Already deemed to be one of the smallest units in the Pac-10,
the UCLA defensive line was dealt a huge blow on Saturday as junior
defensive tackle Kevin Brown suffered a high ankle sprain during
UCLA’s scrimmage and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Brown was
UCLA’s top returning pass rusher for a young defensive unit
that consisted of one freshman, two sophomores and one junior, and
now loses its most experienced player. He underwent an X-ray
Saturday afternoon that showed there was no fracture, but he will
still have a pin inserted on Monday to reposition the ankle. Brown
led the team last season with 5 sacks and tied for the lead with
8.5 tackles for loss. He also led all defensive linemen with 25
tackles, only a year after moving from the offensive line. Only a
day earlier, defensive line coach Thurmond Moore was describing
Brown as the key to his defensive unit. “Kevin is the central
part to our unit,” Moore said. “That is the reason why
we moved him to defensive tackle. “We want to put our best
player in the middle.” Required to pick up the slack in
Brown’s absence will be the other defensive linemen who have
been practicing with the first team recently – junior defensive end
Justin Hickman, sophomore tackle Brigham Harwell, senior defensive
end Kyle Morgan and sophomore Nikola Dragovic. “Ideally, we
would like to have eight strong players on our defensive line, and
I have confidence that we can do that,” Moore said. “It
is very important that we have competition at all our
positions.” That competition became much more difficult on
Saturday, as Harwell was seen limping off the field with a sprained
ankle (listed day-to-day) and William Snead continued to be slowed
by an ankle injury; which merely compounded Brown’s
injury.
DRAGOVIC SHINES: The redshirt sophomore shined in
Saturday’s scrimmage, recording a sack on the quarterback,
and getting in the offensive backfield at least four times.
Dragovic, who saw action in nine games at defensive end last
season, has been practicing with the first team, and has jumped
over elder players Kyle Morgan and William Snead for the position.
“I have been extremely impressed with his performance so
far,” coach Moore said. “He has been the biggest
surprise of this fall camp.” Dragovic was expected to add
interior depth to the defensive line in the spring, but he suffered
a knee injury and was not able to fully participate in the spring
session. This fall, however, Dragovic has taken full advantage of
his opportunity. “I realized that it was my time to prove
myself,” Dragovic said. “I came to UCLA to do big
things, and I saw my chance right in front of me.” Dragovic
will be looked upon this season to rebuild a defensive line that
last season allowed opposing offenses to average 432.9 yards per
game.
HORTON OUT: Sophomore safety Chris Horton underwent surgery on
Tuesday to repair his right wrist, just days after returning from a
foot injury that had bothered him all spring and summer. Horton is
out indefinitely and is expected to miss the Bruins’ season
opener on Sept. 3, against San Diego State. Last year, Horton was
one of the surprises of the secondary as he saw action in nine
games and finished with 27 stops and 16 solo tackles.
WILLIAMS SUSPENDED: Redshirt sophomore running back Derrick
Williams was suspended indefinitely earlier this week for a
violation of team rules. Coach Karl Dorrell said that there would
be no timetable for his return, but he would be eligible to return
back to the team. In his place, freshman running back Kahlil Bell
has risen to compete for the third back position in the Bruins
three-man rotation.
KETCHUM OUT: Freshman wide receiver Gavin Ketchum returned to
practice on Friday but did not participate in Saturday’s
scrimmage. He is still recovering from a separated shoulder that he
suffered in practice two weeks ago, and will return to full pads on
Monday.
BRUINS GET VOTES: Both the AP and USA Today Preseason Poll came
out on Saturday, and the Bruins received votes in both polls. The
Bruins received 34 points in the AP Poll, and it received 24 in the
USA Today Poll. The last time the Bruins were ranked in either poll
entering the season was 2001, when they were No. 15 in the
nation.