UCLA Football Practice Report: December 15
Most Bruin fans' focus Wednesday has been on the future – the fresh faces of the early signing period and the buildup to the Holiday Bowl in two week's time, to name a few major storylines.
But for the team itself, it was just another regular, routine, mundane day of practice.
UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) got back out on the field at Wasserman Football Center on Wednesday, running the same rotation of drills they have been since the start of fall camp in late July. The atmosphere on campus hasn't changed from from the dog days of summer to the holiday season, apparently, outside of a slight drop in temperature.
There weren't many injured players being held out, as had been the case through most of the regular season as well. Defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia continued to patrol the field in sweatpants several days after declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft and announcing he would be stepping away from competition with the Bruins in order to rehab an injury he had been playing through this fall.
Ogbonnia was laughing and joking around with Clancy Pendergast, the defensive analyst who is currently standing in as defensive line coach with Johnny Nansen now the defensive coordinator at Arizona. Outside of Ogbonnia, no other draft hopefuls – such as left tackle Sean Rhyan, running back Zach Charbonnet, right tackle Alec Anderson, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson or safety Quetin Lake – were sitting out of practice.
The group of injured players who are still officially part of the team was made up of the following: linebacker Kobey Fitzgerald, offensive lineman Siale Taupaki, defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi and defensive lineman Quintin Somerville. Fitzgerald and Somerville were doing sprints and stretches on the sideline through most of the opening six periods open to the media.
Of the 11 players who have entered the transfer portal thus far, only quarterback Parker McQuarrie appears to still be practicing with the team. After wearing a tight end's number on his scout team jersey over the weekend, McQuarrie sported a blank red scout team jersey on Wednesday.
As was typical throughout the season, the open portion of practice included a big chunk of special teams pursuit drills, followed by some defensive back work on the near field that blocked the view of most of what was going on on the offensive field.
In the main defensive backs drill, cornerbacks Cameron Johnson and Devin Kirkwood stood out with the best pass breakups of the day, and Mo Osling III impressed as a cornerback-safety hybrid as well. The defensive backs playing receiver for the scout team – namely Patrick Jolly, Jelani Warren and Isaiah Newcombe – all looked impressively athletic with good hands, although Evan Thomas was beating himself up after a big drop on the sideline.
The matchup with North Carolina State down in San Diego is 13 days away, giving UCLA ample time to work out any kinks and get the gameplan locked down. In that time, it seems like coach Chip Kelly and co. will be sticking to the routine that got them to this point, with the Wolfpack simply being the next obstacle in their path.
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