UCLA and USC Football: Bruins & Trojans In Preseason Training Camp
By Derek Hart
November 17, 2012; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) scores a touchdown past USC Trojans safety Jawanza Starling (29) in the first quarter at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Judging from the NFL’s opening preseason games that have been shown on TV, it seems that football is back!
Although the college portion of the game has no preseason games, the 125 teams that play in the NCAA Division 1’s Football Bowl Subdivision have began getting ready for their campaigns, having opened their fall camps this month.
The two major college football teams that call Los Angeles home, UCLA and USC, are no exception as both the Bruins and Trojans are practicing in earnest for their season openers, which will commence at the end of August.
Here’s a look at what’s going on with L.A’s blue-and-gold and cardinal-and-gold programs as they are preparing for their upcoming battles:
UCLA BRUINS
Opening Ranking: #21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll
First Game: Saturday, August 31st vs. Nevada, Rose Bowl
For the second straight year, Jim Mora’s team is conducting their fall camp 60 miles east of Westwood, at Cal State San Bernardino.
The Bruins are scheduled to hold practices there through August 17th before heading back to campus.
Being that this is Year Two of the Mora era, there seems to be a sense of familiarity among the Bruin players, the two-day training that they did with the Navy Seals prior to going to San Bernardino notwithstanding.
The UCLA coach and his staff, however, intends to shake things up a bit, increasing the intensity by playing hard rock music very loudly during practice and getting in players’ faces a little more.
“One of our objectives…is to put pressure on ourselves, on each other and on the team,” Mora commented to the Los Angeles Times. “We were trying to get them in a high-intensity, chaotic environment so when we get to game day, we can handle the pressure.”
Other than that, outside of trying to find a punt returner that can make a real difference, as UCLA hasn’t returned a punt for a touchdown since 2005, the Bruins’ workouts have been uneventful as far as major injuries or anything like that.
Hopefully that will remain the case.
USC TROJANS
November 17, 2012; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Nelson Agholor (15) grabs a pass and runs for a touchdown as UCLA Bruins safety Dalton Hilliard (19) defends in the second quarter at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Opening Ranking: #24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll
First Game: Thursday, August 29th vs. Hawaii, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
There have been developments at ‘SC as the Trojans prepare to try and make amends for their disappointing (a BIG understatement) 7-6 season of a year ago.
Lane Kiffin’s team suffered a major scare when All-American Receiver and 2012 Biletnikoff Award winner Marquise Lee was carted off from a recent practice after falling on his right shoulder.
Everyone in the Trojan Family breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was found that the guy who’s widely considered to be USC’s best player had a bone bruise. Though Lee remains sidelined, he’s expected to be ready to go when the Trojans open in Hawaii.
Also, the fourth year coach announced that the competition to replace current Philadelphia Eagle Matt Barkley at quarterback has been reduced to two, as Max Wittek and Cody Kessler will battle it out going forward.
According to the L.A. Times, true freshman Max Browne was praised by Kiffin as “…probably as advanced as any guy we’ve had.” However, it was apparently that as Wittek and Kessler are third-year sophomores, they are farther ahead in knowing the system, which was most likely the main factor.
As for Browne redshirting, the USC coach has stated that it’s not a guarantee that that will happen, saying, “He’s got to be ready to play and prepare like that.”
Like their UCLA counterparts, outside of Lee’s injury things have been fairly quiet with the Trojans on that front.