UCLA Football Spring Practice Report: April 21

The offense continued to struggle for long stretches at Wasserman Football Center early Thursday morning.

The Bruins had their final tune up ahead of their upcoming showcase, with plenty of tuning up left to do.

UCLA football held its 11th session of spring camp Thursday morning, with the 12th also serving as the team's spring showcase at Drake Stadium on Saturday. Due to scheduling directives and broadcast deals with the Pac-12, the showcase is not the final practice of camp, with three more days of work scheduled for next week.

But Saturday will still stand as the biggest spotlight for the Bruins, as fans will be allowed to attend for free and scour the field for autographs and prizes at the end. With that just two days away, the Bruins had another messy outing Thursday, at least offensively.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a pick to linebacker Kain Medrano in the first session of 7-on-7s, trying to find receiver Jake Bobo in the back of the end zone. His next attempt was incomplete too, and even after switching out for Ethan Garbers, UCLA still couldn't punch it in from 5 yards out.

After quarterback Justyn Martin got a few scores with the 3s, Thompson-Robinson trotted back out only to have nickel back Alex Johnson break up his pass to tight end Hudson Habermehl.

Thompson-Robinson was scrambling, throwing balls away or getting sacked for a large chunk of the 11-on-11 sessions. When he did manage to get passes off, receiver Kazmeir Allen, receiver Matt Sykes, receiver Logan Loya and tight end Michael Ezeike piled up the drops.

While quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson shouted out receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for his successful blocks outside the numbers, most of the rest of the energy given off by the coaching staff seemed to be directed right at the offense's struggles.

Gunderson got after receiver DJ Justice for apparently not running a route at full speed during installs. Offensive line coach Tim Drevno got up in left tackle Garrett DiGiorgio's face after he lost a battle on the edge. Running backs coach DeShaun Foster let out a disappointed yell when Thompson-Robinson's pass to Zach Charbonnet in the end zone just skimmed off his fingertips.

Credit to the defense for being disruptive – both Gabriel and Grayson Murphy beat the tackles on multiple occasions, linebackers Darius Muasau, James Dineen and Devin Aupiu swatted down passes and edge rusher Carl Jones and linebacker Adam Cohen each got sacks.

But with a returning quarterback, running back, interior offensive line and lead play-caller, the Bruins only scoring on roughly one-fifth of their drives in practice has to be a far cry from where they aimed to be midway through April.

In terms of injuries, it was mostly similar to the group that has been dinged up in the past: linebacker Jeremiah Trojan, defensive lineman Gary Smith III, offensive lineman Siale Taupaki, receiver Ezavier Staples, offensive lineman Yutaka Mahe, receiver Kam Brown, defensive back Martell Irby, running back Christian Grubb, defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi, tight end Mike Martinez, linebacker Ale Kaho, center Sam Marrazzo and linebacker Kobey Fitzgerald. Martinez actually got in plenty of work in during individuals, signifying that he is at least somewhat nearing a return from the injury he suffered last September against Fresno State.

Thompson-Robinson and Mokiao-Atimalala each went down with lower body injuries at different points Thursday, although both ended up returning not long after. Thompson-Robinson's issue seemed to be a cramp, since he was briefly stretched out by a trainer before getting back in on the action, while Mokiao-Atimalala's looked like a tweaked hamstring.

No additional defensive linemen got hurt, as Smith and Havili-Kaufusi remain the only ones out in that group. But with Odua Isibor entering the transfer portal on Wednesday, UCLA is visibly thin at that position.

Jay Toia and Martin Andrus Jr. are the new 1s with Quintin Somerville and Hayden Harris standing in as the new 2s, but the departures loom large over the six-man group left standing. Datona Jackson ran out of eligibility, Otito Ogbonnia left for the NFL Draft and Isibor, Tiaoalii Savea, John Ward, Tyler Kiehne and AJ Campbell all left via the transfer portal.

Adding defensive line depth isn't something the Bruins will be able to do ahead of Saturday's showcase, but it is very likely a priority of the coaching staff heading into the summer.

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