Pac-12 Media Day Roundup: Nothing Interesting Or Surprising, UCLA Picked Third

Also filed under "exactly what we expected"

Pac-12 media day has come and gone and we do not know any more about Jim Mora and UCLA. Mora is still excited about the transition to college, the team still doesn't have a quarterback, they are all excited by the new scheme and other nice things. That was about it.

One thing that did come from the day was the media poll. Unsurprisingly, USC tops it and very surprisingly, UCLA got two first place votes in the South. Even more surprisingly, and maybe a warning to not do drugs, Arizona St. got three first place votes.

South Division

1. USC (117) 729
2. Utah (1) 514
3. UCLA (2) 435
4. Arizona 385
5. Arizona State (3) 353
6. Colorado 164

Maybe the most informative news from the day was that Ellis McCarthy had surgery on his knee. It was just to clean up a torn meniscus, which is a minor procedure, but it will still keep him out of the beginning of training camp. Mora said that he has not decided where McCarthy will play, which is why he is still position-less on the roster and plans to sort that out in training camp. Luckily, the Bruins are stacked on the defensive line so getting McCarthy back and figured out right away isn't imperative, although we're hoping he is healthy sooner rather than later. You can never have too many big guys and certainly not when they are as talented as McCarthy.

In other news, the roster continues to sort itself out as players take medical retirement or move on. Five guys have moved on and two more will grayshirt, per Jon Gold.

Mora said that linebacker Mike Orloff (knee) has taken a medical retirement and confirmed that Wesley Flowers, Joe Roberts, Jared Koster and Anthony Thompson were no longer with the program. He also confirmed the grayshirts of both Lacy Westbrook - who, by the way, is out of the hospital and recovering from a recent health scare - and Eli Ankou.

On the QB situation, Mora has a leader, but needs to be convinced that his man is right for the job. All indications are that Brett Hundley is that man so he could be named the starter very early on in camp. As we all know, finding consistent QB play is priority numbers one, two and three after the last decade in Westwood.

A few more notes from the day:

• Mora talked about the toughness and togetherness he hopes to build in San Bernardino for training camp.
• Dietrich Riley will not play this season.
• Everyone else who missed the spring because of injury will be ready for training camp.
• Dalton Hilliard will stay on defense.
• The coaches have not named captains yet.

Wrapping things up is Edward Lewis from Bruin Sports Report, who had video of Mora, Tevin McDonald and Johnathan Franklin on stage. If nothing else, that true blue sure looks smart so can we get Mora in the right color? You would think someone in the Morgan Center would sort this out for him.

BSR TV: UCLA at Pac-12 Media Day from BruinSportsReport on Vimeo.