Daily Bruin File Photo Spring football practice is is
full swing at UCLA’s Spaulding field, shown here in a file photo
from 2000.
By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter
This isn’t football.
Tuesday at Spaulding Field was more like a first ballet class
““ little kids in tights learning footwork, teachers sighing
as their pupils stood in the wrong position.
“We’re just trying to teach some things,” UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said. “How to get in the huddle, out of
the huddle, assignments, checks. Some of these guys don’t
know it, trust me. Some of the freshmen, redshirts, they’re
struggling a little bit, but they’ll learn.”
The secondary especially will be an area of concern with the
loss of strong safety Jason Stephens and All-Pac-10 free safety
Marques Anderson, both seniors. On the first day of spring
football, defensive coordinator Phil Snow could not gauge how his
secondary will shape up.
“They’re alright,” he said. “We got a
lot of new guys who aren’t quite sure what they’re
doing yet. But they’re willing and we’ll get them to
know (what they’re doing). Until we put on full pads and have
scrimmages, I won’t know how they’ll work.”
Snow does, however, know that freshman All-American cornerback
Matt Ware will learn to play free safety, which he played in high
school, and may or may not remain at that position depending on
need.
“(Switching) was actually a lot better than I thought it
would be,” Ware said. “I kind of like playing the
middle like I did in high school. It’s not changing the game
really, it’s just knowing the assignments.”
The secondary’s depth chart is anything but deep. At free
safety, Ware is currently backed up only by inexperienced sophomore
Chad Rogers. At strong safety, the front-runner, sophomore Ben
Emmanuel II, is not participating in spring ball due to shoulder
surgery. Behind him, sophomore Jibril Raymo and junior Kevin Brant
will compete, but Brant could move to free safety in the fall.
“We’ve got some talented freshmen coming in,”
Snow added, referring to recruits Eric McNeal and Mike Nixon.
“So we’ve got to make some decisions, but we may not
make them until the second or third game of the season depending on
what the freshmen do.”
Opposite senior left corner Ricky Manning, senior Joe Hunter
looks to take over Ware’s spot at right corner. However, he
faces competition from sophomore Matt Clark and junior Keith Short
this spring.
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
The team will practice in full pads for the first time today …
Saia Makakaufaki moved to tight end from defensive lineman. Mat
Ball moved to defensive end from linebacker … Quarterback
recruits Drew Olson of Piedmont and Matt Moore of Hart High watched
practice Tuesday as did linebacker Wesley Walker from Bishop Amat
High … Junior defensive tackle Rodney Leisle will participate in
spring practice until he has surgery on his wrist … Junior wide
receiver Ryan Smith will not participate due to an ankle injury
that has been nagging him since October. He will undergo
arthroscopic surgery on Friday to remove scar tissue.