off his hand, he's earned a ton of reps, and he's made the most with them. Nobody wants to tackle him (Keyon Riley did his best thanks but no thanks in the open field early in 11-on-11s) and he's been a human bowling ball on outside runs. Jim Mora told us on Monday that Starks is currently trying to get DOWN to 265. Which means he's well above that weight currently. But he's carrying it well and has been a top three back so far this spring with Olorunfunmi and Stephens.
-Denzel Fisher was another guy who continued his big camp. He's a big reason Jordan Lasley has been quiet in 11-on-11s. He also had a tremendous rep against Dymond Lee in 1-on-1s where he wouldn't let Lee go anywhere.
-Darnay Holmes was probably the player of practice in my opinion (though Caleb Wilson made it a close race). Watching the freshman in WR-DB 1-on-1s was pretty special. He stuck with Lasley on one rep despite a double move, he locked up Dymond Lee, and later in the drill, he ran stride for stride with Lasley on a deep ball to break it up. Later in practice, he also blocked a J.J. Molson field goal attempt. He's really good.
-We saw more new wrinkles from Jedd Fisch today, including draws and a flea flicker.
-We also saw UCLA's OL and DL working on running/defending twists and stunts after 1-on-1 drills, something I'm not sure I've seen UCLA do over the last five years. With the Bruins' shaky offensive line, and no more Takkarist McKinley pass rushing, this appears to be a great thing to incorporate into practice.
-Audie Omotosho continued to come on strong today. He had a huge leaping catch in 1-on-1s on Colin Samuel. He also routed Keyon Riley pretty good later in the drill. In 7-on-7, he caught a big deep ball from Rosen. He and Demetric Felton have really caught some eyes in the last two or three practices.
-Adarius Pickett had an interception guarding Stephen Johnson in 1-on-1s. It's probably his sixth or seventh interception of camp so far.
-My notes from OL-DL 1-on-1s: Josh Wariboko just hasn't progressed at all. He loses probably eight of every 10 reps he takes. Jacob Tuioti-Mariner continues to push Kolton Miller. Andre James continues to win every rep. Scott Quessenberry continued to handle Boss Tagaloa (who really only has a bull rush at the moment).
-Devin Asiasi had the catch of the day in 7-on-7s, hauling in a left-handed stab from Matt Lynch over Jaleel Wadood. Later in 11-on-11s, he scored a touchdown on a drag route on Brandon Burton, showing he's still one of this team's most elite players.
-Caleb Wilson had the route of the day, running a skinny corner-post that turned around Kenny Young. Rosen found him for the score, and Wilson talked trash.
-I had J.J. Molson at 0-for-2 (one blocked) on the day. Andrew Strauch was 1-for-1 from around 27 yards on his lone attempt.
UCLA is changing its practice time Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m.
