Scrimmage II: Offense better, but will it be good enough?

There’s no denying that UCLA will have one of the nation’s best defenses this coming season, so if the offense could show any signs of life, that would pass as progress. There were enough signs to be optimistic:

>> Ben Olson finished seven of 10 for 61 yards, two-thirds of it coming from a 25-yard completion to Marcus Everett on the second series and a 15-yarder to Gavin Ketchum during a red-zone series.

Olson looked poised and in command, but his lack of mobility and the Bruins’ fierce pass rush resulted in three sacks against for a -12 yards. After sacks during each of the first two series, Olson was tagged only once more in five additional series.

>> Backup Patrick Cowan showed the excellent scrambling ability that marked his 2006 campaign, but was also sacked three times for a loss of 21 yards. He was 5-10 passing for 51 yards, but had a neat 25-yard completion to Dominique Johnson at the sideline that was one of the better plays of the day.

>> Running backs Chris Markey and Khalil Bell ran well, but youngsters Ryen Carew and Craig Sheppard were also impressive with hard running and some nice cuts. Carew scored three times from short yardage (1, 2 and 2 yards) during red-zone series.

>> The receiving corps is of high quality, but watch for Johnson and Osaar Rashaan as potential game-breakers this coming season. Johnson at 6-3 and Rashaan at 6-4 and both at about 210 pounds provide big targets and both are exciting to watch. Opposing defenses will have to think twice about how to cover them if one or both are lined up on the slot.

>> The kicking game appears to be fine, with Kai Forbath kicking well and good punting from both Aaron Perez (3 punts for a 44.0 average) and Danny Rees (kicked once for 45 yards).

Starters: Olson, QB; Markey and Theriot, RB; Joseph, C; Irvin and Sutherland, OG; Abraham and Kia, OT; Paulsen, TE; J. Cowan and Ketchum, WR.

Statistics - rushing: 60 attempts for 118 yards net: Sheppard, 12-46; Bell, 7-40; Carew 17-38, 3 TDs; Markey10-27, 1 TD; Bruneau, 3-1; Forcier, 3-(-5), 1 sack; Olson, 3-(-12), 3 sacks; Cowan, 5-(-17), 3 sacks.

Statistics - passing: 17-34 for 158 yards, no TDs: Olson, 7-10 for 61 yards; Cowan, 5-10 for 51 yards; Bethel-Thompson, 5-11 for 46 yards; Forcier, 0-3 for 0 yards.

Statistics - receiving: 17 catches for 158 yards, no TDs: Rashaan, 3-37; Everett, 2-30; Ketchum, 2-27; Graves, 2-9; D. Johnson, 1-25; Turner, 1-7; Theriot, 1-6; Bruneau, 1-5; Markey, 1-4; Austin, 1-3; J. Cowan, 1-3.

Among those who did not scrimmage were FB Michael Pitre, RB Chane Moline, FB Chad Moline and OG Shannon Tevaga.