Saturday practice report: "To play fast and have a high level of execution"

UCLA worked out in shoulder pads and shorts today before taking a day off tomorrow and then settling in for the first "game week" of the season prior to the opener at Stanford on September 1.

"I really liked the tempo of practice today," said head coach Karl Dorrell. Asked about the progress of the team in understanding what it is supposed to do, he noted, "We were able to accomplish so much more in camp. We’re already at a pretty good phase in our game planning and we still have a week to go. We’re just ahead of where we’ve been in the past at this point, going into the opening game. A lot of that is because of the work the players did in the off-season and what we were able to accomplish during camp.

"So we’re just sharpening ourselves to be as good as we can be, to play fast and have a high level of execution."

On the offensive line, a key element in the success of quarterback Ben Olson, Dorrell said "We’re trying to give [center] Chris Joseph some rest; he’s had a little bit of a hip flexor most of camp and we’re trying to get him some rest so he’ll be ready to go next week. Our depth is better than it’s been and our health is pretty good." Dorrell noted that guard Shannon Tevaga is fully returned to the lineup.

What about the fullbacks? Possible starter Trevor Theriot said he felt "about 95 percent today" and said "I’ll be 100 percent by Monday."

Olson looked fairly sharp against the no. 2 defense most of the day and completed one dazzling play to tight end William Snead, lofting a 20-year strike over a defender and into Snead’s hands with enough room to get both feet down before going out of bounds.