* Richard Brehaut had a good-but-not-great day as he continues forward as UCLA’s starting quarterback. Brehaut still continues to hold on to the ball a fraction too long, but he moved very well today in and out of the pocket, particularly on a great mid-range throw in which he retreated three steps, felt backside and frontside pressure and calmly stepped up and delivered the pass.
* The bad side, however, came out at times. Brehaut had a mind-boggling interception late in team drills, and it just didn’t even look like there was anyone around. If this was televised, there would’ve been no offensive player in the frame. To his credit, he shook it off and was pretty solid the rest of the day.
* Brehaut’s rapport with Joseph Fauria was evident, as he hit Fauria on a couple of throws outside. All season, I’ve been surprised by the lack of Fauria in the receiving game, particularly given the great relationship he shares with Kevin Prince, as former high school teammates.
* With Sean Sheller suspended against Arizona, Micah Kia is getting the start at left tackle. Kia looked good in the run game during practice but also had some protection issues. He’s a little too bulky at left tackle and while he moves quickly forward, he struggles with quick lateral movement, and Arizona’s two great defensive ends should be troubling.
* With Sheldon Price still out, and likely out against Arizona, Andrew Abbott had two straight pass breakups during 7-on-7s. But with his size, he’s definitely a liability in run defense. He had a couple issues late in practice, but overall, pretty sound.
* Nelson Rosario was in practice but did little. With Ricky Marvray out because of suspension – for which he issued a sincere apology that I’ll have later – the Bruins are in trouble if Rosario doesn’t heal immediately. Josh Smith had a few drops and Randall Carroll had separation issues – though he caught a great deep pass from Brehaut.
* Jerry Johnson did emerge with a nice practice, however. Johnson caught a beautiful screen pass with perfect blocking from Taylor Embree, and I didn’t see any catching issues from him.
* Deitrich Riley had a big role in practice today as part of the nickel package and continues to look like a future star. Jordan Zumwalt likewise participated heavily in practice, as was expected with Patrick Larimore’s injury. Steve Sloan and Zumwalt rotated often at first-team linebacker, but I’d still expect Sloan to start.