Spaulding Roundup: Getting To Know the UCLA Defense

Getting to know you...Getting to know all about U...CLA's defense...

It goes something like that, right? At least those are the lyrics Bruins Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley seems to be singing today.

U.C.L.A. is halfway through Spring Camp after their seventh practice this morning, and the Bruins took the opportunity to treat the large contingent of fans to some live scrimmage work. The Bruins Nation Saturday Morning Breakfast Club met at Headlines before the practice, then took in the practice session so we have a lot of good notes to add to SR today.

Coach Bradley spoke with the media after practice and admitted he's still getting to know his way around the Bruins program. He said the defense is still early in its development and so he appreciated getting some scrimmage time today so he could see how the defense was executing some of the concepts they have added this spring. He saw plenty of mistakes for the unit to work on and he is looking forward to learning more after reviewing the film from the practice session. He noted he's still getting familiar with the Bruins' practice routines, adding that the music is a new wrinkle for him. He's also said he plans on spending more time in the coming weeks getting to know his players on a more personal level. Since he wasn't involved with recruiting any of this roster, Bradley plans on inviting some selected players by his office to get a better idea of   He seems to value that personal connection and says that he likes coaching from the sidelines during games because it allows him to look directly in the players eyes to get a feel for what they're thinking and feeling during the game.

Thanks to Ed Lewis at Bruin Sports Report for the video.

Our BN folks at practice today noted that the passing game looked notably better this week compared to last weekend though the WRs are still having a few drops and the refs threw more flags this week than last (that sounds pretty normal).

Roosevelt Davis (22) continues to pop.

Aaron Sharp caught a touchdown.

Devin Fuller continues to run some Wildcat.

And Colby Cyburt who recently moved from OL to TE caught a touchdown pass, much to the delight of his teammates.

Jack Wang at Inside UCLA added some notes on today's practice, pointing out the Bruins changed up their QB rotation today with all 4 QB's getting time with the 1s. Josh Rosen still looks like the best of the group so far.

No one in the group really had a bad day, but again, Rosen stood out. His feel in the pocket has been excellent through spring, and he looks particularly impressive rolling out to his right and throwing downfield. On one such play, he connected with running back Roosevelt Davis about 30 yards down the sideline. He also made a great throw to Thomas Duarte, squeezing the ball through a tight window on a play in which the receiver didn't really look open until he actually made the catch.

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[Asiantii] Woulard was the runner-up in the competition today, putting in arguably his best showing as a Bruin. He had a long touchdown to Aaron Sharp, and seems to have also developed good chemistry with redshirt freshman Jordan Lasley.

You can see Wang's additional practice notes here, along with an amazing photo of one absolutely amazing catch by Mossi Johnson today.

Coach Bradley isn't the only one still getting familiar with his surroundings. As WR Alex Van Dyke talked about to the media, even though he has a better familiarity with the practice routine by not red shirting last season as a freshman, he is still working on getting in sync with his quarterbacks, no matter which one is throwing the ball.

Thanks again to Ed Lewis and BSR for the video.

And speaking of throwing the ball...The Bruins next practice will be Monday at 4:30 pm. That may be a key day as the coaching staff has suggested they may alter the QB rotation after that practice, so we may get a look soon at where the coaches are slotting the QBs on the early/unofficial/subject to change depth chart.

GO BRUINS!!