UCLA: Football

UCLA must cut seven scholarships

May, 7, 2012
May 7
9:56
PM PT
LOS ANGELES -- A handful of scholarship players currently in UCLA's depth chart will be off the team or off scholarship by the time fall camp begins, coach Jim Mora said Monday.

Mora said early during spring practice that there would be a "a fail rate" in camp, meaning that some players would not buy in to the demands put on the team by the new coaching staff and therefore be asked to leave or give up their scholarship. He did not back down from that stance upon the conclusion of spring practice.

"We made this spring as tough as we could," Mora said. "It was kind of a fight or flight type of atmosphere. Who was willing to make the commitment? I still think there are a couple of guys that are half in and half out and we’ll have talks with them."

Mora has little choice but to trim he number of scholarship players on his roster. Currently, there are 69 players on scholarship with 23 scholarship freshman slated to arrive in the fall. That total of 92 puts the Bruins seven over the NCAA scholarship limit of 85.

UCLA would have been nine over at the beginning of spring practice, but offensive lineman Casey Griffiths took a medical retirement and offensive lineman Connor Bradford announced he would graduate early and transfer to another school.

There is a chance incoming freshman linebacker Aaron Porter could get picked in the major league baseball draft and free up another scholarship, but Mora is still going to have to get the numbers down.

"We’ve got some decisions that we’ve got to make and some guys that have got to make some decisions," Mora said. "I don’t think that this is for everybody. It’s hard. It’s tough and people are motivated to play for different reasons. We want to find out and we are finding out what that motivation is."

He didn't mince words when talking about the types of players who would remain in the program.

"We want guys on this football team that have high football character, that are tough, that are accountable, that love hard work, that like it when it’s hard, that have competitive greatness," he said.

UCLA post-spring depth chart

May, 7, 2012
May 7
12:52
PM PT
UCLA coach Jim Mora released a post-spring depth chart Monday, but said that it really didn't mean much.

"I wouldn't put a lot into this depth chart," he said during a conference call. "This depth chart to me is a piece of paper that as soon as we're done talking I'm going to crumble up and throw in the trash. If it were up to me, we wouldn't even have a depth chart because in my mind there is no depth chart. This is for you guys."

The quarterbacks are listed numerically because the competition among them is still going, but Mora said the same could have been done for all the positions.

"This depth chart is as fluid as water," Mora said. "It changes daily. There are some positions that are a lot more firm that others, but there are many that are wide open to competition so this depth chart is worth the paper it's written on."

OFFENSE

X (receiver)
9 Jerry Johnson (6-4, 218, Sr.**) or
15 Devin Lucien (6-1, 192, Fr.**)
32 Sam Handler (6-0, 200, Fr.)

Left Tackle
56 Xavier Su'a-Filo (6-4, 310, So.)
67 Michael Padovese (6-5, 322, Fr.**)

Left Guard
71 Wade Yandall (6-4, 315, So.**) (3)
76 Alexandru Ceachir (6-5, 305, So.)
55 Ben Wysocki (6-4, 306, Fr.**)

Center
64 Greg Capella (6-4, 310, Jr.**) (1 at C, 13 at OG) or
54 Jake Brendel (6-5/295, Fr.**)
51 Tre Hale (6-2, 308, So.**)
63 Kody Innes (6-4, 285, So.**)

Right Guard
60 Jeff Baca (6-4, 304, Sr.**) (12, 11 at OT)
72 Alberto Cid (6-4, 305, Jr.**) (6)
75 Chris Ward (6-4, 318, Jr.) (4)

Right Tackle
77 Torian White (6-6, 295, Fr.**)
73 Will Oliver (6-7, 305, Fr.**)
78 Brett Downey (6-7, 305, Sr.**) (1)

Y (receiver)
8 Joseph Fauria (6-7, 258, Sr.**) (9) or
3 Darius Bell (6-0, 230, Jr.*)
85 John Young (6-5, 280, So.**)
89 Jordan Barrett (6-3, 257, Jr.**)
29 Jackson Reeder (6-3, 194, Fr.**)


F (receiver)
7 Ricky Marvray (6-0, 190, Jr.**)
6 Jordon James (5-11, 200, So.**) (3, at f back)
22 Roosevelt Davis (5-7, 162, Fr.**)

Quarterback (this position listed in numerical order)
4 Kevin Prince (6-2, 230, Sr.**) (10)
11 Jerry Neuheisel (6-2, 190, Fr.)
12 Richard Brehaut (6-2, 225, Sr.) (4)
14 T.J. Millweard (6-4, 230, Fr.)
17 Brett Hundley (6-4, 225, Fr.**)
18 Mike Fafaul (6-3, 215, Fr.)

