by Ross Coleman - Contributing Editor
August 18, 2009 21:41
This past week was the first for UCLA fall camp. While there were ups and downs on both sides of the ball, the Bruins showed something that they haven't shown in some time: promise.
This week started with the NCAA mandated acclimation period where there are no two a days allowed for the first week and no pads allowed for the first five days. But as of Saturday UCLA has been in full pads and practicing twice a day every other day (another NCAA rule preventing two practices two days in a row).
While the defense still appears to be winning the war against the offense, surprisingly enough, the offense is winning some wars. The first string offensive, freshman Xavier Su'a-Filo at left tackle, freshman Stan Hasiak at left guard, sophomore Kai Maiava at center, junior college transfer Eddie Williams at right guard, and sophomore and only returning starter Jeff Baca at right tackle, line has stayed the same most of the week. They also have been doing an outstanding job protecting the quarterback and opening running lanes for the running backs, when you compare them with last year.
Quarterback Kevin Prince has appeared to make huge strides since the spring. He has taken on a leadership role for the offense and shown flashes of being one of the all time great quarterbacks for the Bruins. Now if he can translate that to game success and cut down on team turnovers, then UCLA should be a big surprise this season.
The running game seems to have turned a corner with the help of a talented offensive line. Although junior Christian Ramirez has been named the starter, sophomore Derrick Coleman has transformed himself into a force in the running game. At 6-feet 230 pounds and running a 4.5 40 yard dash, Coleman is a rare combination of size and speed that will be carrying the load much of the season for the Bruins. Redshirt freshmen Milton Knox and Jonathan Franklin have both had good moments but also need to be more consistent. Freshman Damien Thigpen has been making a case for no redshirt year by using his speed to stretch the field.
At wide receiver the biggest surprise has been the play of freshman Ricky Marvray. Marvray has come in and played like a veteran from day one. His routes are run smoothly and correctly, he catches everything, and has shown more speed than he was thought to have coming in. It seems that Marvray will not Redshirt this year and will see the field plenty.
On the defensive side everything is what you would expect. Brian Price is showing just what an all-American defensive linemen looks like. Datone Jones is quickly becoming the Bruins best young defensive linemen. Reggie Carter is doing what he does best, fill holes. Alterraun Verner is doing his best to show the younger defensive backs how it's done. And Aaron Hester is doing his best Alterraun Verner impersonation.
The only starting spot still up for competition on defense is the strong safety spot where sophomore Tony Dye and redshirt sophomore Glenn Love are battling it out. Dye's knock is that he is so versatile that he would almost be a better back up and nickle corner at this point. Love's knock is that he is still very inconsistent in pass coverage and plays like a much smaller player, not at all what you want from a 6-4 player.
Two a days continue all this week, culminating with a full team scrimmage this Saturday evening at Drake Stadium.
Quicknotes: Injuries to defensive tackle Jess Ward (sprained MCL out 2-3 weeks) and defensive end Reggie Stokes (torn cartilage out indefinitely) has forced the coaching staff to move some offensive linemen to defence. Junior tackle Sean Sheller is now lining up at defensive tackle and redshirt freshman tackle Connor Bradford is now lining up at defensive end... Also among the injured are senior offensive guard Nick Ekbatani (sprained MCL out 4-6 weeks)... Freshman Nik Abele, who started his young Bruin career at defensive end has been moved to offensive tackle where offensive line coach Bob Palcic begged coach Rick Neuheisel to keep Abele... Freshman fullback Jayson Allmound is making a case for no redshirt year.
Sidenote: I will be attending practice today and will have a full practice write up tomorrow.