With all due respect to other sports fans here, this is for me the "nuclear winter" period of sports, as Nestor puts it. I hear blablabla NBA playoffs and blablabla baseball and blablabla hockey playoffs (sorry gbruin). OK the truth is, I don't really have a NBA team to root for anymore, I'm a Cubs fan, and a Maple Leafs fan. I suppose I should say "fan" because I just don't have it in me to follow them anymore and can use the excuse of time being precious since my second child came. Then again, I'm going to Brazil for the World Cup. So there's that...
But back to our exciting UCLA Football program, on this first Monday of May, we just wanted to catch up with the news and notes on the Bruins and start your week off thinking about a team with potential that is poised for an epic season (knock on wood).
- More than a week has passed since the Spring Showcase, and there are no more practices until fall camp. But in case you missed it, Jack Wang shined a light on a couple of interesting players on defense:
- Kenny Clark is poised to be the anchor of the defensive line, and praises on his game continue to come especially from his teammates. While still just a youngster, he has solidified his spot as a starter and will be key to the line's performance this year.
- Priest Willis did not have the kind of year we all hoped for last year, and had a slow start this year. But by all accounts he finished spring camp on a good note.
- After the Spring Showcase, and many people already trying to coronate this team and program as being great, it is refreshing to see that Coach Mora is far from satisfied and knows that in truth, they have made progress but have not yet achieved anything. Sustained success is the key for this program, because the minute it stumbles the media will have a field day with it and start pimping that cheating team across town.
- Going back to Jack Wang, he posts a good look at our running back situation going into the fall. In short, we have a stable but no clear thoroughbreds yet. We'll see what happens and who can be the ying to Hundley's yang. Wang also covered the offensive line and the receivers but as with us is less concerned about those given the depth and talent at those positions.
- Moving on to former players yet forever Bruins, one of the few five-star players to come to Westwood in the previous decade will try to revive his career in the Arena Football league. Brian Price was a menace on the UCLA defensive line and started off really well for the Bucs in the NFL, but injuries cut his career short. Let's hope he kicks butt again in the Arena.
- Sam Farmer over at the LA Times delves into the drafting of Offensive Guards at the NFL and how that affects Xavier Su'a Filo. By many accounts XSF is the best guard in the draft and with the recent trend of guards being drafted early, it will be interesting to see where he ends up. We will have more on that with draft day looming.
Well that is all folks. Have a great and successful week.
GO BRUINS!