The Wall

UCLA interim head coach Mike Johnson thought the Bruins were going to get some extra third-down preparation for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Tuesday morning.
The players called an audible.
UCLA upheld the tradition of going “over the wall” on Tuesday, taking off just after stretching.
“It’s a tradition, so I’m OK with it,” Johnson said. “Last week prepared them. We were going to do third down, and last week, we had two days where we did third down, so we’re good.”
Johnson, who played in two bowls himself including the XX Rose Bowl, understands the time commitment demanded of the players during bowl preparation, so he didn’t sound too upset
“This is another spring ball for them, so you have a lot of time, a lot of practices. We were ready to go today, but it’s not the end all. We’ll have everything ready for Illinois.”
Two years ago, the Bruins appeared to show few effects from one less day of preparation for the EagleBank Bowl. The Bruins defeated Temple, 31-20, on Dec. 29, 2009, at Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium.
“I do know that its something that has been a tradition,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot of extra work, but as it gets closer to the game, focus becomes a little more narrow, and you can hone in. We were getting three extra practices on Illinois. Instead of having six days, we’ll have five. We’ll still have two extra days to prepare for them.”