Fullback
41 David Allen (6-2, 224, Sr.**)
45 Alek Cusick (6-1, 235, Jr.**)
49 Luke Gane (6-1, 247, So.**)
44 Phillip Ruhl (6-0, 225, So.**)


Tailback
23 Johnathan Franklin (5-10, 205, Sr.**) (14)
28 Malcolm Jones (6-0, 227, Jr.)
33 Steven Manfro (5-11, 195, Fr.**)
25 Damien Thigpen (5-9, 185, Jr.**)
20 Melvin Emesibe (5-11, 200, Fr.**)

Z (receiver)
1 Shaq Evans (6-1, 205,Jr.**) (6)
88 Jerry Rice, Jr. (6-0, 182, Jr.**)
86 Logan Sweet (6-1, 185, Fr.**)
81 Tyler Scott (6-2, 214, Fr.**)


DEFENSE

Left Defensive End
56 Datone Jones (6-5, 280, Sr.**) (14 starts) or
94 Owamagbe Odighizuwa (6-5, 278, Jr.) (1)
91 Sam Tai (6-4, 275, Fr.**)

Nose Tackle
92 Brandon Willis (6-3, 275, So.)
90 Donovan Carter (6-2, 313, Sr.** (1)
98 Seali’i Epenesa (6-2, 323, Jr.)
77 Kevin McReynolds (6-3, 310, Fr.**)
95 Brandon Tuliaupupu (6-2, 331, Fr.**)

Right Defensive End
99 Cassius Marsh (6-4, 295, Jr.) (8) or
94 Owamagbe Odighizuwa (6-5, 278, Jr.) (1)
96 Iuta Tepa (6-2, 268, Jr.**)
78 Wesley Flowers (6-5, 254, So.**)

Left Outside Linebacker
35 Jordan Zumwalt (6-4, 235, Jr.) (4) or
59 Keenan Graham (6-3, 252, Jr.**) (1, at def. end)
14 Aramide Olaniyan (6-2, 220, So.**)
47 Ryan Medina (6-3, 235, Sr.**)

Left Inside Linebacker
42 Patrick Larimore (6-3, 253,Sr.**) (13)
27 Jared Koster (6-1, 208, So.**)
57 Jason Stewart (6-2, 237, Fr.**)
55 Todd Golper (6-1, 240, Jr.**)

Right Inside Linebacker
30 Eric Kendricks (6-2, 230, So.**) (3)
33 Ryan Hofmeister (6-2, 220, So.**)
44 Mike Orloff (6-3, 222, Fr.**)

Right Outside Linebacker
43 Damien Holmes (6-4, 260, Sr.**) (14, at def. end)
12 Aaron Wallace (6-4, 235, Fr.**)
11 Anthony Barr (6-5, 238, Jr.) (7, at f back)

Left Cornerback
22 Sheldon Price (6-2, 185, Sr.) (12)
8 Anthony Jefferson (6-1, 190, So.**)
29 Erick Zumwalt (5-10, 170, Fr.**)

Strong Safety
26 Andrew Abbott (5-11, 200, Sr.**) (7)
19 Dalton Hilliard (6-0, 205, Sr.) (5, at safety)
39 Dylan Price (5-10, 206, So.**)

Free Safety
7 Tevin McDonald (6-0, 202, So.**) (11)
4 Stan McKay (6-1, 205, Jr.**) (2)
23 Anthony Thompson (6-1, 208, Fr.**)

Right Cornerback
21 Aaron Hester (6-1, 205, Sr.**) (12)
2 Brandon Sermons (6-11, 185, Jr.**)
9 Marcus Rios (6-0, 185, Fr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS
FG Kicker

21 Joe Roberts (6-1, 206, So.**)

Kickoffs
18 Jeff Locke (6-1, 210, Sr.**) (14)

Punter
18 Jeff Locke (6-1, 210, Sr.**) (14)
42 Michael Leamy (5-11, 183, Fr.**)

Punt / Kickoff Return (listed in numerical order)

1 Shaq Evans (6-1, 205,Jr.**)
6 Jordon James (5-11, 200, So.**)
7 Ricky Marvray (6-0, 190, Jr.**)
19 Dalton Hilliard (6-0, 205, Sr.)
25 Damien Thigpen (5-9, 185, Jr.**)
28 Malcolm Jones (6-0, 227, Jr.)
33 Steven Manfro (5-11, 195, Fr.**)

Long Snapper

48 Kevin McDermott (6-5, 250, Sr.**) (14)
(others listed numerically)
45 Peter Hajimihalis (5-9, 195, Fr.**)
50 Jay Weneta (6-0, 216, Fr.**)
53 Christopher Longo (6-4, 203, Fr.**)


Injured
SS 15 Alex Mascarenas (5-10, 188, Jr.**) (2)
SS 1 Dietrich Riley (6-1, 205, Jr.) (5)
FS 31 Librado Barocio (5-9, 175, So.**)
LB 25 Isaiah Bowens (6-2, 235, Jr.**)

( ) indicates number of games started in 2011 season
** indicates utilized redshirt year
italics indicates non-scholarship player
UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley.Peter Yoon/ESPNLA.comBrett Hundley is one of three QBs who will head into the fall trying to win the starting job.

PASADENA -- UCLA's spring practice ended Saturday with the playing of the annual spring scrimmage at the Rose Bowl and the Bruins found themselves with pretty much the same quarterback situation they had when spring football started: There is no starter.

Coach Jim Mora said none of the contending quarterbacks had separated himself enough to win the job, so the competition will last into fall camp. He set an Aug. 16 deadline for announcing a starter, which is two weeks before UCLA opens at Rice.

Until then, quarterbacks Richard Brehaut, Brett Hundley and Kevin Prince will have to continue to try and show they deserve the job.

"I think what we gain by waiting is I want to keep a competitive environment and quite frankly I don’t think that anyone has really reached out and grabbed it enough for me to make that decision yet," Mora said after the scrimmage, the last on-field session he will have with the players until training camp begins in August.

Mora acknowledged that it was down to a three-man race with Jerry Neuheisel, T.J. Millweard and Mike Fafaul dropping out of contention after beginning the spring on equal footing.

The spring game wasn't going to make or break any of the quarterback candidates, but each played fairly well. Brehaut made the big plays that are part of his modus operandi and finished with 249 yards and four touchdowns on 12 of 16 passing. He did not have a pass intercepted.

Hundley completed 12 of 20 passes for 185 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also made several dazzling plays with his legs, including a touchdown run of about 15 yards. Prince, still nursing a sore shoulder, played steady and completed eight of 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

But those statistics must be taken with a grain of salt. The UCLA defense is playing quite short-handed because of injuries, especially in the secondary and linebacker corps. Three long touchdown passes went in the direction of walk-on cornerback Erick Zumwalt, a freshman generously listed at 5 feet 10, who was forced into duty because of the lack of depth in the secondary.

Also, the defense was playing a vanilla coverage to not give away much in the line of schemes and strategy on such a public stage.

"It was fun to see our quarterbacks have success early," Mora said. "I think we have to temper that with the fact that defensively we were playing bland defenses. We were playing single safety middle and leaving our corners in a clutch a lot of the time. We weren’t really pressuring."

(Read full post)

PASADENA -- UCLA coach Jim Mora met with the media following the spring scrimmage Saturday. He discussed his initial impressions of the team and his excitement of playing in the Rose Bowl as well as his reasons for extending the quarterback competition into fall camp.

