5 things we learned from UCLA training camp

Apparently, Jim Mora had seen enough. The head coach abruptly ended UCLA’s training camp early Sunday when he cancelled the team’s final practice. His players celebrated wildly in the team room upon hearing the news that they would finally receive a night off after 17 practices in 18 days.

Here are five things we learned in those 17 training camp practices with UCLA less than two weeks away from its season opener against Texas A&M on Sept. 3.

Josh Rosen is at home in Jedd Fisch’s offense

When asked of what he likes about Fisch’s system, Rosen said he most appreciated its versatility. With its large foundation, he can build any play imaginable. The words sounded suspiciously familiar to his praise for former offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu’s scheme that ultimately failed last year. But Rosen is not only saying the right things. He’s doing the right things, too. The junior didn’t string together as many consecutive days of impressive training camp practices last year as he did this year. He followed a particularly dismal outing on Aug. 8 with a week’s worth of strong practices. The confidence nearly oozed off the quarterback as he zipped passes through tiny windows and calmly moved around in the pocket.

The new coaches aren’t afraid to mix things up

The entire offense got a clean slate with four new coaches, who made some unexpected changes within their position groups. Wide receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty picked consistency over name recognition when he pulled walk-on Christian Pabico from the bottom of the depth chart and put him with the starters. Offensive line coach Hank Fraley nixed his carefully constructed plan for the offensive line, which included Andre James at right guard and Sunny Odogwu at right tackle, and inserted redshirt freshman Michael Alves at right guard. Both Pabico and Alves are in line for their UCLA debuts on Sept. 3.

Darnay Holmes is the real thing

The freshman grabbed a starting role by the fourth day of training camp and held on tight. Fast, strong and competitive, Holmes was a perfect fit opposite Nate Meadors in the defensive backfield. At times, it seemed like he went days without allowing a catch in team periods. Although the Bruins lost Fabian Moreau, a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and Randall Goforth, a four-year starter, they may have upgraded in the secondary with Holmes at corner and Adarius Pickett taking a full-time starting role at safety.

The defense has great potential

Entering its third year under coordinator Tom Bradley, the UCLA defense may be ready to turn a corner. The coaching staff’s decision to shuffle the starting linebackers solved the team’s glaring need for a strong-side linebacker. Sophomore Josh Woods will return to the position he played last year after he practiced at the weak-side position during the spring. Senior Kenny Young made way for sophomore Lokeni Toailoa in the middle, putting UCLA’s three-best linebackers on the field at the same time. A quartet of redshirt freshmen -- defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa and Chigozie Nnoruka and linebackers Breland Brandt and Krys Barnes -- are expected to get playing time within UCLA’s two-deep. UCLA’s starting defense is surely talented, but the Bruins need strong play from the second unit to reach their full potential.

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Bolu Olorunfunmi is the No. 1 running back

Olorunfunmi won the battle for the starting running back position because he was the last man standing. All four other scholarship running backs, Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks, Jalen Starks and Brandon Stephens, missed at least part of training camp due to various injuries. Olorunfunmi has slimmed down, gotten faster and continued to work on his pass blocking, but still struggles with his pass catching. Jamabo, at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds is a capable pass catcher out of the backfield and may see significant playing time in certain packages that allow him to maximize his speed around the edge.