UCLA football lights up for high school coaches

LOS ANGELES — About 180 high school coaches were in attendance for the UCLA football team’s practice on Friday night as the Bruins hosted a Football Coaches Clinic prior to the start of their 11th spring practice of the year.

High school football coaches from California, Arizona, and Virginia attended UCLA’s practice and saw the Bruins go through a series of drills and team periods in preparation for their scrimmage on Saturday, which is closed to the public and media.

“I thought it went great. We had 180 coaches, 30 head coaches, from three different states represented,” UCLA first-year coach Bob Chesney said. “It’s really important for us to be able to start some of these relationships … I thought we did a good job on the road throughout the spring. Now, having all these guys here is really important.”

Some local Southern California coaching staffs that were in attendance included Dorsey, San Dimas, Bishop Amat, and Bell Gardens among others.

Chesney and the importance of family

During pre-practice stretch lines, Chesney’s father, Bob Sr., shared a nice moment with Cole Martin, embracing the senior safety after a friendly back-and-forth exchange.

The elder Chesney has become a familiar figure at Spaulding Field over the Bruins’ past few practices.

“It’s neat to watch him be a guy who has seen a lot of football in his day and a lot of different people. To come out here and be accepted and just continue to try to add value and build relationships is ultimately what it’s all about,” Chesney said of his father.

Chesney was honest about how special it has been coaching alongside his dad.

“It’s unbelievable,” Chesney said. “(High school coaches) always talk and mention how it’s pretty cool to see your dad out there. I think it’s something where we’ll cherish the moments we got together. As long as he can be running around here doing it, he’s always welcome.”

Throughout the spring, it’s become clear to see that the Bruins have started building a family-like environment thanks to the words and actions of Chesney.

A practice like no other

After going through a fully padded practice Thursday, the Bruins trotted out in shells. With their scrimmage coming up the following day, the practice had a walkthrough type of feeling to it.

Chesney explained how the format of the practice came to be.

“The way this (practice) was set up was that coaches were going to come in, we did a program overview, big offensive and defensive overview, and then they went off in their position meeting rooms,” Chesney said. “They went through all the different drills that coaches were doing to help develop their players and then we came on the field and did those exact same drills.”

James Madison transfer Wayne Knight was limited for the third practice in a row. The senior running back has battled injuries throughout much of spring camp. Defensive back Scooter Jackson missed his sixth consecutive practice with an excused absence, per a UCLA spokesman.

Senior center Sam Yoon has been slowly working himself back from a meniscus injury. He was active, but limited for the second straight practice.

“He’s doing a really good job right now and he feels really good,” Chesney said. “We kept him somewhat limited. … I thought our guys did a good job of managing that properly.”

Senior tight end Noah Fox-Flores has begun to emerge as a reliable security blanket for quarterback Nico Iamaleava. During a 7-on-7 period, Fox-Flores hauled in a nice sideline catch, one of the lone receptions the offense made in the period.

At the end of practice, the team competed in 1-on-1 drills near the red zone. The defense won four out of five reps to end the day. Technically, the defense didn’t allow a pass to be caught, with the one rep they lost stemming from a pass interference penalty.