He also talks about the standout performance of freshman running back Steven Manfro in the spring scrimmage, Manfro's failed attempt at a backflip, as well as the general performances of other offensive and defensive units.

For added entertainment, Mora nearly takes a tumble (at about the 1:50 mark) and worries that it would have ended up on SportsCenter.

Brehaut to focus on football full time

May, 5, 2012
May 5
9:17
PM PT
UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut.Peter Yoon/ESPNLA.comUCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut is stepping away from the baseball team.

PASADENA -- Richard Brehaut will not re-join the UCLA baseball team, choosing to spend the rest of the spring focused on winning the still-open competition for the starting quarterback job, he said Saturday after the spring football game.

Brehaut, who will be a senior next year, joined the baseball team after spring football ended last year but did not get in a game. He was with the baseball team before spring football began this year and had planned on re-joining the baseball team, but had a change of heart while going through spring football.

"For me, football has always been the priority," he said. "I wanted to give baseball the opportunity because I knew I can play baseball, but right now I think my time is going to be best spent with the football team and developing that leadership role."

Brehaut is entrenched in a battle with Brett Hundley and Kevin Prince for UCLA's quarterback job. None of the three was able to separate himself enough to claim the job in spring and coach Jim Mora said the competition will last until two weeks before the August 30 season opener at Rice.

Spring football lasted two weeks later this year than last and as a result, Brehaut would have only three weeks to try and crack the baseball lineup. But his biggest reason for giving up his status as a two-sport athlete is to impress upon the football coaches that he is committed to winning the quarterback job.

"Nobody has separated on the field, so the coaches want to see how everyone does off the field," Brehaut said. "They want to see who works hard in the offseason, who shows leadership."

Five things to watch: UCLA spring scrimmage

May, 4, 2012
May 4
2:55
PM PT
Jim MoraPeter Yoon/ESPNLA.com One thing Jim Mora will be watching Saturday is how his players adapt to a different environment.

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA's spring football practice session will end Saturday with the annual spring scrimmage game at the Rose Bowl. The action begins at 5 p.m.

With a new coaching staff and positional battles across the board, there will be plenty of newness on the field, so here are a few pointers on what to look for during the game:

1. THE QUARTERBACKS
They have been the most-watched players since the beginning of spring practice, so why should the spring finale be any different?

Coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone have yet to pick a starter for next season, and you have to figure performance in this scrimmage will be a large portion of each quarterback's grade when it comes to making a call.

Mora would not divulge how the reps would be divided among the quarterbacks, but you have to guess Brett Hundley, Richard Brehaut and Kevin Prince will get the bulk. Prince has been hampered by a sore shoulder over the last two weeks, so he could be limited.

The keys to determining who plays best go beyond who is able to complete passes. The coaches are looking for command of the offense and good decision making as well as play-making ability.

"There are a lot of decisions that need to be made by the quarterback in this offense," Mazzone said. "Before the snap, at the snap, after the snap. You’re looking for how guys make those decisions under fire. And you are looking for a guy who can make those decisions then make the throws that need to be made. And you want a guy who can create plays when there’s no plays there to be made."

2. THE TEMPO
The high-paced offense has been one of the hot topics all spring and the Bruins will put it on full display Saturday. They are running a no-huddle offense with the plays coming in from the sideline and the quarterbacks calling them from behind center.

After each play the offense scrambles to the line and resets to do it all over. This is a far cry from the methodical, clock grinding Pistol offense UCLA ran the last two seasons, so it will be a change for the players to play at this accelerated pace for the first time in game-like conditions.

Also worth noting is whether or not the defense can keep pace. The Bruis struggled mightily last season against high-paced teams such as Houston, Arizona and Oregon. The Bruins defense seemed lost early in the spring,but has come on strong over the last couple of weeks so it will be interesting to see which unit deals best with the high pace.

(Read full post)

Mean ol' Cassius Marsh brings new attitude

May, 3, 2012
May 3
10:30
PM PT
Cassius MarshPeter Yoon for ESPNLA.comCassius Marsh

LOS ANGELES -- It's been an awfully quiet spring for Cassius Marsh, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

It's actually a very good thing in some eyes.

