Already deemed to be one of the smallest units in the Pac-10,
the UCLA defensive line was dealt a huge blow Saturday as junior
defensive tackle Kevin Brown suffered a high ankle sprain during
UCLA’s scrimmage. He is expected to miss six to eight 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 five 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. “(Brown)
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, both of which
merely compounded the effects of Brown’s injury on the
team.
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 or five 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 Snead for the position. “I have
been extremely impressed with his performance so far,” 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,
though, Dragovic has taken full advantage of his opportunity.
“I realized that it was my time to prove myself,” he
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.
A BIG HIT: The biggest hit of the scrimmage was provided by
Justin London. Early on in the scrimmage, the senior linebacker met
running back Maurice Drew on a sweep with a hit so forceful it
knocked Drew’s helmet off. Drew did not appear to be injured
and tallied nine carries for a total of 28 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Chris Markey, who has been limited in camp thus far, saw
the most time at running back Saturday, carrying the ball 21 times
for 78 yards and scoring a touchdown.
HORTON INJURED AGAIN: 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 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. Dorrell said that there would be no
timetable for his return, but that he would be eligible to return
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 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: The AP and USA Today preseason polls came out
on Saturday, and UCLA 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 ranking in either poll
entering the season was 2001, when they were ranked No. 15 in the
nation.