Injury Count Continues to Rise on Defensive Side

Two days into full-pad practices, injuries have become a major factor for UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell.

In Monday’s afternoon practice, reserve cornerback Jebiaus Brown suffered a neck injury and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Brown was injured during a goal-line drill when receiver Andrew Baumgartner caught a swing pass and was tackled near the end zone. Initially, Brown was not involved in the play but as he tried to regain his feet he was run over by Baumgartner and two defenders.

Brown lost consciousness for nearly a minute and was strapped to a board as a precautionary measure.

He was taken to UCLA Medical Center for tests, which did not show any serious damage. He will wear a soft collar for the next couple of days as a precautionary measure.

Brown did not play last season because of post-concussion symptoms.

Brown’s injury isn’t the only one for the Bruins. It’s only their latest.

The defensive line, which came into camp already a little thin, suffered a blow when ends Kyle Morgan and Brigham Harwell went down because of knee injuries. Both could sit out the season opener against Oklahoma State on Sept. 4.

Morgan, a junior college transfer, and Harwell, the Bruins’ top freshman recruit from Hacienda Heights Los Altos High, both had arthroscopic surgeries for cartilage tears and are expected to be out three or four weeks.

“It was kind of a last-minute decision to go ahead to [have the surgeries] now so they both have an opportunity to be back for the first game,” Dorrell said.

For both practices on Monday, the Bruins featured a patchwork defensive line.

Starting tackle C.J. Niusulu, UCLA’s most experienced lineman, also was not in uniform because of post-concussion symptoms.

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Another area of concern for the Bruins is at No. 2 quarterback where junior college transfer David Koral and Brian Callahan are competing to back up Drew Olson.

Although neither quarterback has done anything special in camp, Koral seems to have an edge because of his ability to make plays on the move.

“They both really do not know the offense that well but because Koral played a couple of years of J.C. ball, he’s got things down a little bit better,” starting split end Junior Taylor said.

But don’t count out Callahan. The son of Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan is starting to pick up the Bruins’ version of the West Coast offense and he’s making more plays with confidence.

“I feel that I’m having a pretty good camp,” Callahan said. “But even in the spring, it’s been pretty well understood that [Koral] is the No. 2 guy and he would have to do something bad to lose that job or I would have to play that much better than him.”

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Freshman wideout Brandon Breazell had a strong afternoon practice with two impressive catches in tight coverage.... Running back Manuel White, tight end J.J. Hair and receiver Marcus Everett did not practice because of post-concussion symptoms. Offensive guard Eyoseph Efseaff sat out because of a groin injury.... UCLA will practice only once today.