UCLA Football: Roster changes as Spring Practice resumes

The UCLA football team resumed practice on Tuesday and so it was back to work,  but there have been a few notable changes to the roster and list of injuries.

The Chip Kelly-led UCLA football team was back at it on Monday as the Bruins continued Spring Practice after a two week break.

RELATED: 5 things to watch as Spring Practice resumes

Though there is not a lot of news when it comes to schemes or play-calling, there is a lot of notable roster changes, mostly additions, one subtraction and a few players returning to the program.

Adding to the roster

During the winter portion of practice, the Bruins only had one new player added to the program, freshman WR Kyle Phillips, who handled himself with the confidence of a player that has been in the program for a while, so that is already a good sign for the receivers who got some more help as the Bruins returned to Spaulding Field.

On Tuesday, three more players were added which included another freshman WR, Chase Cota, the former 4-star that was a huge grab for Kelly that started the wave of talented players commiting to UCLA after the hiring of the new coach.

The linebackers also got some backup as two players have been added to the roster, junior college transfers Je’Vari Anderson and Tyree Thompson. Both come in with college playing time experience and add immediate and necessary depth to a group that is extremely thin.

Subtracting from the roster

The Bruins also lost a player, but truth be told, they did not exactly had him to begin with. Washington grad transfer, K.J. Carta-Samuels, who is eligible to play immediately and was expected to be in the running for the starting QB spot, was committed to playing for UCLA, but a week before practice resumed, did a course correction and is now heading to Colorado State.

Addition by reversing a subtraction

Two Bruins are back after apparently leaving the program. Safeties Will Lockett and Octavius Spencer were back with the blue and gold which is a huge deal. The defensive backs have been stacked with talent and depth the last few seasons, so losing two players with experience, especially at the safety position (where they also lose heavy hitter Jaleel Wadood), would have been a step backwards for the secondary. Having them back not only helps with consistency moving forward, but bulks up a group that was also looking a bit thin.

Injury report

There were still a handful of players in non-contacts, but two very key players have lost the yellow jerseys and participated in practice. Both offensive linemen, Michael Alves and Jax Wacaser, are apparently back from injury and can now help out a restructuring O-line.

According to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Daily News, WR Kyle Phillips might have picked up an injury in practice on Tuesday as he appeared to be “limping heavily”. There has been no other confirmation of this injury.

Here are the other players still reported to have injuries:

• DL/LB Jaelan Phillips (wrist)
• CB Keyon Riley (shoulder)
• DL Greg Rogers (shoulder)
• CB Colin Samuel (shoulder)
• LB Lokeni Toailoa (hamstring)
• DL Rick Wade (ankle)
• TE Caleb Wilson (foot)
• LB Josh Woods (shoulder)

Next: UCLA Football: What we learned from the first part of Spring Practice

The Bruins continue practice on Thursday, April 5 at 8 a.m. and then again on Saturday, April 7 at 10 a.m. both practices are open to the public.