Trips to the Rose Bowl are nothing new for Bruin quarterbacks.

Even freshman Luke Duncan – the youngest member of the group – has a season’s worth of experience in Pasadena.

But that’s not the case for the new quarterbacks coach Ted White.

“This is my first time in California, for a long time,” White said after practice Thursday. “My wife loves it. My daughter will be here for the spring game, and I’m looking forward for my first time to be able to go to the Rose Bowl.”

White and the rest of UCLA football will make the 27-mile trek to the Rose Bowl on Saturday for the Bruins’ Spring Showcase. White’s daughter will be just one of the 20,000-plus fans anticipated to attend the weekend’s festivities.

With White’s first trip to Pasadena on the horizon, UCLA’s quarterbacks warned the coach about what to expect.

“The guys – the quarterbacks – they talk about it like, ‘Coach, don’t be scared. When you go in there, it’s like a 100,000 people,’” White said. “But the Rose Bowl have so much history. … So why not come to UCLA.”

Saturday will be the second special practice for the Bruins in just over a week, marking the end of spring camp’s penultimate week. The first was last week’s Friday Night Lights practice at Spaulding Field, which brought in around 2,000 fans, over 100 recruits and many UCLA student-athletes.

The football team won’t be the only program taking to Spieker Field on Saturday. Before the exhibition formally kicks off at 2 p.m., UCLA men’s soccer will face the Liga Premier U23 Select Team at 10:45 a.m.

Coach DeShaun Foster said he is hopeful the Bruins can channel the momentum from Friday Night Lights into the Spring Showcase.

“Saturday’s going to be epic. It’s going to be another movie,” Foster said. “If you were here Friday, just know it’s going to be turned up 10 times that.”

Defensive back Ramon Henderson is among the Bruin players making their first trip to the Rose Bowl. The former Notre Dame senior – one of three transfers from the Fighting Irish this offseason – said he is excited for the chance to experience the environment firsthand.

Practice report

Eric Bieniemy was characteristically loud at Thursday’s practice.

Ripping a litany of expletive-laden commands at his players in a matter of minutes, the offensive coordinator was clear in his message – be disciplined and know what to do, or don’t play.

“Coach Bieniemy, he’s a high-passion guy, high-energy guy,” White said. “He loves the game of football, he works hard at it, and as a coach, you always want things to be perfect. In practice, we understand things are not going to be perfect, but we try to strive for perfection every single day.”

Some of Bieniemy’s comments were directed at redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers, who was chewed out after a fumbled snap during 11-on-11 drills.

“Sometimes, he (Bieniemy) takes his turns to get at them (the quarterbacks). Sometimes, I take my turn to get at them,” White said. “We kind of play the good, bad cop deal.”

White added that the quarterbacks are continuing to grow, and he is proud of where they stand at this point in the spring.

Elsewhere, offensive lineman Josh Carlin took reps at center, working in with starters and backups. The senior started all 13 games at right guard in 2023, but UCLA has a hole to fill in the middle of the line with redshirt senior Duke Clemens’ graduation.