Running for daylight, improvement in sight
UCLA’s running backs felt a bit left out recently after learning they had been excluded from the offensive linemen’s Sunday outings, which have involved a day at the beach and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
Changing course as if confronted by a wall of defenders and no opening in sight, the running backs have plotted their own retreat.
“We’ll probably start that,” senior tailback Soso Jamabo said Thursday with a smile. “Running back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
Saturdays have made the Bruins’ running backs feel the need for a getaway in recent years. The team’s rushing offense ranked No. 115 nationally last season, generating 113.4 yards a game, and that somehow qualified as an improvement over the previous season, when UCLA ranked No. 127 and churned out an average of only 84.3 yards.
Change has been afoot for the running game during coach Chip Kelly’s first spring practices. The fleet of returning tailbacks that includes Jamabo, Bolu Olorunfunmi and Brandon Stephens appears faster, stronger and sleeker. UC Davis transfer Joshua Kelley has shown some of the best moves, and freshman Kazmeir Allen, who might prove to be the fastest of the group, isn’t expected to arrive on campus until June.
It’s not hard to imagine a more formidable ground game under Kelly, whose Oregon teams ran the ball roughly two-thirds of the time.
“I think even during the spring,” Jamabo said, “you can see that the running has gotten a lot better.”
Jamabo said the team’s new conditioning program has already made him feel as if he’s in the best shape of his four years at UCLA, which could have a bigger payoff starting with the Sept. 1 season opener against Cincinnati at the Rose Bowl.
“A lot of times, you get to the fourth quarter and you’re tired,” Jamabo said. “… But I feel like with this, we’re always going to have the advantage, we’re always going to be one step ahead of the other team and just always in better shape, and that’s a huge advantage.”
Jamabo said he also foresaw a more dynamic role for himself in Kelly’s offense that could include catching more passes.
“There’s no like set place where it’s going,” Jamabo said of the plays. “The quarterback is always going through their progression and the running back has a lot of routes in the offense, so I feel like as the offense continues to grow, the running backs’ role will obviously continue to grow as well.”
Watery wonder?
About half an hour into each practice, the frenetic pace gives way to a standstill. Players huddle for a water break that involves more than replenishing fluids.
Receiver Christian Pabico said that players have downed electrolyte beverages that have improved stamina and prevented cramps.
“We’ll just have a bunch of them in a big tub,” Pabico said of the drinks made from a powdered formula, “and everybody’s got to drink at least one.”
Pabico said that players used to eat electrolyte popsicles during training camp in San Bernardino but had never taken electrolytes during spring practice until now.
“That’s a big thing we’ve been focusing on,” Pabico said, “just getting our electrolytes in and recovering so we can make it through a full practice without being extremely tired or cramping up.”
It’s only part of Kelly’s sports science program, which also has involved GPS tracking devices to monitor player workload and new precision-fit helmets. Players say they haven’t been inundated with data but have been given individual results related to their level of play.
“They’ll definitely give us information on like how fast we’re going [or] if we’re getting tired,” Jamabo said.
Pabico compared the mastery of the technology and its benefits to that of learning a new offense.
“You know your body, you understand your body,” he said, “so if you’re able to take care of it, you can have a healthy season.”