When freshman Alterraun Verner came into the game against Utah last season and ran an interception back for a touchdown, it signaled that the UCLA secondary had a lot more depth. In the final week of spring practice, that has only become more clear.
Redshirt junior cornerback Michael Norris is returning from injury to back up redshirt senior Trey Brown, adding even more depth to the unit.
“He’s looking pretty good,” defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said of Norris. “We were thin last year at that position, (and) in the Pac-10 you need as many corners as you can get. So we’re real happy that he’s back, and so far so good.”
The cornerbacks are led by a battle-tested pair of returning starters, with Brown holding down the left side and senior Rodney Van starting on the right. Brown is currently riding a string of 30 consecutive starts, representing a wealth of game-time experience. The Kansas native led the team in interceptions with four, a count good enough for seventh in the Pac-10.
Van started all 13 games a season ago and was fifth on the team in tackles with 57.
Verner will be backing up Van and should get a lot of reps because of his strong 2006 campaign. The freshman garnered a lot of attention for returning both of his interceptions on the season for touchdowns and earned Freshman All-American honors.
On the other side, the familiar face of Norris gives the coaching staff even more viable options.
Norris missed the 2006 campaign because of a knee injury, but did not lose the year of eligibility. A season before going down with the injury in the preseason, Norris appeared in all 12 games and should compete for playing time this season.
While the unit as a whole is very experienced, there is one new thing that the group will have to adjust to. Rather than working with strong-side, weak-side assignments like the defense did a year ago, the Bruins will go with left-side, right-side assignments. With the change, corners will stay put on one side instead of rotating back and forth throughout the game. Walker noted that the change will allow the corners to drill in certain plays more so than in the past.
“Whether coach Walker tells us to line up here or line up there, on Strathmore Avenue or the Morgan Center, it doesn’t really matter,” Brown said. “We got to go out there, line up, and make some plays.”
SCRIMMAGE MOVED: UCLA football’s Spring Game on Friday night has been moved from Drake Stadium to Spaulding Field. The choice to move the game was made after inspecting the field at Drake Stadium and determining that it would be safer to play the game on the team’s usual practice field. In an attempt to field the crowds, additional bleacher seating will be moved to Spaulding.
The game starts at 7 p.m. with the gates opening at 5:30 p.m. There are multiple giveaways with the first 100 fans, children and UCLA students all receiving free T-shirts.
Men’s basketball guard Arron Afflalo was originally scheduled to be on hand to sign autographs, but will not be in attendance due to a scheduling conflict.