UCLA Football Practice Report: August 7
Most of the narratives surrounding the Bruins' practices this week have been focused on who isn't there – specifically, Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Both he and quarterback Parker McQuarrie have been missing since Monday, while receiver Chase Cota and offensive lineman Josh Carlin have been on the workout bikes for most of fall camp. True freshman defensive lineman Quintin Somerville recently joined them in the weight room Saturday, not dressing in pads with the rest of his team either.
Injuries and absences aside, however, there is still plenty going on at Wasserman Football Center.
The battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot is still very much active, with Chase Griffin and Ethan Garbers both making a play for it three weeks ahead of the season opener. Garbers had a tough stretch during media access Friday and tossed a tough-luck pick later in the day as well, but it was Griffin who was seen missing multiple throws Saturday morning.
Only getting to see the first 20 to 30 minutes of practice obviously limits what the media can see, so it's tough to get a real read on who's getting snaps with which groups and who's playing better overall. Coach Chip Kelly was asked about Garbers' performance at UCLA so far Saturday, and he credited his high school coaching staff for embedding the Washington transfer with a high football IQ and good decision making skills.
"He’s an extremely accurate thrower," Kelly said. "He’s got a lot of velocity on the ball. He’s really intelligent. He’s a good decision maker. He doesn’t force the issue. Sometimes when guys have really strong arms, they just think it doesn’t matter what the coverage is, they think they can get the ball in there. I just think he’s really smart and makes really good decisions in there."
In terms of what was going on the closer field, the UCLA staff switched things up and introduced a few new drills into the rotation. They certainly aren't new to the players, but it's the first time the media has watched them go down since the start of fall camp over a week ago, so it's still novel to see the Bruins take on new tasks here and there.
Everyone from Myles Jackson to Odua Isibor got their gloves on the ball in the pass-swatting drill. Even Devin Aupiu – who Kelly said was not allowed to practice in full pads with the rest of his teammates due to his late commitment and ensuing timeline – got in on the action wearing shorts and shells.
Saturday was also the first time the media saw actual kickoffs in action.
There had been multiple instances of kick and punt blocking and pursuit drills, but nothing complete before Saturday. Even though this still technically wasn't at full speed, it was something, and it started with RJ Lopez kicking one deep to Kyle Philips.
Philips actually muffed one of the kicks, but he wasn't really running at full speed or doing anything complicated, he was more just acting as a dummy for the coverage guys to target. His former fellow receiver, Ethan Fernea, actually wrapped him up and drove him back a few yards while yelling, so it was good to see the two of them having fun out there.
Safety Qwuantrezz Knight was all smiles as well. On his way back in line for one of the early drills, he stopped in front of the media viewing area and asked them to take photos while he posed.
No one should waste any more breath trying to come up with solutions or conspiracy theories as to why certain star quarterbacks are out.
Coming straight from Kelly's mouth, he's just "unavailable."
Until that changes, it's best to follow in Fernea, Philips and Knight's footsteps and have a bit of fun before the season really gets underway.
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