UCLA Football Spring Practice Report: April 11
The Bruins are officially at the midpoint of spring camp, and even with some depth issues and mistakes still present, some arrows are certainly trending up.
UCLA football hit the field at Wasserman Football Center on Monday morning for their seventh out of 15 sessions this month. After having several injury scares at the end of Saturday's practice, the Bruins took a long-awaited step in the right direction in regards to health, with eight practices still left on the slate.
Defensive lineman Jay Toia, receiver Kam Brown, edge rusher Gabriel Murphy and receiver Josiah Norwood, who all had injury troubles to some extent Saturday, were full participants Monday.
Linebacker Jeremiah Trojan, defensive back Martell Irby, offensive lineman Siale Taupaki, receiver DJ Justice, offensive lineman Yutaka Mahe, receiver Ezavier Staples, tight end Mike Martinez, defensive lineman Gary Smith III, receiver Colson Yankoff, center Sam Marrazzo, defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi, linebacker Ale Kaho and edge rusher Joquarri Price were all still in the injured area, so the Bruins are far from full strength, but there were at least few bodies in the dinged up group. Running back Christian Grubb and linebacker Kobey Fitzgerald, both of whom were injured for all of the 2021 season, were in pads and took part in position and special teams drills before working out with the rest of the injured players during team sessions.
The first week of practice was a pure offensive showcase, but that dominance has started to wane in recent sessions. At first, it was the defensive ends' disruption, and now the defensive backs are starting to gain ground on the pass catchers.
Cornerback John Humphrey made a great play on a ball intended for receiver Matt Sykes in 1-on-1s. Linebacker Shea Pitts broke up one of the last passes of the day, a long bomb from quarterback Justyn Martin to tight end David Priebe in the end zone.
Priebe had one of the better days of the receivers and tight ends, since there were an inordinate amount of drops and miscommunications with the quarterbacks.
Receiver Logan Loya had somewhere around five drops over the course of the practice, and tight end Michael Ezeike had a few as well.
There was one sequence in 7-on-7s that started with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson throwing behind receiver Jake Bobo on the left side. Thompson-Robinson then overthrew him heading towards the right sideline, then got picked off by linebacker Kain Medrano when trying to hit Kazmeir Allen deep over the middle.
The front seven was active, with edge rusher Devin Aupiu and defensive lineman Quentin Somerville combining for a sack on Martin and Adam Cohen forcing a fumble against running back TJ Harden.
While Thompson-Robinson did loft a perfect 50-yard touchdown to Kam Brown in the first round of 11-on-11s, the receivers who impressed the most were some of the lesser-known names. Devanti Dillard, Ashton Authement and Bradley Schlom made solid diving catches, ran good routes to the outside or found the end zone, making the most of their sporadic second team reps.
Bobo made a few plays, per usual, but his day ended with a late left leg injury. He was able to get up and walk it off after making a diving catch over the middle, but he was noticeably hobbled.
Edge rusher Grayson Murphy also went down in the closing moments of practice, staying on the ground after rushing the passer with 2 minutes left on the clock. Coach Chip Kelly waved away all of the players circling around him, only allowing a trainer and his brother Gabriel to stick around. The injured Murphy got up and was able to make it to the sidelines with some help, as he seemed to suffer a right leg injury of some sort.
The return of a few key players could be offset by those losses, but UCLA could once again get some injury luck if they discover Bobo and Murphy are good to go Wednesday morning.
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