UCLA just finished up its first day of spring practice out on the IM fields in Westwood, and for all of the hype and hoopla we heard about this offseason with scheme changes and strength programs and all that, things didn't look too different. Here were the news and notes:
Position changes rundown
-Ishmael Adams moved to wide receiver, although Jim Mora said after practice it may not be permanent. He looked good out there today, playing both the slot and outside receiver positions.
-Former LB Cameron Griffin and former DT Ainuu Taua have moved to fullback. Griffin didn't look comfortable catching the ball, and Taua didn't look great moving around in space. Will be interested to see if Griffin sticks there after all, because he showed promise as a pass rusher in past camps.
-Najee Toran is back with the OL and was working out as a center pre-practice while UCLA tries to make do with only one true center on the roster (Scott Quessenberry).
-Nate Iese has officially moved from fullback to tight end and looks like the only true TE on the roster. Austin Roberts is also giving TE a go this spring, but he still has weight that needs to be added on if that's going to be permanent.
-Randall Goforth is back at cornerback. DeChaun Holiday is working at safety now.
-Breland Brandt is playing a 4-3 outside linebacker spot, which is interesting, because everyone thought he'd butter his bread as a pass-rusher.
Other notables
-Running back Steven Manfro is back with the team, so we're assuming he got his sixth year from the NCAA. He worked out fully for the first time since I can't remember.
-Receiver Cordell Broadus is also officially back with the team, and he actually looked pretty good out there. Not a whole lot of difference between him and some of the other big wideouts on the team.
-OL John Lopez was not out there today and was not on the roster. I'm assuming he's moved on.
-UCLA earned a visit from five-star RB and Alabama commitment Najee Harris. Mora spent a lot of 1-on-1 time with him out there. This is his second trip to UCLA in the last few weeks, further reinforcing in my mind that the Bruins are in good shape here.
-UCLA signees Jake Burton, Brandon Burton, Keyon Riley and Krys Barnes were in attendance. NFL prospects Caleb Benenoch and Kenny Clark were also out there.
Injuries
-No new injuries to report. Eddie Vanderdoes (knee), Mossi Johnson (knee), Fabian Moreau (foot), Johnny Johnson (shoulder) and Tevita Halalilo (ankle) all sat out, as expected.
The Day One two-deep
QB - Josh Rosen, Mike Fafaul
RB - Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks
WR - Eldridge Massington, Jordan Lasley
SLOT - Darren Andrews, Ish Adams
WR - Kenny Walker, Theo Howard
TE - Nate Iese, Austin Roberts
LT - Conor McDermott, Andre James
LG - Kenny Lacy, Najee Toran
C - Scott Quessenberry, Cristian Garcia
RG - Poasi Moala, Josh Wariboko
RT - Kolton Miller, Zach Bateman
CB - Randall Goforth, Denzel Fisher
CB - Nate Meadors, Marcus Rios
S - Adarius Pickett, Tahaan Goodman
S - Jaleel Wadood, Octo Spencer
OLB - Cam Judge, Mique Juarez
MLB - Kenny Young, Isaako Savaiinaea
OLB - Jayon Brown, Josh Woods
DE - Matt Dickerson, Keisean Lucier-South
DT - Eli Ankou, Nick Terry
DT - Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, Thomas Schwab
DE - Takk McKinley, Rick Wade
First impressions of incoming freshmen (in order of performance today)
1. LB Lokeni Toailoa - We always knew he had a high football IQ and was a very instinctual player, and he showed that playing third-string MLB today. The worry is still can he overcome his physical limitations, but for now, he looks like a young Isaako Savaiinaea.
2. WR Theo Howard - He looked outstanding at receiver and it shouldn't be long before he overtakes Kenny Walker or Eldridge Massington for a starting spot. He had a few highlight grabs, including one that Josh Rosen called a "hell of a catch" in the post-game presser.
3. LB Mique Jaurez - He's still carrying a little extra fluff that he put on during the all-star season, but he moved well as usual. He looked like he was doing too much thinking out there, which is to be expected for a guy who just got on campus yesterday, but no red flags here.
4. OLB Breland Brandt - Despite not playing pass-rushing OLB, Brandt looked fine at 4-3 OLB, moving well and even making a standout play in coverage in 11-on-11.
