Johnathan Franklin and Jordon James after day 2 of fall camp (via YouTube/UCLA)
The Bruins held their 2nd day of fall camp on Sunday on the CSU-San Bernardino campus with the inland empire heat starting to assert itself, and a (not so old) friend stopping by. Rick Neuheisel was at practice, and was greeted by a bunch of his old players during a break in practice.
Coach Mora talked with the media after practice, talking about how 'chipper' some of the players got during practice, and the need to teach them to know when not to fight, when it could hurt the team during a game. Mora singled out Paul Perkins and Fabian Moreau for their performance in the first days of practices. He confirmed that Kenny Walker Wallace did fracture his pinky finger during Saturday's practice, but was able to return on Sunday with a cast.
Miguel Melendez was back at practice for the Daily News. When Mora noted the need to control the aggressiveness of some of the players after practice, there was definitely a reason, as there were multiple near fights with the O-Line stirring things up. And for our friends at CNN, a quick note on Justin Combs.
Corner Justin Combs plays bigger than he looks. He's a pesky defenders that makes it hard to create separation.
Coach Spanos also chatted with Ralph Irvin on Sunday, mainly talking about the logistics of practice along with a look back at Lou's first Spring in Westwood. And as you probably noticed at the top of this post, Franklin and James had a chat after practice - with Jerry Neuheisel getting a little facetime as well.
Speaking of Neuheisel, Melendez also has some thoughts on the QB's in their second day of practice:
Back to Hundley ... he looked quite more comfortable and it showed, though to be fair he also threw an interception thanks to constant pressure from Owamagbe Odighizuwa, who recorded the virtual sack. Still, UCLA coach Jim Mora said he's a lot more accurate than he heard Hundley would be. "I've only been watching him since the start of spring (17 practices). He's just matured, more focused and seems a lot more in control. He has a great grasp of the offense," Mora said...
Jerry Neuheisel has improved considerably since spring camp when he showed promise... Kevin Prince was better but overthrew some receivers in drills. Richard Brehaut needs more consistency with his follow through.
His post for the Daily News also talks about Neuheisel and Devin Fuller's efforts on the practice field and is worth a read. Although early, he has tabbed Hundley as the favorite to be named the starting QB. In his report from today's Daily News, he quotes Coach Mora's description of what he is looking for in deciding who will be the starting QB for the season opener on August 30th.
"I think it'll be some part of a feeling that we get as a staff," he said. "That feeling will come from what we see in terms of leadership ability, decision-making, how teammates respond to him, the ability to throw with accuracy, timing, velocity, the ability to extend plays and make good decisions.
"It's not who looks the prettiest, but who moves the team down the field and puts points on the board for you."
Meanwhile, the *-headed douchenozzle writing for the fishwrap claims that Jeremy Castro's NCAA clearance is not expected to come soon, with Jeremy likely to redshirt this season. Hope everything works out for Jeremy, and hope that Morgan center has learned from Brian Price's ordeal with the clearinghouse. And while a little late, here is the Daily Bruin's writeup on Saturday's practice session.
Today will be the team's first practice session in pads. For anyone thinking of heading out to CSUSB to check out practice, the schedule is available on the official site, with today's session starting at 2:45pm.