Bolu Olorunfunmi, pictured in a 2016 practice, was one of only two healthy running backs for the Bruins on Monday. (Micah Escamilla/The Sun, SCNG)
UCLA didn’t want to have only two healthy running backs at practice Monday, but the herculean effort from Bolu Olorunfunmi and Josh Kelley, a transfer from UC Davis, turned a bad situation into a good practice. UCLA is hoping more good things will follow.
“It was really impressive and it was fun to see,” head coach Jim Mora said of Olorunfunmi and Kelley, who carried the load after four running backs were injured for Monday’s practice. “They competed and they set just a great example for what you want out of your players every single day. So we’ll build off of that.”
Video interviews:
Notes/observations from the day:
- Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
- Attire: Full pads
- The reason why Olorunfunmi and Kelley were Monday’s stars: Jalen Starks, Nate Starks, Brandon Stephens and Soso Jamabo were all out due to injury. None of the ailments are expected to be long term, but it left the group extremely short-handed. Jamabo, who missed this fourth straight day due to back tightness, was dressed for practice and went through warm-ups, but couldn’t complete many of the individual drills and had to sit the rest of the practice out.
- Not only did Olorunfunmi and Kelley step up and take all of the running back reps in team periods, but they actually did quite well. Some of the runs were against a mixed defensive front (some first-teamers, some second-teamers) but they still ripped off a few long gains. Olorunfunmi found a lot of space to run, especially in the third team period, running behind Najee Toran and fullback Giovanni Gentosi. The junior running back is 10 pounds lighter and looking extremely lean and fast after an intense offseason training regimen. Kelley, who played two years at UC Davis and will redshirt this year due to transfer rules, is light on his feet and shifty in open space.
- Kelley did have a fumble in the third team period, though, which was recovered by Ainuu Taua.
- Theo Howard had a good practice. He’s shown a consistent ability to create space against defenders, a rare skill among the receivers right now. The sophomore ran an exquisite route in one-on-ones against freshman Elijah Gates, but wasn’t rewarded with a nice pass from Devon Modster. After the play, Modster tapped his chest and told Howard that it was his mistake on the throw. Howard also made an excellent catch on a back-shoulder throw from Matt Lynch.
- Mique Juarez is continuing to flash some of the potential that made him a five-star prospect in high school. Playing at both the middle and weak-side linebacker positions for the No. 2 defense, he had a sack on Modster and a tackle for loss on Kelley in back-to-back plays. Juarez still has a few pounds to lose, Mora said, but the coach was still very encouraged by Juarez’s development.
- My personal thoughts: I think you can really see the confidence returning in Juarez and that’s nice to see. Last year was difficult and stressful and I think he’s starting to feel like himself again, getting back to playing football like he’s always played it. Said Mora: “He understands the system, he’s happy, his discipline is good, so it’s good to see that.”
- The young defensive backs also shined. Quentin Lake got a sack on Austin Burton in a team period blitzing off the edge again. Mo Osling was a very tough challenger in one-on-ones, locking up Dymond Lee and Antonio Brown. He is very strong at the line of scrimmage. He jammed Lee so hard that the receiver barely moved 2 yards down field. Osling had another good rep against Demetric Felton, holding the receiver up at the line for a moment, but Felton eventually got loose with a cut to the inside to make the catch. Defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin was ecstatic about Osling’s performance though, yelling his slogan “technique will set you free!” when Osling went against Felton. Jay Shaw also had some great reps in one-on-ones, getting a pass breakup against Darren Andrews in the end zone and an interception off a Matt Lynch ball intended for Christian Pabico.
- Pabico started to work with the No. 1 offense, continuing his rise up the depth chart. The walk-on was impressive during spring camp and picked up right where he left off when training camp started. He’s proven to be very reliable catching the ball, which is more than some of the other receivers could say last year.
- Nate Meadors made a little bit of a comeback. He had some great battles with Audie Omotosho in one-on-ones and came up with an impressive pass breakup against Andrews in the end zone on a 50-yard pass from Josh Rosen in a team period.
- By my unofficial count, I had Meadors winning three of five face-to-face matchup with Omotosho so that series is very competitive.
- Jordan Lasley was kicked off the field early. While the team was transitioning from one-on-ones to a team period, the players were jogging to their next stations instead of running with the appropriate Mora-approved gusto, so the head coach made everyone go back to where they were and actually run to the next station. Somewhere between going back to his old position on the field and running to the next spot, Lasley did/said something that Mora didn’t like and the coach threw the receiver out of practice. Lasley then ran quickly off the field, took off his helmet and went straight into the Wasserman Center.
- Adarius Pickett was ejected for targeting during the second team period. Matt Dickerson got pressure on Rosen, who threw a low pass to Austin Roberts. Roberts had to slide down to get it and Pickett came crashing in with his helmet to Roberts’ back. Roberts was down on the field for a minute or two with trainers surrounding him before he walked off. During those brief moments, Meadors also came to sit by Wilson while the tight end was down. Roberts didn’t return to the practice.
- Caleb Wilson scored an impressive touchdown during the first team period. He took a 15-yard pass over the middle from Modster and ran 33 more yards untouched for the score, leaving behind the entire defense.
- While Wilson has proven his ball skills, he has a way to go with blocking. Wilson was caught holding Keisean Lucier-South on a run play during which the defensive end surely would have gotten to Olorunfunmi for a tackle for loss. On the very next play, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner easily blew past Wilson to force a bad throw from Rosen.
- Tuioti-Mariner was a consistent presence in the backfield during team periods. On back-to-back plays against the No. 2 offense, the St. John Bosco alumnus got a pressure on Modster and a sack.
- While Wilson has proven his ball skills, he has a way to go with blocking. Wilson was caught holding Keisean Lucier-South on a run play during which the defensive end surely would have gotten to Olorunfunmi for a tackle for loss. On the very next play, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner easily blew past Wilson to force a bad throw from Rosen.
- The offensive line did pretty well in one-on-ones against the defensive line. Scott Quessenberry, a regular winner in this drill, did well against Boss Tagaloa. Andre James got wins against Dickerson and Greg Rogers. Josh Wariboko-Alali beat Martin Andrus, but lost to Nick Terry.
- Chigozie Nnoruka had a dominant rep against Michael Alves while Rick Wade and Lucier-South both made easy work of Jake Burton.
- The defensive line was seen doing pushups afterward, which I think symbolized a punishment for losing. I don’t think this followed the system for the team-wide competition when the winning unit gets to run because it looked like the offensive line had the majority of the wins.
- The defense won the third team period, tallying sacks and tackles for loss on almost every drive. Josh Woods and Osa Odighizuwa each got a sack on Rosen, Nnoruka dropped Kelley for a loss and Brandon Burton sacked Austin Burton. Octavius Spencer also got a pick off Rosen after the quarterback’s pass was too high and bounced off the extended hands of Howard.
- Mossi Johnson had the big play during seven-on-seven with an interception off Austin Burton. Johnson, who was guarding Stephen Johnson III, showed off an impressive vertical and reeled in the interception with one hand.
- Jaleel Wadood continued to take some reps at nickel during the team periods and again made some great plays. He broke up a screen pass to Olorunfunmi in a team period.
- Jaelan Phillips seemed to be hobbled at various times during team drills, but he was able to finish practice. Every once in a while, he would come up limping, go to the sideline and then emerge a few plays later. He looked to be walking fine after practice.
- Other injury notes: After missing Sunday’s practice, Sunny Odogwu was back on the field in his normal capacity. He’ll often sit out during the later team periods, but that’s more of a precaution as he is a 24-year-old offensive lineman with a history of knee and leg issues.
- Jordan Wilson wasn’t able to finish practice on the field and was seen riding the bike in the final hour or so of the session. Unsure of his ailment at this point.
- J.J. Molson was 3 for 4, with his one miss coming from 37. He was good from 40, 42 and 42.