LOS ANGELES — The Bruins don’t have battle scars yet, but they already look different.
A month ago, UCLA’s football team opened spring camp with 95 players. Seventy players donned pads during Tuesday’s practice.
“The guys that are here want to compete. This is football, you have to compete,” head coach DeShaun Foster said. “If you want to play at a high level, you have to compete.”
The defensive line is a unit that is still undergoing renovations.
Cole Cogshell of Pasadena and Jewelous “Juju” Walls of Antioch are greener defensive ends getting extended looks this spring.
“We have some portal targets that we have. We just can’t announce it or talk about it yet, but we feel good about that position,” Foster said. “We’re going to continue to add depth at that position. … The numbers are thin right now, but the young guys are getting reps, and they’re getting reps against quality offensive linemen.”
Defensive line veterans Keanu Williams, a redshirt senior honor roll student, and Gary Smith III, a sixth-year honor roll student who missed the entire 2024 season with an injury, remain limited at practice. Williams was seen stretching and working out without pads at the beginning of Tuesday’s session.
“They’re coming back from injuries, but their recovery is going well,” the coach said of Williams and Smith. “It’s trending in the right direction.”
Luke Duncan, Henry Hasselbeck, Colton Gumino and Nick Billoups are the only quarterbacks still with the team after high-profile gunslinger Nico Iamaleava announced he was transferring to UCLA from Tennessee on April 20. Iamaleava and his younger brother Madden, also a quarterback, are expected to join the Bruins this summer.
Duncan, an honors student from Orinda, has tried to take advantage of a revolving door in the quarterback room. He threw a crisp strike to wide receiver Carter Shaw, an honor roll student from Atherton, during opening drills.
“He’s doing a good job. There’s a lot of noise. He has to get out there, focus and play,” the coach said of Duncan.
The Bruins will complete spring camp with practice on Thursday in Westwood and a showcase on Saturday in the Rose Bowl. The final practice will be open for the public.
NFL rookie rewind
Five Bruins heard their names called during the NFL draft, including linebacker Carson Schwesinger, a Moorpark native and the first pick of the second round by the Cleveland Browns.
“We had the most draft picks out of all the California schools, so make sure you guys post that. Out of all of the California schools. That’s everybody in California – UCLA had more draft picks than them,” Foster said in an indirect dig at USC. “None of those guys were five-star (recruits). We’re really coming over here and developing guys and getting them ready to play at the next level. We’re going to continue to do that.”
Several undrafted Bruins signed NFL rookie free agent contracts or earned invitations to rookie minicamps.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers, a CIF State champion for Corona del Mar High, signed with the Carolina Panthers. Garbers won four of his last six games with the Bruins, with 12 touchdown passes and two interceptions in that stretch.
Defensive back Devin Kirkwood, an Inglewood native and nine-time honor roll standout at UCLA, secured a rookie camp invitation from the Chicago Bears.
“Thank you God for this opportunity!” Kirkwood wrote on X.
Linebacker Joseph Vaugh of San Jose scooped up invites from the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports.
Running back Keegan Jones and linebacker Ale Kaho are bound for the Washington Commanders.
“Trust us, let us develop you, and you’ll have an opportunity to play in the NFL,” Foster said.
A tribute to Coach Donahue’s wife
Foster opened his press conference on Tuesday with words of affection for Andrea Donahue, who passed away Sunday. The wife of former UCLA head coach Terry Donahue and a longtime friend to Foster, was 78.
“She was somebody who meant a lot to the program, to UCLA. She was somebody who cared about you and always made you feel wanted and accepted,” Foster said of Andrea Donahue. “When I got the job, she let me in on a fun fact that her husband was actually hired on the exact same day that I was hired: Feb. 12.
Andrea Donahue, an Overland Park, Kansas, native is survived by three daughters and 10 grandchildren.
“I actually went to school with her daughter (Jennifer, a former tennis star at UCLA and Agoura High), so I’ve known the family for a long time,” Foster said. “I wanted to give my condolences to them and help them through this hard time.”
Originally Published:
