WATCH: Jon Gaines II on UCLA's Experience, O-Line Communication

UCLA football offensive lineman Jon Gaines II spoke to reporters following Wednesday morning's practice session at the Wasserman Football Center. Gaines talked about the natural accountability and personal dedication shared by the roster, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet's efficiency, the built-in preparation that comes along with years of experience and how the Bruins' culture elevates the team as a whole.

How do you see "Books and Ball" and how does it elevate you?

Yeah, I think the biggest thing we talk about in the football room is knowledge and effort, so those are our two core fundamentals and the biggest thing is you’ve got to know what you’re doing to play fast and I think Sykes was hitting on it earlier—this is a game of reaction and that comes from understanding the scheme, understanding the game plan and that comes from studying and preparation over time.

Do you see these guys putting in time on their own and doing things to elevate the team?

Yeah, definitely. I think it’s a nature of accountability that we have on the team too, you know, there’s always somebody that’s ready to compete with you for your spot at the end of the day and that’s what makes the team better. You know, we’ve got guys just taking a second to shout-out our scout team—our scout D-line, Q Sommy, Hayden Harris, those guys inside, they give us a good look every single day and I think that’s really a testament to how they approach the game every single day and they pick up on us, telling us the keys that we give away and it helps us all elevate our game.

Offensive lines get credit for how a quarterback plays, but what does Dorian being on time do to make it easier for you up front?

One hundred percent. His maturity and his ability to make quick decisions is great for us, you know. Everybody wins reps and loses reps and he’s an eraser; we all make each other better at the end of the day.

Where have you seen the biggest growth in Dorian from last year to this year?

I think Dorian’s a great representative of this team and I think the biggest thing is confidence and preparation, you know, everybody jokes about he’s old; we’re all old, so just the way he approaches the game every single day and having that professional mentality just carries on to us and you guys see it on the TV, the confidence that he brings to this game every single day and there’s confidence within this entire team, and that comes from our preparation day in and day out.

What are some of the ways Dorian is competitive outside of football?

Well, he had all of us offensive guys over for an NIL thing and it was all basketball, air hockey and Dorian’s going to talk trash and he’s always chirping and you’ll see me during the games pull him back but that’s just part of who he is but that’s great because you have to have that fire and you have to have somebody push your buttons and that helps us all get better every single day.

Zach is a one-cut guy – does that change how you block and do you like blocking for a guy who's so decisive?

One hundred percent. You know, he sets up blocks for us really well and our job is to just to get him to the second level and you see what he does when he gets up in there, you know, he’s a physical back, he’s gotten a lot faster, I used to joke about him getting hawked before but he has breakaway speed and he’s hitting dudes in the mouth and that’s all you can ever ask of your running back.

Said he wanted to be more of a leader this year despite being quiet by nature – seen him do that so far?

One hundred percent. Leading by example is his biggest thing, as Azizi was talking about. Azizi is a defensive player but he sees how Zach approaches every single day. You know, Zach has come in every single day since he’s been here and he’s always been a guy who’s been up at the front and he speaks when he needs to speak and when he talks, everybody wants to listen because he does everything right, so why wouldn’t you want to listen to him?

Seems like offensive line communication has improved since Bowling Green – help to have those two games against substandard opponents to get ready for these sorts of games?

No, I don’t think the process changed at all. You know, our biggest thing is improving our standard and our biggest thing was preparation and understanding exactly what the game plan was and we were able to make that call last weekend because we took the time to prepare. You know, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, all that matters is that we attack the game plan the same every single week.

Is your experience a kind of preparation?

One hundred percent. Yeah. I think experience, you can’t replace experience. You’ve got to get knocked down to get back up and learn from your mistakes and I think that’s been the great thing for us, Dorian and I came in in the same grade and we were 0-5 and we’re 6-0 now and that’s a testament to our hard work. We’re not looking at it as like a pat on the back, but we’ve gotten here because of the work we’ve put in over the last five years and we’re going to continue to do the same thing.

Said before the season that you were ready to dominate – feels like you're doing that and how do you keep it going?

Focusing on the day to day. We’re where we are because of what we’ve done and that can’t change. You know, success is whatever, it’s the middle of the season, you don’t get an award in the middle of the season; our biggest thing is focusing on having a good Wednesday today, having a good Thursday tomorrow and we’ll pick our heads up at the end of the year and we’ll be where we want to be.

Gotta be enjoying this one some level, right?

I mean, yeah. Honestly, the process is better. I loved camp this year because I hear Azizi chirping all the time, you know, that competitive spirit that we had the entire year, that’s what makes it fun. You know, at the end of the year it’s a game and you’ve got to have fun with every single day.

A lot of talk about Zach and Dorian returning to improve their game, did you have the same mentality?

Yeah. I think it’s the whole team. One hundred percent. We knew there was a lot more we were capable of and there’s no doubt there’s a lot more we’re still capable of and every single day we came with the same mentality and we’re going to keep that mentality as we continue on.

Keegan Jones' fit?

I think Keegan’s a sparkplug. He got that little flip pass during the game and he takes off for 30 yards down the sideline. I’ve seen Keegan absolutely decimate ankles before and just, he’s as twitchy as twitchy can get and I think the fact that you can give him the ball anywhere in the field and he can just open up and create a hole where there wasn’t a hole before and that’s something that you need on your offense and I think he’s a great asset.

Infectious to have Dorian be really fiery these past few games, showing a lot of emotion in the big moments?

Yeah, I think your quarterback’s always your leader and I think when your leader is himself, it helps the team. I think he’s a confident individual and he loves being able to go out there and showcase his talents and rely on us and make us pick ourselves up when we’re a little bit down and that’s something that as a leader he’s great at and it’s helped us throughout this entire year.

How much fun is film review after a game like this Utah one?

It’s the same—win or loss, it’s the same. You talk about what you did well and you focus on what you can improve at the end of the day. It’s quick, you know, you don’t sit on the laurels of your victory, you’re on to the next because that’s the most important thing, what you’re going to do the next day. Like, practice on Monday, we watch film from the game before and then it’s what’s in our next game plan, what are we going to do to improve this week?

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