UCLA Football Fall Camp Practice Report: August 12
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The Bruins entered camp with very few bumps or bruises, but some of their depth is getting chipped away by the injury bug at the moment.
Tight end Carsen Ryan and linebacker Ale Kaho were the only players who appeared to be held out of UCLA football's practice last Saturday, just one day into camp. On day six, however, the injury area was much more densely populated.
In addition to Ryan and Kaho – who was off his knee scooter, but still had a boot – offensive tackle Josh Carlin, receiver Bradley Schlom and running backs Deshun Murrell and Brian Kowall remained out after getting banged up earlier in the week. Safety Kamari Ramsey was a new addition Friday morning, and fellow freshman defensive back Croix Stewart joined him after suffering some sort of injury only a few minutes into practice.
Ramsey was the No. 1 player in UCLA's 2022 recruiting class, and he is the highest-rated prospect coach Chip Kelly has brought in out of high school since offensive tackle Sean Rhyan in 2019. Stewart was a top-75 player in California as well, and he was projected to bring some much-needed depth to the cornerback room.
Linebacker JonJon Vaughns nearly joined the ever-growing injury sideline after suffering a possible lower body injury during a kickoff, but he walked right by the injury shed and got attention from a trainer on the fly before returning to drills.
As has been the case for a full week of practices, there still were no signs of linebacker Damian Sellers – who is not listed on the official roster – or tight end Mike Martinez.
It wasn't all bad news on the injury front, however.
Quarterback-turned-receiver Colson Yankoff had been injured since midway through the 2021 season, and he missed nearly all of spring camp as well. It seemed like his bad luck would continue into the fall when he was on the sidelines for the Bruins' first practice on Aug. 5, but he is back on the field and was seen running routes and catching passes Friday morning.
The media got one of its best looks at an offensive drill so far in camp, with the receivers actually running some sets on the north field Friday. Volunteers and team managers were playing quarterback, so there weren't any up-close looks at Dorian Thompson-Robinson & co., but the receivers and defensive backs did get in some solid action.
One receiver would run out into the flat on the right side, while another would block for them. Safety Kenny Churchwell III notably blew up a block from receiver Logan Loya, while cornerback Devin Kirkwood did a solid job of sealing the edge and cutting off one wideout's angle.
Receivers Kazmeir Allen and Josiah Norwood looked very quick, and both should get a lot of time in the slot. Allen has the big-play ability to also line up elsewhere, but with Kyle Philips gone and a lot of carries up for grabs on end-arounds and gadget plays, he should take a lot of snaps closer in relatively frequently.
Allen was not in the group of kick returners Friday, with Kam Brown instead taking over as the No. 1 man there. Freshman receiver Jadyn Marshall and walk-on receiver Elijah Rodriguez were the second and third in line, while Loya, Jax Harley and Christian Grubb were back in the end zone to call out blocks.
There was also a new player wearing a blue No. 32 jersey, although no offensive player with that number is listed on the roster. He ran with the long-snappers, punters and kickers for most of the day, and could either be a late walk-on addition or position change.
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