Thursday practice report: "We’re learning how to practice well"

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was pleased with Thursday’s practice, which featured some very strong work by the defense in 11-on-11drills without pads.

"We’re learning how to practice well," he said. "That’s big for us." He noted that even with so many veteran players, the pace of practice and the integration of the new players is always a challenge at the start of training camp.

On specific issues:

>> A lot of emphasis is being placed on scoring in the "Red Zone," i.e., inside the 20-yard line. "We’re getting better in the red zone," said Dorrell. "We’re spending a lot of time there; we need to score touchdowns instead of field goals."

>> Dorrell said that the depth at running back was about the same as last year, when the injury bug also hit the backfield. Raymond Carter stood on the sidelines watching the practice on crutches and will have surgery as soon as the swelling goes down after suffering a season-ending right knee ligament tear. "Ryan Carew took his reps today," Dorrell explained.

>> Dorrell is coaching the wide receivers currently with Eric Scott on administrative leave. "It’s always fun to coach; to have that personal contact," he said.

On the injury front, cornerback Rodney Van was out of his walking boot on Wednesday and still may be able to get into practice by Saturday. Safety Chris Horton was dressed, but was only running along the sidelines today.

Comments

[Richard Booth]

It's pretty bad when the Times' article on Raymond Carter's injury accurately describes it as a torn ACL and the blog entry says he has a broken leg. That's not a great way to build confidence in "What's Bruin."

[Rich Perelman]

You are correct; thanks for recovering my fumble.