Wednesday practice report: back to basics

"We’re doing a lot of fundamental stuff and it’s good to see us improve on those areas. That’s the basis of this week [plus] to try to get our injured guys back."

That’s Coach Karl Dorrell's summary of UCLA’s bye week in a nutshell as the Bruins — similar to most teams with mid-season byes — concentrate on the basics, except that the Bruins need a quarterback. McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Chris Forcier and Osaar Rashaan are all in the mix, with Patrick Cowan dressed for practice but not involved in any drills.

"We’re getting guys some reps that they normally don’t get, so they’re learning on the go," Dorrell said. "Both those guys [Bethel-Thompson and Forcier] are getting principally all the reps now. We’re trying to speed-train those guys, and get either one of them ready to go; you see Osaar in there too.

"We’re really evaluating and seeing how much our quarterbacks can handle. We have a little bit of time to do that, and then we’ll taper down to what we feel our guys can do and work from there. Both of those guys [Bethel-Thompson and Forcier] have been in all our meetings and stuff; they haven’t had reps, so we’re trying to see what they can actually do on the field. The one who’s kind of catching up is Osaar because he hasn’t been in the quarterback meetings up until this time. We have to see what our possibilities are and then have a plan for a third guy, which Osaar can be for us."

On Forcier, who was expected to redshirt this season, Dorrell noted, "He’s doing really well; I’m impressed. He doesn’t make a lot of the same mistakes twice. He’s a good listener; he doesn’t seem like he has to be a ‘rep guy,’ where you need many, many reps to finally get it. He really gets it from the mental side and he just needs a few reps here and there so get himself caught up. I’m real impressed with what he’s done the last couple of days."

Dorrell noted mixed progress on the injury front, but had praise for a couple of defenders:

>> Receiver Marcus Everett is not 100% but was back practicing anyway, Dorrell said. Defensive tackle Brigham Harwell "ran around today, which is good to see. He probably will not do any football this week, but there is a chance he may get some practice time next week and see what he can do."

Defensive end Nikola Dragovic has not yet been cleared by the medical staff from his hip injury; Dorrell was awaiting results of an MRI that was done late Tuesday. Dennis Keyes was wearing a red (non-contact) jersey today, but Dorrell said that "he’s in good shape; he’s just sore. He has a sore shoulder. But he’s practicing and doing all the stuff he needs to do."

>> On the defense, Dorrell had especially good things to say about cornerback Alterraun Verner and freshman defensive tackle Brian Price:

"Alterraun’s played pretty well," Dorrell said. "He’s been the starter for the past few games, and even though Rodney comes in and splits some time in there, Alterraun has done some really really nice things as a starter and in our nickel packages."

On Price, Dorrell noted that "he’s really coming along and gaining confidence. He had just under 30 snaps last week and our plan is to continue to bring him along more and more, and it seems like he’s getting more comfortable too. He did some really good things in the [Notre Dame] game and we’re really encouraged by him and the progress he’s made."

Dorrell told reporters after practice that the team is over any letdown since the loss to Notre Dame, but isn’t so excited after a second day of practices starting at 6 a.m.:

"For years we have been trying to figure out when’s the optimum practice time," he said. "So what we had talked about before is doing practice before school even starts and then giving them not such a late day, into the evening. So we decided to finally do something about it, and check it out for a particular week where it doesn’t really amount to anything and see how it goes.

"I think the players were, initially, ‘let’s try it and see what it looks like,’ but today I saw their faces and they weren’t quite as excited as they were yesterday. So it may not last; it may be just this week and that’s it."

A sad note: defensive tackle Jess Ward was not at practice today as his grandfather passed away Friday. Ward stayed and played in the Notre Dame game and practiced Tuesday, but, with his family gathering for services, he was excused and is with them.

Comments

[silverlake bruin]

Am i the only one who places zero value in what Karl Dorrell says? He has never shown the ability to adequately evaluate his players or teams, and is alwasy suprised when the lay the two or more eggs they do every season.

If he actually understood football or his players, He would have something meaningful to say, instead he uses a lot of words to say absolutlely nothing useful.

[ucla2k3]

Football players not happy with 6am practices? They shouldn't be! It's part of the discipline process, which KD and his Bruins lack. UCLA needs a coach and a team who's willing to practice at 5am every single freaking morning. That's the only way you're gonna win games. None of this half-ass practice an hour here and an hour there. No wonder we suck so bad.

[MH]

What is the deal with KD having no backup QB prepared to play? Olson and Cowan both go down and there's no 3rd string scholarship player prepared to step in? What is the hesitation with giving the ball to Osaar Rashaan? I've heard about his talent and speed all summer but he hasn't been allowed to do much of anything for this team. Is KD paid to win or lose? The wins have been lackluster and the losses have been beyond humiliating for this program.

[W. H. Phinizy]

It is incredible that Dorrell blathers on like he does; he's only now comprehending what his little-used quarterbacks are capable of? I mean, if you are a red-shirt, what do you do out on the practice field, shag towels for the varsity? WHO runs the scout squad? Surely with as many assistants as UCLA has, you'd think someone would have been around to take notes. Didn't they scout these kids when they offered them a scholarship? How about Spring ball? Anyone heard of video cameras and reviewing practice films.

C'mon Dorrell, this is a major college football program; surely you must have some ideas for coaching "force multipliers".

Telling observation: during the UCLA-ND telecast last Saturday evening, Dan Fouts observed McLeod had a forehead rash similar to what players experience during Spring football. They got their two first string quarterbacks with three bad legs and a concussion between them and the third-string walk-on got helmet rash because he hasn't had to put his hat on during a practice?

To quote Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, "Oh man, the [bravo sierra] piled up so fast around here, you needed wings to stay above it."

[biggPoppaBruin]

Thanks for the blog, Ron.

Can you give us some insight on why Dorrell is so reluctant to give Osaar Rashaan a chance at QB? Even now, with the QB position in dire straits, he only mentions him as the third option, willing to burn Forcier's redshirt before giving Osaar a real chance. What gives?

I've been hearing about Osaar since he was recruited; I'd hoped we'd see him as the starter one day, even before the current situation. It seems our so-called West Coast offense would really benefit from a mobile QB. As an example, Cowan won games for us because of his ability to improvise, especially with his feet - couldn't Osaar bring at least the same ability and maybe more? Did he do something to get into Dorrell's doghouse? Or is he really just bad (bad enough to not be able to beat our already mediocre QBs) ? And he sounds very eager to play at QB, too. I just don't get it. Please give us some insight on this puzzling reluctance.

Please, Dorrell, play Osaar at QB!!!

[lovethebruins]

Please tell Karl to play Osaar. There is no way MBT is better than Osaar and we should not burn Forcier's redshirt. Save Forcier for our new coach.

[lovethebruins]

Karl,

Play Osaar. How can MBT be better than Osaar? Please do not burn Forcier's redshirt. He is not ready this year and we should save him for our new head coach.

- UCLA Alum Class of 2000