Well, the Bruins had their first practice in full gear of the Fall and it appears to have been a success. It wasn't a full contact practice, but the contact should pick up tomorrow.
Quite frankly, there isn't much that I can add concerning the practice that wasn't covered in the open thread comments. I'd like to give a big shout out to IE Angel for his extensive notes. If you haven't already read through the comment thread, you should head over there and get a full recap of the practice.
I'll hit some additional notes after the jump.
One major concern is the number of injuries along the offensive line. Greg Capella, Jeff Baca, Brett Downey, Torian White, Chris Ward, Tre Hale, Simon Goines and Colby Cyburt were joined by Alberto Cid on the sideline. All UCLA fans know that the offensive line has been the achilles heel of the team for way too long, and the coaches have to make a concerted effort to keep the beef on the field. It's not all doom and gloom though. The attrition has led to some opportunity, and Jake Brendel has taken charge at the center spot and Ben Wysocki is getting good experience running with the starters.
On the bright side, Ahmad Harris, Kenny Walker, Javon Williams, and Jordan Payton continue to impress. Of the four, I think Payton is the most physically ready. Walker has been a playmaker all camp, and he and Harris add versatility in the return game. Williams has probably been the biggest surprise, IMO. He's thin, but he's making plays. We'll see if they can keep it up when full contact is added, but the four are looking like an impressive crop of young receivers.
We'll close with a short interview with Javon Williams from insidesocal.com: