Wednesday practice report: Fall camp ends, Stanford next

The 2007 UCLA football team finished its Fall Camp sessions with an evening practice in the second half of the last two-a-day session of the season. "We had a really good camp," said head coach Karl Dorrell, "and now it’s time to get focused on getting ready to play a great game next week."

Asked how this camp compared to his previous four, Dorrell said: "A lot more focus; we got a lot more done. That has to do with our experience.

"We’ve been able to do a lot more early; we’re further ahead that we’ve ever been as a team; that’s a good sign. I think we can be a lot better; we’ll sharpen up and get ourselves freshened up starting now and practicing on Friday and Saturday and all next week and we’ll see what we look like next Saturday."

As for the practice itself, Dorrell explained, "We went through all our substitutions and special teams, all of special plays that happen not very often in games, but you have to rehearse." The Bruins also had their first scout periods, where the offense and defense practiced against what Stanford may look like in the season opener.

Asked about non-scholarship players who could be awarded scholarships, Dorrell noted, "We’re talking about that right now." He believes there are 3-4 scholarships available to give and "We have some walk-ons that are in our depth [chart] and have done a great job and they should be rewarded." He estimated that there are six players who could be eligible for a scholarship award and that decision will likely be made sometime next week.

The players will move out of the UCLA dorms where they have been staying since early August and into the regular housing for the season. There will be no practice at all tomorrow.

During tonight’s practice, the usual cadre of player were sidelined: receiver Osaar Rashaan and fullbacks Michael Pitre and Trevor Theriot. Running backs Chane Moline and Craig Sheppard also did not participate in the practice. Linemen Shannon Tevaga and Brigham Harwell practiced with the first team on offense and defense, respectively.

Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan has a "partial tear" in his left hamstring and will be sidelined for several weeks. He was on crutches on the sidelines tonight.