Friendly skies greet Mora on first day of fall camp

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — If the temperature is any indication, coach Jim Mora’s second season at the helm of the UCLA football team is beginning with far fewer difficulties.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Bruins opened up their second consecutive fall camp on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino, a venue that made 100-plus degree practices the norm last year.

So far, Mother Nature is easing UCLA into its 2013 campaign, as temperatures only reached the nineties on the first day of camp, which will be held until Aug. 17.

An even more tangible improvement this year is the freshman class, which features a wide variety of athletes – from potential starting defensive back Priest Willis to recently cleared defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes.

Following practice, Mora said the athleticism and agility of his entire team, freshmen included, were noticeably improved from last August.

“This team just looks different to me,” Mora said. “It’s bigger, it’s more physical looking. You can tell that the work they’ve done with (strength and conditioning) coach (Sal) Alosi is really paying off, and it’s just one year in.”

Particularly in the secondary, where not a single starter from last season made the trip up to San Bernardino this year, Mora said the upgraded athleticism will quickly need to translate to in-game results. Four of the team’s defensive back recruits – Willis, Tahaan Goodman, John Johnson, and Tyler Foreman – will likely see the field this season.

“Those four guys are all going to have to play for us this year,” Mora said. “We’ve got to push them along at a pretty rapid pace. They’re a talented group, like I said, physically talented, a lot of skill. It’s just a matter of honing them up.”

Vanderdoes practices

Fresh off being granted full clearance by the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent (LOI) Steering Committee, Vanderdoes said he is relieved at finally being able to call himself a college athlete after a five-month-long letter of intent ordeal that nearly left him ineligible for the 2013 season.

The defensive lineman out of Auburn, Calif. cited finally speaking with the NCAA as the tipping point in his clearance.

“It went great,” Vanderdoes said of the call. “I finally got to speak with (the NCAA) on the phone by myself and explain my side, and they felt that there were four good enough reasons to release me.”

His first reason has been highly publicized. Vanderdoes openly spoke about wanting to reduce the distance between him and his grandmother, who suffers from breast cancer. He declined to comment on the other three reasons.

He said his decision to leave Notre Dame arose relatively soon after his initial LOI signing on February 6.

“Probably about a month into it, things still weren’t working out like they were supposed to before Signing Day and still kind of stuck with it, and then a few days after that, I was like, ‘We have to move on.’”

While Vanderdoes feels he’s finally in the right place, happy at UCLA, he offered advice to prospective collegiate football players regarding the recruitment process and its timeline, which might not be as pressing as it seems.

“My advice is make sure that you’re 100 percent before you sign your life to a school away,” Vanderdoes said. “Just make sure because you have time. It’s not like you have to sign.”

Eligibility questions remain

While his teammates – Vanderdoes and running back Craig Lee, who is looking to gain more reps as fall camp continues – enjoy the peace of mind at having their eligibilities for this season confirmed, Willis has yet to gain verification of his academic eligibility with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

When asked about his knowledge of the situation, Willis mentioned that much of the process has been handled by UCLA and his parents, leaving him with less of a mental burden as he starts his first few official practices with his new team.

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s happening,” Willis said. “I don’t know what’s going on. They don’t want to inform me because they don’t want me to stress out and for it to affect my play.”

Injury update

Mora mentioned that senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa will take a redshirt year in 2013 as a result of a hip injury that has been lingering, even after two surgeries.

“He’s just quite simply not ready to go,” Mora said. “Physically, he’s not where he needs to be. Emotionally, it would be difficult for him to overcome what he’s gone through. Everybody heals at a different pace and he’s just not ready.”

Redshirt junior linebacker Eric Kendricks did not participate in team drills Wednesday as he continues to recover from an ankle surgery to remove “loose bodies.”

Redshirt senior receiver Darius Bell wore a cast on his right hand during practice, but Mora indicated that the City College of San Francisco transfer will be “alright.”