UCLA Football: The Next Step

The Bruins stretch at UCLA's Spaulding Field

Scott Robinson

It was another beautiful day in the Westwood neighborhood.

What a shame the fans were not there to share it: The crowd has now thinned out substantially.

The recruits did not seem to notice, however. At today’s practice were the following:


Imagine what winning will do for recruiting…

The Bruins are now roughly half-way done with their spring practices—only eight more until the Spring Game. So far, if one were forced to name the three major differences from one year ago, they easily could be surmised as follows: tempo, true competition and game simulating drilling.

All the things a coach might want to get better.

There’s still a lot of work to be done, though.

Wrinkles

Today, a number of the same drills seen throughout spring practice added a few more folds in complexity.

This certainly bodes well for the new coaching staff.

On the one hand, this “next step” might reflect a better grasp of Coach Mora’s expectations. On the other, these wrinkles might push to the margins some previous starters.

Either way, the Bruins win.

Building on previous drills, the DB’s took some time today practicing tackling technique. Nice.

Before, the DB’s might have faced up 1-on-1; Today, they went head-to-head with a scout player, then slammed into dummies backed by pads. Coach Ulbrich was sure to instruct in proper tackling technique.

Sure would have been nice to have this drill in place last year—I hope Dietrich Riley was taking notes (who I also saw, sprinting out of pads today--Sounds like he is due for surgery this Monday).

With purpose come the wrinkles: The Bruins are evolving.

Drills appear to mimic, at least with the piped in crowd noise, a continued state of game-play. At one point, as the practice continues to gear towards an actual football game, the coaching staff had cleared the field such that only the referees, the 11 defenders and 11 offensive players were out on the snap.

Defensively, the 1-on-1 match-ups (similar to trench blocking or the Oklahoma Drill) include various types of blitzers; LB’s, DB’s and the DL got into the mix.

This should come to readers as exciting: Mora continues to deliver drills specifically aimed at shoring up any surprises.

“Hey Quarterback!”

On the offensive side, the playbook appears to be settling with its quarterbacks.

To be clear: this definitely does not spell perfection.

There were quite a few interceptions thrown today—At least one by QB Kevin Prince and another by QB Jerry Neuheisel. DS Tevin McDonald dropped a gimme for what would have been a third.

On a positive note: Millweard, especially, showed better control of audibles and blocking check-offs during the 11-on-11’s. His throwing motion also continues to improve with time under Coach Mazzone’s continual tutelage.

Also showing a clear grasp on offense was QB Richard Brehaut. Brehaut delivered a few nice touch passes, hitting receivers with a couple difficult throws.

One particular pass was aimed right on target: Even though WR Jackson Reeder dropped it, the ball would have hit him right smack in the face had he not gotten his hands up 20 yards down the right sideline.

Another throw by Brehaut was put right on the money, weaving over DC Marcus Rios’ reach, but under hovering DS Stan McKay.

QB Prince still looks like he has a hard time during the scrimmage portions of practice. On at least three different throws, Prince was affixed on his primary. Any roaming defender just needs to look at his eyes and they’ll know where the ball’s going.

Prince missed badly on a couple other throws: One to a streaking WR Devin Lucien (behind and out of bounds) and another to RB Steven Manfro, running over the middle (10 yards too long).

Prince also exhibits “happy feet;” More so than any other QB, he was flushed out of the pocket and a number of times had to eat the throw with the defense clinging to his receivers. If the QB’s were not in red, he would have been stood up a few times as well.

Do Your Job

The hurry-up appears to be one of the more prominent foci shown in the offensive and defensive schemes.

With merely seconds between snaps, even when a false start occurred, the team was forced to focus on a continued tempo—no matter the consequential or preceding play.

At one point, WR Devin Lucien stopped running in the confusion of a broken down scrimmage drill. Receiver’s Coach Yarber was quick on the scene: Throwing off his hat, he quick-stepped toward Lucien shouting: “Don’t stop!!!”

Meanwhile, OT Michael Padovese fell into the same mistake made earlier this spring by OT Brett Downey. This time it was OL Coach Klemm in his ear: “Do your job!”

Rest assured, these coaches do not seem to let up.

Practice Notes
Remember to ask for players or coaches to report on! Tweet us who you'd like us to cover at @BruinsBall!

Requested Players:
-Anthony Jefferson (Thanks, @PeterNLay): With the DB’s missing Abbott, Jefferson has been getting a lot of work. Got stuffed by a RB Steven Manfro run in the Oklahoma—which really had the Offense up and hollering. Jefferson had one really nice tip off of a Prince pass—Prince was forcing it, but Jefferson stayed home with the receiver to make the stop. Another long body built for range.

-Joe Roberts (Thanks, @BruinFan818): Hit a 40-yarder with another 10-15 yards left in the kick. Looks like Roberts will handle the place-kicking responsibilities for the time being. Look out for Kai’imi Fairbairn, who will complete for the spot in the summer. Simply put: Roberts has the leg, but does he have the accuracy?

ST:
-Punt-returners included Jordan James, Steven Manfro, Johnathan Franklin, Shaquelle Evans, Roosevelt Davis and Melvin Emesibe. James and Manfro look to have the best technique in catching the punt; They both load (like an outfielder in baseball) as they catch, such that they run downhill upon securing the football. If I were to rank in ball security, I say Evans comes in third, followed by Franklin (who looked tentative in catching).

RB:
-Steven Manfro: Type of player any coach would want. He dives for overthrown balls; Sprints between drills and sticks a block when needed. On one play today, during the 11-on-11’s, Manfro turned up-field into a group of defenders to only head-butt and truck through for a TD. He looks like a hard tackle to make.

UCLA’s next practice is this Thursday, April 19^th at 3:45PM.

Follow Spring Practice here on BruinsBall.com and Twitter: @BruinsBall