Making practice a little more official

With UCLA devoting some time to live, full-contact 11-on-11 drills Sunday, coach Rick Neuheisel brought an officiating crew in to call penalties with the team’s fall scrimmage less than a week away.

The opportunity to follow live competition was also beneficial for the officiating crew, all except for one sideline official, who was run over when Johnathan Franklin broke off a long run along the left sideline before being pushed out of bounds.

I guess no matter how many times an official sees a football player running straight at him, it still doesn’t make it any easier to get out of the way.

The majority of the penalties called against UCLA were for false starts and illegal shifts, with certain calls occasionally drawing the ire of offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was in regular-season form when it came to sharing his disapproval with the officials.

After one big play was negated because of an illegal shift, Neuheisel said, “Linemen get set. This is the first time you’ve heard me say it, which means I’m mad.”