It was the first time Go Joe Bruin got a chance to sample the UCLA Football team in fall camp and was wowed by the defense and noticed a certain running back making a name for himself.
There is good news and progressing news. First, the good news. The UCLA Football team still has a fantastic defense. Though Tom Bradley’s squad lost a lot of players, there are plenty that are doing their part to make sure the Bruins’ D does not skip a beat.
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Two players that are evidence of this are the two freshman you have been hearing about since spring, DE Jaelan Phillips and DB Darnay Holmes.
I noticed Phillips immediately, primarily because of how he carries himself. He was always ready and in position before each play, something not typical of freshmen. He also has a lot of confidence, but is not cocky. Every time he was on the line, he explodes up and worked his tail off to get around the O-line.
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Holmes is similar in the way he carries himself. To paraphrase Bradley from last week, “these guys are no longer freshmen”. Holmes is incredible in coverage from the way he moves his head to the way he stays with his man to knowing where his hands should be, this guy is definitely ahead of the curve.
The progressive news is that the Bruins’ offense is slowly coming together, especially with a few standout performances, but as a whole, there is a lot of work to do.
So let us start with the individual players.
Jim Mora says with so many RBs out (Jamabo, Starks, Starks and Stephens) Bolu Olorunfunmi and Josh Kelley really stepped up today.
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) August 8, 2017
The one Bruin that stood out was none other than Bolu Olorunfunmi, who was taking the majority of snaps with the 1s. Every time Olorunfunmi got his hands on the ball, he would make something out of it.
Not only was he finding gaps (props to the offensive line), but he was churning out 10+ yard runs. The best part is when the Bruin defenders would try to make a hit on him, Bolu would stay standing and often knocked his defender back.
Noticeably, Soso Jamabo did not have a lot of reps.
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As for the receivers and tight ends, Darren Andrews, Jordan Lasley and Demetric Felton were very consistent. Overtime the ball went their way, the were able to catch and secure it. Caleb Wilson was the one tight end that had no trouble pulling passes out of the sky. Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch will definitely have a lot of TE schemes this season if this practice is any indication of how the tight ends will be used.
Speaking of Fisch, this coach is loud. Though I was watching across the way from Lot 8, Fisch could be heard quite clearly and using very colorful language. Not necessarily vulgar, but he got his point across to all of his players.
As for the quarterbacks, well, it was slow going for starter Josh Rosen and backup Devon Modster. Rosen did well, but it is quite apparent that he is still getting used to the new offensive style, which varied from 4-wide to tight formations (we should see a lot of looks from the offense this season).
During 11-on-11 drills and in scrimmage situations, Rosen was able to connect with several receivers, but nothing too impressive. Rosen had to work with a lot of short yardage plays. He still has control of his offense, but as a unit, the Bruins need to get tighter.
Modster is another story. He was up and down all practice. He would have several inaccurate throws, and then send one right on the money that moved the sticks. In one series, Modster and the offense were backed up against their own end zone after a few plays that literally went nowhere, only to have Modster find TE Caleb Wilson who caught the pass in the middle of the field and took it for a touchdown. There was no defender near him, especially after Lasley threw a block that opened up a huge lane for Wilson.
Other than that, it was mostly Olorunfunmi that produced yards for the offense.
On defense, the front 7 did well to get at the offense, but it was the secondary that shined as they limited the air attacks. One particular play saw Adarius Pickett level Austin Roberts after a catch. Roberts was slow to get up and appeared fine as he walked off the field, but you could not deny that hit Pickett put on him as everyone took notice.
Jaleel Wadood and Holmes were two other players in the secondary that constantly sniffed out the ball whenever it was thrown their way. Their ability to hone in on the pass and break up plays was uncanny, especially when they had a chance to make a hit on an intended receiver.
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Though the offense is not clicking (yet), there were a few bright spots. The Bruins are on the right path, but essentially having to start over with a new offense is going to take some time. Hopefully that occurs before September 3.