UCLA's spring camp has been littered with a dust-up here, a fracas there as well as skirmishes and a near brawl, but Marsh has not been involved in any.

A year ago, Marsh seemed to be in the middle of all of them. A 6-4, 295-pound defensive lineman with a mean streak, Marsh frequently found himself pushing and shoving after the whistle whenever he was on the field.

This spring? Not a peep. You'd be hard-pressed to find a play this spring in which Marsh didn't stop playing when the whistle blew, let alone find one where he was involved in extracurricular activity. It's the new Cassius Marsh, he said.

"As a man, I recognize that I made a lot of mistakes last year and I’m not willing to make those mistakes again," Marsh said. "I’m trying to develop not only as a player, but also as a man and as a teammate. I need to be a leader for these guys because I’m not a young guy any more. I don’t have that excuse any more."

The lowlight of Marsh's season came at Arizona when Marsh got in the middle of the on-field brawl at Arizona and replays showed him swinging his helmet at Wildcats players. The Pac-12 suspended 10 players for their actions in that benches-clearing brawl, but Marsh drew a two-game suspension--the most severe penalty of all.

Last spring, Marsh foreshadowed that nasty side when he got entangled in a shoving match then slammed his helmet to the ground, stripped off his shoulder pads and made a big production of walking off the field in the middle of practice.

This spring, Marsh's production has come in full uniform. He's among the first to arrive at practice and is regularly first in line for drills. He's leading by example and trying to leave his turbulent past behind.

"I try to just listen and be the best example I can for the rest of these guys," Marsh said. "I’m not going to cause scenes like I might have in the past. It’s football and things will happen and you just have to learn to get over that and not worry about it. After the whistle blows, it’s the next play. Don’t worry about the last one."

Defensive line coach Angus McClure, the only full-time coach remaining on staff from last season, said he has been quite impressed with the new attitude Marsh brought to camp.

"He’s matured quite a bit," McClure said. "He’s quietly become one of our leaders. He’s a real lead by example guy and it's been great to see."

(Read full post)

Video: Jim Mora, spring practice No. 14

May, 3, 2012
May 3
6:26
PM PT
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA coach Jim Mora addressed the media following the Bruins' final spring practice. He addressed Devin Lucien's return to practice after leaving Tuesday on crutches and a few other injury notes. He also talked about the format of Saturday's spring game at the Rose Bowl and reflected on Junior Seau's death and the importance of monitoring head injuries. Patrick Larimore, Malcolm Jones, Wade Yandall and Alex Mascarenas are among the Bruins currently out because of concussions.

Dalton HilliardPeter Yoon/ESPNLA.comDalton Hilliard has moved back to defensive back from running back but still could play both ways.

LOS ANGELES -- Dalton Hilliard's wish of playing both ways has come true over the last couple of practices.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, it's not for the reasons he'd hoped.

Hilliard, a safety for his first three seasons at UCLA, switched to running back before spring practice began, but has been forced back to the defense after a rash of injuries has left the Bruins thin in the defensive backfield.

Early on in camp, Hilliard told anyone who would listen that he intended to play both ways, but the coaching staff didn't seem as into the idea as Hilliard. Now, Hilliard is saying "I told you so."

"I’ve kind of known that I was going to have to go back to defense because we’ve had so many guys injured," Hilliard said. "I actually went up to the office yesterday and talked to coach about possibly helping out the defense a little bit."

Hilliard has performed well as a running back -- a position he hasn't played since high school -- and shown the promise of a playmaker on offense. But with cornerbacks Anthony Jefferson, Brandon Sermons and Librado Barocio recently joining a growing list of injured Bruins defensive backs that already included safeties Dietrich Riley, Alex Mascarenas and Andrew Abbott, Hilliard started feeling sorry for his former position mates.

"I noticed that we had numbers down," Hilliard said. "As a running back, we have a lot of depth and the reps aren’t too taxing. [The defensive backs] are only a couple of guys deep and the reps can be taxing with the pace we’re moving in practice."

So Hilliard went to defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin and coach Jim Mora and asked if he could help out.

