UCLA Football Fall Camp Practice Report: August 22

Chip Kelly said late last week that he was more than satisfied with where the Bruins' health was heading into the final few sessions of fall camp, but recognized that things could change in an instant.

Sunday was probably the healthiest the program had been in over a year, and while there may not have been any serious injuries since, Monday did constitute a step back.

Once again, linebacker Ale Kaho, linebacker Kain Medrano, running back Brian Kowall and offensive lineman Liam Douglass were unavailable for UCLA football's most recent practice at Wasserman Football Center. Freshman safety Kamari Ramsey and receiver Bradley Schlom did rejoin the injured group Monday, though, after both had returned from respective bumps and bruises over the past few days.

Linebacker Darius Muasau also did not participate in individuals during the open periods of practice. He was dressed and followed around the rest of the inside linebackers with a GoPro on his helmet, but he stood off to the side and sometimes helped out coach Ken Norton Jr. and the volunteer assistants with equipment.

All the Hawaii transfer was able to join in on was the stretching portion of warmups, and coach Chip Kelly came over to chat with him and give him a fist bump before the team wrapped things up.

Muasau and Medrano's injuries do not appear to be long-term, at least from afar, considering they're more dressed up and active out on the field than Douglass or Kaho, for example. Still, with Kaho, Medrano and Muasau all out – plus Damian Sellers labeled as unavailable and not listed on the team's official roster – the inside linebacker group is paper thin.

Down their top three linebackers, as well as a former top recruit who had a shot to push for the fourth spot, the Bruins' best remaining linebackers are JonJon Vaughns, Jeremiah Trojan, Choe Bryant-Strother and Shea Pitts. Vaughns missed spring camp while suiting up for UCLA baseball, Bryant-Strother moved over from defensive end just a few months ago and Pitts was a walk-on until he finally earned a scholarship in the spring.

Losing Jordan Genmark Heath to graduation and Caleb Johnson to the transfer portal already set a lot of inside linebacker turnover into motion. However, these recent injuries have only further exposed the lack of proven, high-level depth at the position.

Muasau and Medrano could very well return to practice Tuesday or in the fall camp finale Wednesday, but UCLA will be facing a major and unexpected obstacle if they are not back for the season opener against Bowling Green on Sept. 3.

The inside linebackers, per usual, did a lot of their work right in front of the media viewing area on the North field on Monday. Norton spent warmups setting up a spring mechanism on a sled, then brought over his guys to work on block shedding and reaction time.

Ikaika Malloe and the outside linebackers did the same drill in the next period, seemingly putting more emphasis on the initial contact and power than the speed side of it.

Ikaika Malloe and the outside linebackers give it a go too. pic.twitter.com/d7bmLfra64
— Sam Connon (@SamConnon) August 22, 2022

Vaughns had a great one-handed interception during a coverage drill, and Kobey Fitzgerald triple-tipped a pass to himself to snag an interception of his own. Trojan accidentally tripped up Carson Schwesinger during another drill – and Jalen Woods nearly did the same to Bryant-Strother – which led to Norton re-explaining the drill to the whole position group.

In the opening special teams drills, Nicholas Barr-Mira once again got starting punter reps. Barr-Mira had multiple 50-yard punts and got a lot of hang time on almost every attempt, making him look like the best punter UCLA has had in years.

Chase Barry was the backup punter, with Kalen Jones slotting in as the third-string. Barry had a rough attempt after the whistle, as the play was blown dead due to a bad snap by Beau Gardner, and Jones had one of his tries go just 25 yards.

There were some more jersey number updates Monday, following the No. 20 confusion that came up over the weekend. Freshman tight end Carsen Ryan is now wearing No. 20 after starting camp in No. 85, while freshman tight end Jack Pedersen is wearing No. 28 after starting camp in No. 98.

Neither is a traditional tight end number, and both No. 85 and No. 88 are available with Greg Dulcich and Mike Martinez gone, so further number changes could be in store before the season starts.

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