UCLA Football Fall Camp Practice Report: August 21

A few players returned from injury as the Bruins got back on the practice field for the home stretch of preseason preparations.

The Bruins are officially in the home stretch of fall camp.

UCLA football held its 13th out of 16 preseason practice sessions on Sunday morning, kicking off a stretch of four days in a row out on the field at Wasserman Football Center. The Bruins were back in pads, getting back up to tempo with the conclusion of fall camp coming up on Wednesday.

And with the end in sight, UCLA is as healthy as it has been in a year.

Although outside linebacker Joquarri Price remained missing amid his long-term rehab, there were only four Bruins in the injured area – linebacker Ale Kaho, linebacker Kain Medrano, running back Brian Kowall and offensive lineman Liam Douglass. Kaho and Medrano's absences have thinned out the inside linebackers, but Medrano's injury does not appear to be very serious and the position group added back another key veteran Sunday who had previously been out as well.

Super senior Shea Pitts, who just ascended to scholarship status in the spring, was back on the field after missing all of last week for unknown reasons. Pitts was not in the injured area during the time he was out.

Safety Kamari Ramsey and running back Deshun Murrell were back on the field for the first time in over a week as well. Ramsey was UCLA's highest-rated prospect in its 2022 recruiting class, while Murrell was the team's top skill position player in its 2021 recruiting class.

Ramsey's return – coupled with the return of fellow freshman Croix Stewart last week – got the defensive backs back to full strength. The four-man combinations defensive backs coach Brian Norwood had been using in drills were proven not to be fully insightful due to the interchangeability of Devin Kirkwood and John Humphrey on Friday, but for what it's worth, Ramsey was running with the fourth-stringers alongside Jelani Warren.

During the defensive back footwork/interception drill, director of football performance Keith Belton accidentally passed the ball early, so he chased it down himself to make up for lost time. Because Belton was on the other side of the field, he tossed the ball back across to coach Chip Kelly, who stood in for Belton during the last few reps and fired a few crisp passes to Ramsey, Clint Stephens and Joshua Swift. 

The offensive line was in the media's line of sight for the first time in a long time Sunday, but they didn't line up in a five-man formation to tip off what the potential depth chart was looking like. Instead, they stationed two sleds at midfield and rotated going against them in pairs.

Ethan Garbers and Justyn Martin were the quarterbacks the media was able to get the best look at, and the former appeared to outduel the latter. Martin underthrew a few of his targets deep down the right sideline, putting a little too much loft under his attempts, while Garbers was nearly perfect.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson also didn't miss a target when he rotated in from the other side of the field, and Chase Artopoeus got in a few decent reps of his own.

Before the team broke out into individuals, though, the day once again began with special teams work.

Nicholas Barr-Mira, back at full strength after missing some time with an injury of his own last week, lined up to attempt field goals from 23, 28, 33, 38 and 43 yards out. At the same time, Joseph Firebaugh Jr. and the rest of the backups kicked from the same distances in inverse order, starting from 43 yards away and working their way in to 23.

It was hard to tell which kicks went in and which did not, but there were no notable shanks and every try had more than enough distance on it. Fordham transfer quarterback Sean Holland – who has actually been spending most of his time in camp with the receivers – was Barr-Mira's holder, while Artopoeus held for Firebaugh.

Barr-Mira doubled as the starting punter once again, with receiver Jake Bobo, receiver Logan Loya and receiver Kazmeir Allen taking turns as the return men. Jack Landherr IV was the starting long snapper, and he and Barr-Mira worked together very smoothly.

Chase Barry was the backup punter and Beau Gardner was the backup long snapper. Barry got off a few good tries, but was far less consistent than Barr-Mira and almost always has less hang time, and he was forced to scramble for a fumble recovery when one of Gardner's snaps came in too low.

The No. 20 continued to be one to keep an eye on – not necessarily due to performance, injury or production, but mostly because of confusion and intrigue.

The Bruins entered camp with Medrano and receiver DJ Justice wearing No. 20. Justice moved to defensive back, swapping out his blue jersey for a white one, but he held onto the No. 20. That left UCLA with two No. 20s on defense, both wearing white, and none on offense.

A new No. 20 appeared Sunday, this one in blue. It appeared to be freshman tight end Jack Pedersen, who was initially wearing No. 98. However, neither No. 20 or No. 98 are traditional numbers for tight ends. The only true tight end number available for Pedersen to scoop up is No. 88, which belonged to Mike Martinez before he left the program last week.

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