On Day 12 of UCLA football’s fall camp, the media got a look at a possible starting lineup for the Bruins and received an update in regards to player personnel.
Things are starting to take shape with the UCLA football team but there is still a lot of work to be done. Still, the coaches are continually looking for the best lineups to put out for the 2018 season and a little bit of that was revealed in the latest practice.
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On Wednesday, during their 20-minute window, the media saw a little bit more of what the lineups could look like. Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angles News Group took note of who was playing with the 1s and 2s on both offense and defense. Though several positional choices seem like a given, there were also a few young surprises.
Offense
- WR: Christian Pabico, Chase Cota
- WR: Theo Howard, Kyle Phillips
- WR: Dymond Lee, Demetric Felton
- TE: Caleb Wilson, Jordan Wilson
- RB: Joshua Kelley, Kazmeir Allen
Nguyen noted that Wilton Speight started with the ones but does not believe he is the set starter as the coaches have continuously been cycling in all five QB candidates (including Devon Modster, Matt Lynch, Austin Burton and Dorian Thompson-Robinson). Also, Kelley mostly likely saw time with the 1s because Bolu Olorunfunmi was once again absent from practice. She also noted that Soso Jamabo and Martell Irby were in at the same time during a two-back set.
Defense
- EDGE: Jaelan Phillips, Leni Toailoa
- ILB: Josh Woods, Lokeni Toailoa
- ILB: Krys Barnes, Tyree Thompson
- OLB: Keisean Lucier-South, Mique Juarez
- CB: Darnay Holmes, Jay Shaw
- S: Adarius Pickett, Stephan Blaylock
- S: Quentin Lake, Kenny Churchwell
- CB: Nate Meadors, Elijah Gates
All of the “starters” are what most UCLA football analysts are predicting, but behind them, there are a few surprises. The Toailoa brothers have not gotten a lot of reps since coming to UCLA, though it seems as though they are getting a second look by the new coaches.
In the secondary, the 1s (except for Lake) are all returning starters. The surprise here is that there are four freshmen backing them up (Shaw and Gates are redshirts, Blaylock and Churchwell are true). That is quite the experience dropoff, but if the coaches think that they are the best options among all the defensive backs, then we have to trust the process, though this could change by September 1.
Personnel Notes
DB Octavius Spencer is no longer with the team, apparently due to a violation of team rules. RB Bolu Olorunfunmi was absent from practice for a second straight day. LB Bo Calvert and DB Keyon Riley were also absent from Wednesday’s session.
Injury Report
Bruins wearing yellow (no contact) jerseys): DL Atonio Mafi, DL Otito Ogbonnia, LB Elijah Wade and CB Colin Samuel
Bruins that are back to full participation (no yellow jersey): DL Sam Marrazzo and WR Audi Omotosho