The UCLA football team went through a light practice Wednesday morning at Spaulding field, their second to last practice before the season opener in Houston.
Shoulder pads and shorts were the attire today as it’s now a matter of polishing specific plays and packages for the Houston game. Everything has been installed and the team is itching to play.
There looked to be no change in attitude or play after the announcement came down Tuesday night that both Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut would play the quarterback position with Prince taking the first snap.
“I think they like and trust both those guys,” coach Rick Neuheisel said of the team’s attitude toward the situation. “There’s absolutely zero hesitancy with the offense. I haven’t had anybody knocking on my door. They realize that both guys deserve to play and I think they’ll follow them through any fire and I think we’ll come out with great efforts and hopefully find a way to get that first win.”
Game-time decision
Now that the quarterback situation has been settled, one of the few remaining question marks is who will handle the place kicking duties. Jeff Locke and Kip Smith continue to share reps in practice but with Locke handling punts and kickoffs, Neuheisel isn’t sure he’s ready for all three.
Both will continue to take kicks Thursday and Neuheisel said he would reach a decision on Saturday.
“Those are gut instinct things,” Neuheisel said when asked if it would affect his decision making process. “I don’t think you can predetermine that stuff and say, ‘I’m going to do this.’ Then you get there and say, ‘I don’t think I should.’ You just make up your mind as you go along and I’m the only one that has to sleep with that so I can handle it.”
Position “battles?” Not so fast
The team released a depth chart Tuesday, supposedly settling some of the ongoing position battles. Defensive coordinator Joe Tresey thinks otherwise.
“I don’t know if it’s a battle,” Tresey said when asked about Dalton Hilliard overtaking Dietrich Riley at strong safety. “We just plan on playing a lot of people all year and it’s the next man in for us.”
Tresey’s “next man in” philosophy seems to have been embraced by the defense, signaling that there will be ample opportunities for everyone to play at a given position.
“He’s told us that from the beginning,” Hilliard said. “We have a really deep rotation at safety this year and if we have talented guys, why not play them? We’re going to play fast so I’m excited to see how that goes.”