5. K JJ Molson - He went 4-for-4 on his kicks that were all inside of about 30 yards to end practice.
6. DT Nick Terry - There wasn't real contact in 11-on-11s because there were no pads, but he seemed to hold his own for the most part with the second string.
7. WR Demetric Felton - He looked like he's looked throughout every event we've seen him the past year: Like an undersized jitterbug.
8. QB Matt Lynch - The good news is he's much taller than I think we all anticipated, even taller than the 6-foot-4 Rosen. The bad news is he struggled to complete passes in every setting. Again, it's probably to be expected, given he just got on campus yesterday. He had a little interesting delivery, but it spun well and seemed to have good pace.
9. DB Leni Toailoa - I didn't notice him out there. Which is probably to be expected, with all the depth UCLA now has at safety.
Practice observations
-Mora doesn't want us to call his new offense a pro-style, and he's probably right. They were in the gun with three wide receivers far more than they were under center with a fullback and a TE. There were some tosses, which I've never seen before at UCLA, but there were no crazy elephant packages or indications that UCLA would be handing off the rock 40 times a game this year. As for today's offensive performance, it wasn't a good one. There were probably more false starts and fumbles than there were first downs, or even completed passes, for that matter.
-Speaking of false starts, UCLA is now making OL run laps around the field for every false start penalty. Perhaps this is the deterrent to penalties that fans wanted to see?
-On defense, UCLA ran a base 4-3 probably about 80 percent of the time that I watched. There were some three down linemen that I saw as well, although it was the same personnel as the 4-3 sets, just with one less guy (usually Takk) with his hand down.
-For the most part, I thought everybody looked about the same as they looked when we last saw them in the Foster Farms Bowl. Nobody caught my eye good or bad when it came to their body type and offseason work.
-From a performance standpoint, there weren't too many notables here either. Alex Van Dyke beat Randall Goforth several times in 1-on-1s, but he still had a bad drop toward the end of practice. Ish Adams looked explosive at receiver. I thought Colin Samuel covered well until it came time for him to show his top-end speed, and it's clear he really lacks that. Josh Rosen once again threw two or three of the prettiest footballs you're going to find on a practice field today.
I'll have some clips and interviews up on the front page from practice shortly. Here's the roster they handed out today:
Position changes rundown
-Ishmael Adams moved to wide receiver, although Jim Mora said after practice it may not be permanent. He looked good out there today, playing both the slot and outside receiver positions.
-Former LB Cameron Griffin and former DT Ainuu Taua have moved to fullback. Griffin didn't look comfortable catching the ball, and Taua didn't look great moving around in space. Will be interested to see if Griffin sticks there after all, because he showed promise as a pass rusher in past camps.
-Najee Toran is back with the OL and was working out as a center pre-practice while UCLA tries to make do with only one true center on the roster (Scott Quessenberry).
-Nate Iese has officially moved from fullback to tight end and looks like the only true TE on the roster. Austin Roberts is also giving TE a go this spring, but he still has weight that needs to be added on if that's going to be permanent.
-Randall Goforth is back at cornerback. DeChaun Holiday is working at safety now.
-Breland Brandt is playing a 4-3 outside linebacker spot, which is interesting, because everyone thought he'd butter his bread as a pass-rusher.
Other notables
-Running back Steven Manfro is back with the team, so we're assuming he got his sixth year from the NCAA. He worked out fully for the first time since I can't remember.
-Receiver Cordell Broadus is also officially back with the team, and he actually looked pretty good out there. Not a whole lot of difference between him and some of the other big wideouts on the team.
-OL John Lopez was not out there today and was not on the roster. I'm assuming he's moved on.
-UCLA earned a visit from five-star RB and Alabama commitment Najee Harris. Mora spent a lot of 1-on-1 time with him out there. This is his second trip to UCLA in the last few weeks, further reinforcing in my mind that the Bruins are in good shape here.
-UCLA signees Jake Burton, Brandon Burton, Keyon Riley and Krys Barnes were in attendance. NFL prospects Caleb Benenoch and Kenny Clark were also out there.
Injuries
-No new injuries to report. Eddie Vanderdoes (knee), Mossi Johnson (knee), Fabian Moreau (foot), Johnny Johnson (shoulder) and Tevita Halalilo (ankle) all sat out, as expected.
