Post-practice update
* Obviously, the big news of the day was the loss of Datone Jones to a broken foot and the possible loss of Jeff Baca to academic ineligibility.
* On a day in which the offense appeared out of sync, Malcolm Jones was anything but. Practicing with the early unit, Jones had some nice runs, including a beautiful tuck-and-spin that got some claps. Jones also had a few catches out of the backfield, and that's something he'll need to focus on as he attempts to climb the depth chart.
* Josh Smith was held out of practice as he nurses a groin injury. He should be back shortly, but there is no timetable for his return. This is very damaging - UCLA needs to develop some offensive consistency, and having all hands on deck is paramount.
* The Damien Thigpen Cornerback Experiment has continued, but Thigpen is also still participating in offensive drills with the early group. I spoke with Thigpen after practice, and I'll have a little write-up later today.
* Jerry Johnson and Jerry Rice, Jr., had some nice plays on the day, but also mixed in some gaffes, as Rice slipped a couple times and Johnson dropped a pass or two. Their development is crucial as UCLA needs all the depth it can get. I highly doubt either would be pressed into action any time soon - Randall Carroll and Ricky Marvray are higher on the depth chart - but Johnson in particular could develop into a fourth receiver.
* Kevin Prince continues to display a very, very nice zip on the ball, but sometimes he has a little too much. I counted at least six overthrows during WR/DB 1-on-1s, but mostly on the long ball. That comes with timing.
* Prince is, however, connecting much better on the short passes that he struggled with...the obvious exception being an Akeem Ayers interception that almost looked like it fell out of Prince's hands.
Datone Jones is a big loss, but there are other good options, Damien Holmes will step in do great.
We have got to switch from Adidas to something that will keep our guys on the Field. Ben Olson anyone? The basketball team is the same way...all they do is get twisted ankles and i cant count how many times ive seen their shoes even fall off.
Jon, is a byproduct of Malcolm Jones having a good practice the o-line having a good practice.
This line is killing me. I cannot believe after 3 years, we cannot fix the line.
Sorry about the injury. That sucks. Maybe it's better happening today as opposed to the last week of camp. But it's still bitter.
By the way, who is Rice Jr.? Is he a walk-on?
UW Fan...thanks for the kind thoughts. Jerry Rice Jr is the son of Jerry Rice, the great WR, and is a walk-on. He is starting to show some potential and will add some depth to our WR corps.
Any thoughts on the young DTs? Which one has biggest butt and would be most ready to fill in with Chandler moving to DE?
VB, I seriously doubt you're a Bruin fan. Nice try.
Glad I'm not a footballer (hate pain) or a football coach:
Yeah, yeah, the money is fine
But the hours stink
Kids going down puts you in a bind
Getting fired, you're on the brink
Jon, can you follow up with the coaches on their thinking in possibly moving Chandler to DE? Seems that even with losing Datone Jones (which I concede is a big loss), we have better quality and depth at DE (with Graham, Tepa, Holmes, Owa, and Stokes) than we do at DT (with a bunch of converted players, true freshmen, and dudes who have never played a down in a game).
Go Bruins
@Kolb
I'm getting the sense that, deep down, they like Chandler better at DE than DT, and the surprising emergence of Edison in the spring gave them an excuse the move him there. There was talk of him at DE even before Jones went down. That would have made for two might big DEs in Jones and Chandler, but there ya go. So, if that's true, then they probably see it as a no brainer to move him outside with Jones down.
@BruWin
Why does your handle link to the LA Slimes SCum section?
Good question Flexmonk.
Strange thing is that BruWin spends most of his day trolling Scott Wolf's site making Bruin fans look bad.
OMG , a weak OL was got a whole lot weaker.
To ucla34....just like in "A Few Good Men " , "you can't handle the truth ."
Obviously I don't know that much about UCLA football given my leanings, but Chandler sounds like a very imposing DE in the makings. Maybe they didn't like his hands, so despite the lack of depth at TE, that in part led to the move?
Looks like you'll be OK at the inside DL positions. I don't think you'll have another Brian Price this year, but no one in conference will. The incoming FR, Marsh and Epenesa will be very, very good. They're a few years away yet, but they will be very good players in this conference.
It will be interesting to see how much Owa from Portland contributes at DE this year with Jones injured. My understanding is he's quite developed for his age, and very, very quick.
I was pretty happy with UW's recruiting haul this year, but those are 3 guys we certainly would have loved to get our hands on.
Good luck.
VB!!
Glad to see you back bruddah, the comments section turned into a snooze fest without you.