Targeting incident underscores UCLA’s recurring penalty problems
Rising junior inside linebacker Jayon Brown was involved in a targeting incident during Thursday’s practice. Brown sat out the rest of practice after committing the personal foul. (Jintak Han/Daily Bruin)
By Matt Joye
April 7, 2016 9:29 p.m.
It’s no secret that UCLA football has had a problem with penalties during the Jim Mora era.
Since the coach took over in 2012, UCLA has finished in the bottom 15 in penalties per game each year.
The problem doesn’t seem to have eluded the Bruins thus far in spring camp.
False starts abounded in the first few practices of spring, as players adjusted to new offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu and his system. There was a bit of an improvement in that category on Monday – Mora said there were only “two false starts in 90 plays” – but the problem returned on Thursday. At one point, there were three false starts in about 20 plays.
Then, making matters worse, UCLA committed the most fatal penalty in football during Thursday’s practice: targeting.
The targeting incident occurred on a red-zone play during 11-on-11s. Rising junior inside linebacker Jayon Brown moved over in his coverage to defend a slant route, and lowered his helmet to jar the ball loose. The play left the intended receiver – rising redshirt sophomore receiver Darren Andrews – motionless on the ground for a few moments.
“We talk about protecting our teammates, and then you pull that bullshit,” Mora yelled at Brown. “You’re out of this game and you’re out of the next one.”
Brown left the field after his targeting violation and didn’t return to action for the rest of practice. Andrews eventually got back up from the turf and returned to play. He caught a touchdown pass a few minutes later during 11-on-11s.
After practice, Andrews assured reporters that he was feeling fine, but admitted that Brown’s hit shook him up a little bit.
“Hardest I’ve ever been hit,” Andrews said. “But it’s all out of love. I love Jayon, man. He’s a good football player. I know he wouldn’t intentionally mean it. … He got emotional and it got caught up.”
Mora did not speak to the media after Thursday’s practice.
Practice notes
- Rising freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has played solidly all spring, but was particularly efficient in Thursday’s practice. He threw a couple of picture-perfect fade routes in the red zone, and also completed several deep passes over the top of coverage.
- Defensive line coach Angus McClure said he thought Thursday’s practice was the team’s best of the spring so far. He pointed to energy and tempo as being the strong points of the practice.
- Rising freshman outside linebacker/defensive end Keisean Lucier-South has picked up about 15 pounds since the start of the offseason, McClure said. Before the start of last season, weight was one of the main concerns with Lucier-South. He entered the year at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds.
- Even though UCLA’s defense is looking to be more physical this year, McClure did not rule out the possibility of having two rush ends on the field at the same time. During portions of Thursday’s practice, rising junior rush ends Deon Hollins and Takkarist McKinley occupied each of the defensive end spots.
- As of right now, McClure said the starting 4-3 defensive line goes as follows: rising sophomore Matt Dickerson and McKinley at the defensive end spots, rising sophomore Jacob Tuioti-Mariner at the three-technique spot and rising redshirt senior Eli Ankou at the nose tackle.
- McClure said rising redshirt sophomore Eddie Vanderdoes will take over the starting spot in the three-technique once he returns from injury over the summer.