"You gotta love that attitude, man," Mora said. "That willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team...I love his enthusiasm. The fact that he’d come in the day before a scrimmage and he hasn’t taken a snap on defense and says I know we’re hurting a little on defense, give me some snaps on defense, how can you not love that?"

Martin joked that is was only a matter of time.

"He's a guy that played high school running back his whole career and then came to college and played safety," Martin said. "He still has those demons inside of him to go play running back. All right, go chase those demons out. You’ll be back over."

(Read full post)

Video: Jim Mora, spring practice No. 13

May, 1, 2012
May 1
7:39
PM PT
LOS ANGELES--Coach Jim Mora met with reporters after Tuesday's practice session, the final spring practice in full pads before the spring game, and discussed an ankle injury to Devin Lucien that forced the freshman receiver to leave the field on crutches and with his ankle heavily wrapped in ice.

He also shared some details of the spring game and touched on the return to practice of injured players such as Darius Bell, Joseph Fauria and Aaron Wallace.

UCLA quarterback Kevin PrincePeter Yoon/ESPNLA.comKevin Prince has been dealing with a sore shoulder recently, which as put him behind in the QB race.

LOS ANGELES -- Quarterback Kevin Prince is dealing with a sore right shoulder that has hampered his performance over the past few practices, quarterbacks coach Noel Mazzone confirmed Saturday.

The injury is not thought to be serious, but Prince was severely limited Saturday, taking only about a half-dozen reps in live team drills while Brett Hundley and Richard Brehaut each got about two dozen.

"His shoulder is a little bit dinged up, but he’s fine," Mazzone said. "That’s why I backed off on him a little bit."

The sore shoulder has clearly hampered his performance. Over the last week, Prince appears to have fallen behind in the quarterback competition because of a series of bad throws and interceptions. He has lost velocity and accuracy on his throws and has been throwing with an awkward shotput type of motion.

Hundley and Brehaut both looked good Saturday, with Hundley consistently moving the chains during the team scrimmage sessions while Brehaut connected on several long touchdown passes. Mazzone said it's still too early to tell who's leading the race, but that the next week--including the spring game--will reveal a lot.

"It’s getting to the point now where they have run this offense enough and have done this enough that there’s no more excuses," he said. "Now I feel that they should have enough of this offense under their belt that they can go out on the field and compete against each other and perform."

He added that results are the only things that matter in the quarterback race. Prince and Brehaut have the experience, but Hundley has a wealth of untapped potential, but the winner of the quarterback position will be the guy who plays the best under the gun.

(Read full post)

Video: Jim Mora, UCLA spring practice No. 12

April, 28, 2012
Apr 28
6:28
PM PT
Coach Jim Mora met with reporters after practice and discussed injuries to several players, including the season-ending ACL tear linebacker Isaiah Bowens suffered. He also touched on the spring game, the quarterback competition, more on Steven Manfro and Dalton Hilliard playing both ways.

Isaiah Bowens out with torn ACL

April, 28, 2012
Apr 28
6:02
PM PT
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA linebacker Isaiah Bowens tore his ACL on Thursday in practice and will undergo surgery in the next couple of weeks, coach Jim Mora said Saturday.

Bowens, a rising redshirt sophomore out of Bishop Amat High in La Puente, was competing for time at the middle linebacker spot and was the team's first-string middle linebacker after Patrick Larimore suffered a concussion earlier in the week, but he will now miss next season.

"That’s a bad deal," Mora said. "That’s a big loss for us and I feel bad for the kid. He’s doing well and working hard and you just hate for that to happen. It’s a part of the game, but it’s a part of the game you just don’t like."

Bowens suffered the injury during a play late in team drills Thursday. He crumpled to the ground after taking a helmet to his knee and then hobbled off the field.

"I couldn’t even watch the video of it," Mora said. "He took a shot on that thing."

In other injury news, linebacker Eric Kendricks was limited because of a shoulder injury, running back Malcolm Jones sat out the last few periods after taking a blow to the head and cornerback Anthony Jefferson also sat out the last portio of practice after getting hit in the back.

