Jim Mora announces UCLA’s six captains for 2014

» UCLA voted on team captains last Thursday, and Jim Mora announced the picks Tuesday morning. Not a lot of surprises: on offense, quarterback Brett Hundley and center Jake Brendel; on defense, linebacker Eric Kendricks and defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa; on special teams, linebacker Ryan Hofmeister and fullback Taylor Lagace.

» Mora was confident that Brendel, who is recovering from an MCL injury, will be ready to play in the Bruins’ Aug. 30 season opener at Virginia.

Cornerback Marcus Rios (migraines) is seeing a specialist today. He missed a number of practices in San Bernardino before returning late in the week for sideline work.

» Receiver Mossi Johnson took off his red non-contact jersey last week, marking a surprisingly early return from a shoulder injury he had suffered early in training camp.

When asked about Johnson apparently healing ahead of schedule, Mora offered an interesting thought: “That’s why I think it’s real important that you never put a timetable on recovery. You have to be careful if you tell a young man, ‘Hey, this is a six-week injury.’ Some guys might say, ‘I’ve got six weeks to get healthy.’ You don’t know how the body’s going to react.”

» Looking back at San Bernardino last week, Mora said, “I think it was by far the best camp we’ve had in terms of intensity and focus.”

» Much has been made about UCLA’s practice tempo, but Mora was asked about it again on Tuesday. He said that for the last two practices, the team has halved its play clock from 40 seconds to 20 seconds.

“Number one is to increase the tempo between plays,” Mora said. “Decrease the rest period. … I’m pretty confident that the way we practice helps us get ready for the season.”