(Jared Tay/All Bruins)
UCLA Football Practice Report: December 22
The Bruins opened up their final week of game prep on Wednesday, but don't tell that to their coach.
As far as coach Chip Kelly is concerned, it was Monday morning out on the field at Wasserman Football Center. The most recent practice for UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) marked an end to their two-day hiatus leading up to the Holiday Bowl against No. 18 NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) on Tuesday.
The Bruins will practice again Thursday and Friday before heading down to San Diego, then will have practices Saturday, Sunday and Monday before kickoff at Petco Park the following night.
There was a solid group of players in the injured area over on the side, enough for them to create a full stretching circle of their own in the opening period.
Defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi, offensive lineman Siale Taupaki, defensive lineman Quintin Somerville, offensive lineman Patrick Selman, linebacker Kobey Fitzgerald and running back Christian Grubb all returned to the workout area, with Somerville, Fitzgerald and Grubb doing sprints on their own. Receiver Colson Yankoff and center Sam Marrazzo, who have both been injured for several months, returned to the workout bikes for the first time in several weeks.
Tight end David Priebe and defensive lineman Carson Drake were new additions to the injured cohort.
One player who was not on the practice field or the workout area was striker Qwuantrezz Knight. It was the first practice all season Knight had not participated in, but the reason for his absence is undetermined.
Defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia was once again not practicing, having already declared for the NFL Draft and opting out of the Holiday Bowl to rehab an injury, but he was still present and followed around defensive analyst Clancy Pendergast to help coach up the defensive linemen.
As Kelly discussed with the media prior to practice getting underway, Wednesday's session was going to be just like any other regular Monday, based on the schedule he and his team are working off of. As a result, the Bruins opened with the standard special teams drills, with the scout team back to return and the starters working on coverage.
The vast majority of the attempts from specialist RJ Lopez were squibs or sideline pooch kicks, so there weren't many full-speed returns that turned into much. What did become clear during said period was that running back Deshun Murrell had shed his scout team jersey and was sporting his blue offensive jersey.
We couldn't get an eye on Ethan Fernea, so if it turns out the super senior was absent, then it appears Murrell was the next man up in the running back rotation.
Most of the action accessible to the media featured the secondary. Mo Osling made a really impressive pass breakup while playing safety, a position he has been practicing at for weeks and was listed as on the two-deep released Tuesday night.
Cornerback Cameron Johnson had a breakup in traffic as well, and that one eventually bounced around and found its way into safety Quentin Lake's arms. Linebacker Kain Medrano had a one-handed interception in the flat as well.
One of the highlights from the period actually came from defensive back Jake Newman, who was playing scout team receiver. Newman made a run deep down the left sideline covered by cornerback Devin Kirkwood, then secured a contested catch through a bit of contact on his way out of bounds. Kirkwood and defensive lineman Jay Toia, who had seen the catch while waiting in queue for his turn in his own drill, both called Newman for the push off though, which probably would have been called if there had been referees.
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