Every day after UCLA freshman defensive tackle Kenneth Lombard
finished his classes at St. John Bosco High School last spring, he
would get in his car to make the 26-mile drive to Westwood and his
future alma mater.
During that time, Lombard came to see every spring football
practice the Bruin football team had, sitting in on defensive line
meetings when he could, all so he could absorb as much information
as possible.
Because of his effort this spring, along with his participation
in the player-run summer conditioning this summer, Lombard could
see some significant playing time this season.
“I wanted to be as prepared as I could, just in case they
did want me to play,” Lombard said. “By the time fall
training camp came around, I pretty much knew all the defensive
calls and was familiar with what they wanted me to do.”
The work appears to have paid off for the 6-foot-1, 275-pound
tackle. With last year’s entire defensive line gone,
defensive coordinator Larry Kerr sees Lombard as a potentially big
contributor to the team this season.
“It really put him miles ahead,” Kerr said.
“Most freshman don’t realize how important it is to
train both mentally and physically, but this guy obviously has that
maturity, and he did that, which is why he is light-years ahead of
some of the other guys and why he’s going to be
playing.”
Lombard isn’t the only freshman who will see time on the
field. In the past two weeks of fall camp, several new players have
made enough of an impact to grab the coaches’ attention.
On offense, true freshmen linemen Brian Abraham (6-6, 260),
Chris Joseph (6-4, 255) and Shannon Tevaga (6-3, 295) will each be
called upon this season to play and back up the Bruins’ thin
offensive line.
“Our obvious issues are lack of depth in
upperclassmen,” said offensive coordinator and offensive line
coach Tom Cable. “But all three of those kids (Joseph, Tevaga
and Abraham) have really picked up what they need to and
successfully made the transition from high school to college. So
it’s going to be OK.”
For these freshman, one of the hardest parts of the transition
is the loss of seniority. The general consensus seems to be that
departing high school for the college ranks is tougher than it
seems.
“In high school, you’re stronger then everyone
else,” Tevaga said. “Here people are stronger than you,
faster than you, and you have to step up to that level.”
And they have. Coach Karl Dorrell has been particularly pleased
with the progress of many of the freshmen.
With both the offensive and defensive lines lacking depth,
plugging freshmen into the system will be a likely possibility.
“We did a nice job with this recruiting class coming
in,” Dorrell said. “They were solid from top to bottom.
We filled the bill for what we needed. These guys are going to
contribute and do some great things for us.”
Still, jumping into the world of UCLA athletics can be a
daunting task.
Not having the one-year redshirt season to buffer their
transition only makes it harder for the young players to
adjust.
“A lot of freshmen haven’t been pushed into the
roles that these guys have,” Cable said. “While other
guys are being allowed to grow and redshirt and get comfortable,
those three guys don’t have that time and opportunity.
“We have to get ready to go.”
For Lombard, whose brother Kory Lombard also played for the
Bruins from 1998 to 2000, the hard work will all be worth it when
he steps into the Rose Bowl on Saturday for UCLA’s season
opener against Oklahoma State.
“I’m more excited than nervous,” he said.
“But probably this Friday night I’ll definitely be
nervous. It hasn’t set in yet.”