Brett Hundley should get nod at QB

April, 26, 2012
Apr 26
9:53
PM PT
Brett HundleyPeter Yoon/ESPNLA.comIf UCLA wants to establish a new identity, it might make sense to pick Brett Hundley as the starting quarterback.

LOS ANGELES -- It's time to name Brett Hundley the starting quarterback for UCLA.

Hundley is locked in a battle with incumbents Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut for the starting job and the competition is heating up as spring practice enters the home stretch. None of the three are blowing away the competition and taking the job, but Hundley appears to have edged a step ahead over the last week, so that makes it a no-brainer to give him the job.

The coaches in charge of picking a signal caller are not letting on about which way they are leaning and the less-than-stellar quarterback play is making the decision even tougher, but the guess here is that were the season to start this week, Hundley would get the job.

Hundley, a freshman who redshirted last season, has shown the most improvement from the start of camp and he has elevated his play significantly over the past few practices.

The book on Hundley is that he is a dual-threat, athletic quarterback, but until recently he has shown only glimpses of his running ability. On Thursday he had a pair of eye-catching runs that showed off the speed and open-field ability that made him a high-level recruit out of high school and had him tabbed as "The Savior" for UCLA football.

But after struggling with his throws for much of the last year, he never got off the bench and sat out the season as a redshirt. Now, under the tutelage of quarterbacks coach Noel Mazzone, he's beginning to show some promise with nice touch as well as arm strength and accuracy.

All is not perfect, however. He had passes intercepted on consecutive plays during a red zone drill, though safety Anthony Thompson made a tremendous play to get one and Tevin McDonald also had to make a nice play to get the other. Still, the flashes of extraordinary ability he's starting to show make you hungry to see if he can, indeed, reach the tremendous potential expected since his arrival. That alone makes him the most intriguing pick.

(Read full post)

Near brawl disrupts UCLA practice

April, 26, 2012
Apr 26
8:50
PM PT
Jim MoraPeter Yoon/ESPNLA.comUCLA coach Jim Mora said the near-brawl Wednesday at practice was "unacceptable" and "not who we're going to be."

LOS ANGELES -- Dust-ups, skirmishes and fights are bound to happen over the course of a spring football camp, but when things border on a brawl, it's time for the coach to take action.

That's what happened Thursday when coach Jim Mora halted practice and made the entire team run sprints after a mini-brawl broke out during team drills about midway through the session. Multiple players got involved after linebacker Eric Kendricks and offensive lineman Jeff Baca engaged in some post-play shoving and offensive linemen Brett Downey and Albert Cid each went after Kendricks.

Cid eventually threw a punch that sent Kendricks into a tizzy and drew a crowd of players and coaches from the field and the sideline and forced Mora to take action.

"It’s unacceptable," Mora said. "That’s not who we’re going to be and that’s not what we’re going to do. A punch was thrown and so we paid the consequence for it. I want this team to play with class and composure at all times and in order to play that way, you have to practice that way."

Mora was yelling at Cid the whole time as the team ran sprints for about five minutes, barking about discipline and how throwing a punch would get him kicked out of the game and cost the team 15 yards. Cid, who was suspended a half last season for his role in the benches-clearing brawl at Arizona, said he simply lost his cool.

"Just the heat of the moment," he said. "Nothing serious, I just got a little excited, that was all. There is a lot of competition going on out here and that’s just part of competing."

Baca was blocking Kendricks on the play and the two kept going at it after the whistle. After a few shoves, Downey came over and shoved Kendricks, who became even more infuriated. That's when Cid got involved and as Kendricks began to lose his cool, teammates and coaches surrounded the overheated situation and separated skirmishing players before it boiled over.

(Read full post)

BACK TO TOP

2011 TEAM LEADERS

PASSINGATTCOMPYDSTD
K. Prince224126182812
RUSHINGCARYDSAVGTD
J. Franklin1669765.95
D. Coleman1527655.011
RECEIVINGRECYDSAVGTD
N. Rosario64116118.15
J. Fauria3948112.36
TEAMRUSHPASSTOTAL
Offense190.7198.1388.8
TEAMPFPAMARGIN
Scoring23.832.2-8.5