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UCLA Football Practice Report: August 9

Ikaika Malloe, Jeff Faris and DeShaun Foster are each handling different duties on special teams this season.
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The Bruins are still easing into fall camp, one-quarter of the way through the preseason practice schedule.

UCLA football remained in shells on Tuesday, again not taking the field in full pads. Through four sessions, they have worn shorts every time and have yet to add anything past shoulder pads. There were referees in attendance Tuesday, though, meaning there may have been some real, structured scrimmage work later in the practice.

Again, by nature of the team's setup for media access, most of the open portion of Tuesday's practice was spent working on special teams.

The Bruins opened things up with short kickoff drills, working more on rotations and substitution patterns than they had over the weekend. We got an up-close look at Jeff Faris running things with the linebackers and tight ends on the right sideline, and he was very complimentary of Hawaii transfer Darius Muasau's ability to seal off the inside on one of Kazmeir Allen's fair catches.

Ikaika Malloe was working with the kickers and coverage team, while DeShaun Foster was working with the return men themselves, per usual. After Allen, receiver Kam Brown was the next in line to return kicks, followed by running back Keegan Jones.

Jones, running back Zach Charbonnet and receiver Logan Loya all spent time as the second man back and lead blocker for the main returner. Jones filled that role in 2021, but Qwuantrezz Knight and Brittain Brown also got a lot of the practice reps there that Charbonnet and Loya will need to replace.

Defensive back Kenny Churchwell dove on a surprise onside kick at the end of the period, earning plenty of praise from his coaches and linebacker Kain Medrano.

The linebacker drills were once again front and center on the north field, which is the one the media has the best view of. In terms of offensive work, there wasn't much happening of note besides some simple pass-catching and route running where it was difficult to tell who was throwing and when.

In regards to the linebackers, though, coach Chip Kelly said before practice that Medrano, Muasau, JonJon Vaughns and Jeremiah Trojan were the ones who had stood out the most so far in camp. Through the first few sessions, that was pretty evident, and while Norton did have to get in Vaughns' ear Tuesday after a miscommunication led to a ball sailing right by his face, the dual-sport athlete did recover and look like a starting-caliber player from that point on.

Tight end Carsen Ryan and linebacker Ale Kaho remained sidelined, and offensive tackle Josh Carlin was also in the injured player area after missing Sunday's action. There still wasn't any sign of linebacker Damian Sellers or tight end Mike Martinez, either.

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