The signs of a change in culture weren’t seen at UCLA’s spring practice Thursday, they were heard.
The new excitement and enthusiasm of the players could be heard in their voices as they hollered running from drill to drill.
“It’s a totally different atmosphere out here. The coaches are hyped and we’re hyped,” said senior cornerback Sheldon Price.
“We’re really buying into what the staff is teaching us and when we see the coaches flying around, it gets us going even more.”
Once position drills ended and the live scrimmaging began, the increased physicality and intensity was evident by the crack of helmets crashing into each other.
“(With) the new coaching staff, the intensity is ramped up. We get guys out here wanting to compete and that’s fun,” said redshirt senior guard Jeff Baca.
The change in mentality is a result of the fresh faces at the helm of the UCLA program.
The staff is riddled with coaches who have recent experience in the NFL, the most notable being coach Jim L. Mora, whose last coaching gig was as the interim coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
“Not that you don’t have respect for every coach, but you just have an extreme amount of respect for these guys,” Baca said. “Because not only do they know what it takes, but they’ve done it. And they’ve been in our shoes; they’ve been college football players.”
The bigger they are
The most notable event of the physical practice came with no contact at all.
While running a route in a one-on-one drill, redshirt senior tight end Joseph Fauria suddenly began limping and grabbing his hamstring.
A grunt from Fauria and his subsequent limp off of the field drew grasps from the crowd of spectators watching practice from the bleachers.
Fauria didn’t return to practice and his future status remains in question.
“(Fauria) tweaked his hamstring. I don’t know the severity yet and we probably won’t know until tomorrow,” Mora said. “Sometimes it looks more significant than it is and sometimes it doesn’t and it ends up being significant.”
Last season, Fauria led UCLA with six touchdown receptions, becoming a red-zone favorite of the team’s quarterbacks.
Slim Pickings
Roster changes have exposed a lack of depth in the Bruins’ defensive backfield.
Mora made the decision to change senior Dalton Hilliard’s position from safety to running back, which he performed well at once again in Thursday’s practice.
The change, though, created a void in UCLA’s depth chart, which Mora decided to fill with redshirt senior Andrew Abbott.
Abbott started at cornerback for the Bruins last season and despite the change, the team still only has three safeties.
Although the lack of depth may pose problems for the team, players are optimistic and taking advantage of the situation.
“Everybody’s getting reps, which is good for everybody because you’re only as strong as your weakest link,” Price said. “We all feel like everybody can play in our secondary, and the more reps we get, the better we get as a whole.”