The Day One two-deep
QB - Josh Rosen, Mike Fafaul
RB - Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks
WR - Eldridge Massington, Jordan Lasley
SLOT - Darren Andrews, Ish Adams
WR - Kenny Walker, Theo Howard
TE - Nate Iese, Austin Roberts
LT - Conor McDermott, Andre James
LG - Kenny Lacy, Najee Toran
C - Scott Quessenberry, Cristian Garcia
RG - Poasi Moala, Josh Wariboko
RT - Kolton Miller, Zach Bateman
CB - Randall Goforth, Denzel Fisher
CB - Nate Meadors, Marcus Rios
S - Adarius Pickett, Tahaan Goodman
S - Jaleel Wadood, Octo Spencer
OLB - Cam Judge, Mique Juarez
MLB - Kenny Young, Isaako Savaiinaea
OLB - Jayon Brown, Josh Woods
DE - Matt Dickerson, Keisean Lucier-South
DT - Eli Ankou, Nick Terry
DT - Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, Thomas Schwab
DE - Takk McKinley, Rick Wade
First impressions of incoming freshmen (in order of performance today)
1. LB Lokeni Toailoa - We always knew he had a high football IQ and was a very instinctual player, and he showed that playing third-string MLB today. The worry is still can he overcome his physical limitations, but for now, he looks like a young Isaako Savaiinaea.
2. WR Theo Howard - He looked outstanding at receiver and it shouldn't be long before he overtakes Kenny Walker or Eldridge Massington for a starting spot. He had a few highlight grabs, including one that Josh Rosen called a "hell of a catch" in the post-game presser.
3. LB Mique Jaurez - He's still carrying a little extra fluff that he put on during the all-star season, but he moved well as usual. He looked like he was doing too much thinking out there, which is to be expected for a guy who just got on campus yesterday, but no red flags here.
4. OLB Breland Brandt - Despite not playing pass-rushing OLB, Brandt looked fine at 4-3 OLB, moving well and even making a standout play in coverage in 11-on-11.
5. K JJ Molson - He went 4-for-4 on his kicks that were all inside of about 30 yards to end practice.
6. DT Nick Terry - There wasn't real contact in 11-on-11s because there were no pads, but he seemed to hold his own for the most part with the second string.
7. WR Demetric Felton - He looked like he's looked throughout every event we've seen him the past year: Like an undersized jitterbug.
8. QB Matt Lynch - The good news is he's much taller than I think we all anticipated, even taller than the 6-foot-4 Rosen. The bad news is he struggled to complete passes in every setting. Again, it's probably to be expected, given he just got on campus yesterday. He had a little interesting delivery, but it spun well and seemed to have good pace.
9. DB Leni Toailoa - I didn't notice him out there. Which is probably to be expected, with all the depth UCLA now has at safety.
Practice observations
-Mora doesn't want us to call his new offense a pro-style, and he's probably right. They were in the gun with three wide receivers far more than they were under center with a fullback and a TE. There were some tosses, which I've never seen before at UCLA, but there were no crazy elephant packages or indications that UCLA would be handing off the rock 40 times a game this year. As for today's offensive performance, it wasn't a good one. There were probably more false starts and fumbles than there were first downs, or even completed passes, for that matter.
-Speaking of false starts, UCLA is now making OL run laps around the field for every false start penalty. Perhaps this is the deterrent to penalties that fans wanted to see?
-On defense, UCLA ran a base 4-3 probably about 80 percent of the time that I watched. There were some three down linemen that I saw as well, although it was the same personnel as the 4-3 sets, just with one less guy (usually Takk) with his hand down.
-For the most part, I thought everybody looked about the same as they looked when we last saw them in the Foster Farms Bowl. Nobody caught my eye good or bad when it came to their body type and offseason work.
-From a performance standpoint, there weren't too many notables here either. Alex Van Dyke beat Randall Goforth several times in 1-on-1s, but he still had a bad drop toward the end of practice. Ish Adams looked explosive at receiver. I thought Colin Samuel covered well until it came time for him to show his top-end speed, and it's clear he really lacks that. Josh Rosen once again threw two or three of the prettiest footballs you're going to find on a practice field today.
I'll have some clips and interviews up on the front page from practice shortly. Here's the roster they handed out today:
