They’re Set for Uniformed Look

UCLA’s spring football season may have technically begun last week, but it really starts today when the Bruins put on full uniforms and start hitting for the first time.

“It’s always a little different feeling when they haven’t worn pads for a while and then all of the sudden, they are putting them back on,” said Coach Karl Dorrell, who plans to give the Bruins more chances to hit this spring than he did a year ago.

One of the most competitive areas on the team will be the Bruins’ defensive line, which lost all four starters from last season. On the pre-spring depth chart, Kevin Harbour, Kevin Brown, C.J. Niusulu and Kyle Morgan are listed as starters, but their names are in pencil.

“We have to start somewhere, and everyone knows that we have a long way to go,” said defensive line coach Don Johnson, who has the difficult job of replacing brothers Mat and Dave Ball along with Rodney Leisle and Ryan Boschetti.

“I’ve been pleased with the effort so far, but we’ll know a lot more about them after we start contact.”

A key player in the mix is Morgan, an end from Pearl River (Miss.) Community College. At 6 feet 3 and 260 pounds, Morgan has the right combination of size and quickness to be a force.

“It was big getting him,” Dorrell said of Morgan, who signed with Miami out of Galileo High in San Francisco. “He was one of the key guys we were targeting to get, and we were fortunate to get him for our program.”

Niusulu is the most experienced among UCLA’s young group of linemen, registering 12 unassisted tackles and 26 total last season. In Brown, the Bruins have an athlete skilled enough to start three games at right offensive guard, while also playing seven games at defensive tackle. Harbour is one of the strongest players on the team and may be UCLA’s best pass rusher.

They will battle to keep their positions against a group of more inexperienced players, led by Junior Lemau’u, who is back with the team after being suspended for the final eight games last season for violating rules.

“I’m just trying to get them to understand that the moves that worked in high school don’t work in college,” Johnson said of UCLA’s defensive linemen. “Once they learn that, they could [be good].”

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Running back Maurice Drew, who led UCLA in rushing last season as a freshman, did not practice Friday because of a groin injury but is expected back today. Center Mike McCloskey, who sat out last week because of a minor chest injury, also is expected to practice.