Sometimes there is little warmth in welcome-back sentiments.

At least, not on a cool and cloudy Tuesday morning.

Making his practice return after a one-week absence, UCLA football defensive lineman Jay Toia dug his hand into the turf and squatted down at the line of scrimmage, getting set for a third play of 11-on-11 drills. The junior proceeded to jump before the snap, committing the first would-be penalty of the period.

He promptly rose from his stance and sprinted to the far end zone – an act driven by instinct rather than a coach’s demand. Jogging out the rest of his lap around the field, Toia accepted responsibility for his mistake.

“He’s a Bruin through and through,” said coach DeShaun Foster.

Toia announced his intention to transfer out of UCLA on April 18 – joining former quarterback Collin Schlee and former defensive lineman Choé Bryant-Strother as the team’s only portal entrants since the start of spring ball. His week away from the program included a visit to Texas, reigning College Football Playoff semifinalists, where head coach Steve Sarkisian is looking to bring depth to the trenches.

But the trip would yield no commitment. Toia reaffirmed his belief in UCLA, declaring Monday that he will remain in Westwood for his senior campaign.

“I’m just excited (the) big man is back,” Foster said. “We knew with our culture here, our beliefs, the way we coach, our development – we just felt that really, at the end of the day, (Toia) overcomes anything that’s coming inside trying to take away our guys.”

After spending his freshman season as a reserve, Toia became a regular starter in 2022 and retained his role in 2023. He accumulated 30 tackles and one sack in 2022 before 28 and one this past fall, respectively. Pro Football Focus rated UCLA’s defensive line as the eighth-best in the country before the season began last year – and Toia was part of that calculation.

The standout lineman pointed to culture and development as key factors in his decision to return – two cornerstones of Foster’s philosophy.

“It’s just basically what we are – we’re being genuine,” Foster said. “You can see what we’re preaching is true, we’re trying to be a family and it’s a real family.”

It’s back to work for Toia, and no longer with a hole to worry about, it’s back in business for the Bruins’ defensive line.

Spike in competition

A battle awaits the Bruins each day they take Spaulding Field.

When undergoing full-team drills, a point is awarded to one side of the ball following the conclusion of each repetition. The recipient is determined by which unit “wins” the play – the defense might earn a point if they force an interception, while the offense can score by cleanly completing a pass, for example.

The scoring system is far from an exact science. It’s almost entirely subjective.

The total is kept on a scoreboard that hangs on the nearby wall of the Wasserman Football Center, plenty visible for anyone in the remote vicinity – giving players something to fight for.

That fight tightened Tuesday.

“It just means that people are getting comfortable with the schemes and able to play a little bit more,” Foster said. “So I’m excited for both sides of the ball.”

On a day where a sizable portion of plays were run inside or just outside the red zone, the score eventually knotted at nine apiece heading into the final two plays of practice. It was the defense – often the victor of spring competitions – that barely won out, earning each of the final two points.

The punctuation on the 11-9 final earned an explosion of energy from defensive coaches and players alike on the sideline, hyping up their on-field teammates who delivered the win.

But rarely is there a true winner. Special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach Kodi Whitfield kept his position group after practice for extra conditioning, acknowledging there was still work to be done.

“You’ve got to be at your best and execute your technique and assignment all the time,” Whitfield said. “So, I would say, if anything, it was a draw.”

Victories always have a caveat – all the more reason to fight harder next time out.