mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">LOS ANGELES — The
crowd noise blasted over the loudspeakers at Spaulding Field on Saturday
afternoon.
As the noise of the speakers dimmed, noise from the real crowd sang out. "Manfro!
Manfro!" came from the UCLA fans in attendance sitting just beyond the
west end zone.
Manfro. As in UCLA redshirt freshman running back Steven Manfro.
"He's had a lot of buzz this spring," UCLA quarterback Richard
Brehaut said.
Manfro added to that buzz on Saturday. As the Bruins took to their first
scrimmage of the spring, the emphasis was on tempo. For the first couple of
possessions, at least, no one's tempo matched that of Manfro.
The first drive of the scrimmage, engineered by quarterback Kevin Prince,
lasted just two plays and was capped off by a Manfro 52-yard touchdown
reception.
On the next drive, with Brehaut at the controls, Manfro capped a seven-play
drive with a touchdown on an 8-yard swing pass.
"It was good," Manfro said. "I just tried to get out here and
just do my best. I just wanted to prove to people that I could play at this
level and I could play with the best of them."
So far this spring, Manfro has done a good job of proving he belongs and adds
to what appears to be a deep pool of running backs.
"I think that's probably our strongest position, our running backs,” offensive
coordinator Noel Mazzone said. “We got a good group of kids back there. My job
as a coach is to not have too many of those guys standing next to me on the
sideline. So we're looking for ways that we can get those guys in the game and
get the ball in their hands."
While Manfro had all the buzz, all eyes were on the UCLA quarterbacks. In the
first portion of the scrimmage — before the team started working on situations — Prince and Brehaut combined to complete their first six passes, including two
touchdowns.
On his first touchdown scoring drive, Brehaut went 5-for-5 for 55 yards.
"That's exactly what it should look like," Brehaut said. "I
thought we had a great tempo on that first drive, and just kept moving a little
bit here, a little bit here and finally we had a one-on-one opportunity with
Manfro."
Mazzone was pleased with what he saw as well.
"I like tempo,” Mazzone said. “I like it when they cross the goal line. That's
my favorite part. That was our big push today that we were going to really go. We
wanted to see if our kids could play fast and execute."
The first incompletion of the day, was a completion by Brett Hundley to
linebacker Patrick Larimore.
As far as the competition goes, there was still no separation.
"They get stuck on some progressions every now and then that they need to
come off of, but that's just repetition,” Mazzone said. “I think they're
starting to fit all of the concepts of the offense together. It's like a
Rubik's Cube, you got to keep turning it until you get the colors right. I
think they're getting closer.
"I like them all right now."
minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi">NOTES
The first portion of the scrimmage lasted five possessions. The remainder of
the scrimmage the Bruins worked on situations – short yardage, goal line, and
overtime. ... During the situational part
of the scrimmage, Manfro rushed for a 33-yard touchdown. ... QBs Prince, Brehaut,
Hundley, and Jerry Neuheisel all received reps during the scrimmage. ... Head coach Jim Mora called the scrimmage
"average" but says it was to be expected. ... LBs Larimore and Aaron
Wallace left the scrimmage with "concussion-like symptoms," according
to Mora. ... CB Brandon Sermons will undergo surgery for a broken bone in his
hand. His status for the remainder of the spring is uncertain. ... Former UCLA RB
DeShaun Foster attended Saturday's practice.
