Tag Archives: UCLA football

Monday practice notes: Aaron Wallace ‘solid’ at outside linebacker

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Before the start of spring practice, one question mark was the outside linebacker spot opposite All-American Anthony Barr. If UCLA started its season today, that spot would go to redshirt sophomore Aaron Wallace.

“He’s kind of quietly gone about his business,” head coach Jim Mora said. “At this point, he’s solidified his position.”

Wallace is listed at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, but looks significantly better than he did in his three-tackle freshman season. He’s also shown a decent ability to drop into pass coverage. Of course, Mora added that the depth chart is still fluid. Incoming four-star freshmen Myles Jack and Deon Hollins could both push for the spot too.

– Reserve quarterbacks T.J. Millweard and Jerry Neuheisel seem to alternate good practices, with the former perhaps having a slight edge at this point in spring. Position coach Taylor Mazzone said he still doesn’t see a frontrunner between those two and walk-on Mike Fafaul. Continue reading →

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Receiver Jordan Payton confident in red-zone targets

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Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Payton, who had 202 yards and a touchdown last season, talks about how the offense changes without tight end Joseph Fauria as a 6-foot-7 red-zone target. He also gave some respect to position coach Eric Yarber for coaching in a wheelchair as he recovers from surgery on his torn quad tendon.

“We were like, man, he’s still coaching and he’s in a wheelchair,” Payton said. “He’s obviously a great competitor and a great coach and a great man. He’ll definitely get through it.”

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Former UCLA football captain Oscar Cabrera passes away

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Oscar Cabrera, a captain of the 2000 UCLA football team, passed away Friday night. Just 35, the Los Angeles native and former three-year starter succumbed to complications from mixoid lyposarcoma, a rare cancerous tumor.

Cabrera was on the last Bruins team to reach the Rose Bowl, a 1999 game they lost 38-31 to Wisconsin. He won an All-Pac-10 honorable mention in 2000. In a Q&A on UCLABruins.com in November of that year, he said he considered himself a Latino role model, pointing to his childhood in Glassell Park and Highland Park. Continue reading →

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OL Xavier Su’a-Filo gulping down protein

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Here’s how Xavier Su’a-Filo is bulking up: three to four cups of whey protein dissolved in a shake, three to four times a day.

“I just continue to put down that protein like it’s nobody’s business,” he said. “It’s hard. You ever try to eat that much protein?”

The rising junior, already an All-Pac-12 first team selection last year, will enter the fall as arguably the conference’s top lineman. Capable of playing both guard and tackle, head coach Jim Mora called him “a rare football player.”

He’s accomplished this despite not being at peak strength as a sophomore, having spent two years on a Mormon mission in Alabama and Florida. Continue reading →

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RB Rushel Shell visits UCLA

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Former five-star running back Rushel Shell attended UCLA’s practice on Saturday, standing on the sideline wearing a white Bruins football sweater. Shell is exploring options after deciding to transfer out of Pitt, where he was second on the team with 641 yards as a freshman. He ended last season with four touchdowns, as well as a 157-yard game against Virginia Tech.

Shell requested clearance to transfer to UCLA, Cal, Arizona State or Arizona, but Pitt blocked the latter two options. Former Pitt coach Todd Graham coaches at ASU, while a number of former assistants work for the Wildcats.

Cal is reportedly uninterested in Shell, which leaves the Bruins as the most likely option. The 5-foot-11 back looked out of game shape on Saturday, but won’t be eligible to play anyway until 2014 due to transfer rules.

Shell also talked with UCLA’s all-time rushing leader Johnathan Franklin for a few minutes on the sideline.

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Running back Steve Manfro talks shoulder rehab

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Redshirt sophomore running back Steve Manfro, who rushed 70 yards and caught 287 last season, has been restricted to individual drills through spring camp. He said his rehab from shoulder surgery is going well, but he won’t be returning to contact anytime soon.

“It’s definitely getting to me mentally,” he said. “I can’t really compete for a job if I can’t do the team, or go against the defense. I can only go against air right now.”

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Thursday practice notes: ‘Too much dancing’ among running backs

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With the departure of all-time leading rusher Johnathan Franklin, UCLA’s tailback competition is wide open. Head coach Jim Mora has said all spring that he expects the Bruins to use a committee next season, but he isn’t happy with the progress so far

“There’s way too much dancing right now,” Mora said. “Our running backs are doing too much of this, like the keyboard of a piano. They need to freakin’ hit it and go. That’s something I’m disappointed in and they’re going to work hard on.”

Jordon James, Paul Perkins and Malcolm Jones have shared carries through camp, but no one has consistently stood out. Redshirt senior Damien Thigpen — third on the team last season with 849 all-purpose yards — is still recovering from a torn ACL, while Steve Manfro is rehabbing after shoulder surgery.

» Thursday’s practice was, Mora said emphatically, the best yet through the first six days of spring camp. However, the spurt of energy did spill over into some minor scuffles throughout the day. The two-hour session concluded with a massive group of players bumping and pushing each other.

“We’ve been banging on each other now for six days, and you can kind of expect that,” Mora said. “As long as it doesn’t get out of hand and it doesn’t turn into a brawl or a fight or somebody throwing haymakers, you’re going to get a little bit of that. That’s part of football.” Continue reading →

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Quarterback T.J. Millweard trying to secure backup spot

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Brett Hundley is a lock to start at quarterback, but there’s no clear-cut option behind him. On Thursday, redshirt freshman T.J. Millweard made his pitch for the spot, making a number of sharp throws during scrimmage situations. His most impressive moment was a long touchdown to Tyler Scott, uncorked from near midfield.

“We kind of saw that man one on one out there,” Millweard said. “We had the perfect play call. I just kind of did a play fake, got back, and let it rip.”

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Mora: Anthony Barr deserves Heisman hype

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Crank the Heisman hype machine.

UCLA head coach Jim Mora thinks linebacker Anthony Barr deserves a shot at football’s preeminent award, and he’s not shy about telling anyone and everyone.

“Absolutely. It should start,” Mora said Thursday. “UCLA needs to promote him, and I’m going to promote him, and he needs to go out and promote himself by going out and playing great and helping his team win.”

The only Bruin to have ever taken home the Heisman is quarterback Gary Beban, who won in 1967. More daunting is the trophy’s bias towards offense: Since Michigan’s Charles Woodson became the only primarily defensive player to win in 1997, quarterbacks and running backs have won 14 straight. Continue reading →

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