Playmakers emerge as UCLA coach Bob Chesney dials up pressure during spring practice

One player who stood out was wide receiver Brian Rowe, a transfer from South Carolina, where he played in 11 games (four starts) for the Gamecocks last fall, catching 19 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He reached behind him to make a one-handed catch from Nico Iamaleava.

"He runs really precise routes, he’s fast, he’s explosive, he understands leverage, how to get himself open and he brings his body to the ball,” Chesney said of the 5-foot-11, 170-pound sophomore who committed to UCLA on Jan. 10. “He makes some really competitive catches on balls that may not be perfectly thrown. So it’s been impressive to watch him handle his business. He'll get a little dirty in the run game too, which is important. I’m really proud of where he’s at right now. Brian’s a young guy who'll continue to get better.”

Several other player caught the coach’s eye.

"Jet [Jaivian Thomas] had a really nice run in there and also some of our interior offensive linemen looked really good,” Chesney said.

"On the defensive side, [linebacker] Sammy Omosigho has been really consistent, along with [defensive end] Sahir West throughout the secondary. [Defensive back] Cole Martin keeps showing up, especially in the run game, and is doing a really good job. There’s a lot of guys I thought did a really nice job in there. The inconsistencies we have to keep working towards improving, of course."

Wide receiver Leland Smith was not wearing a black non-contact jersey Tuesday but was not involved in much of the team period activity. “He still has something nagging, it’s upper-body stuff,” Chesney said. “The position he plays, there’s a lot of physicality that has to come with it and Leland’s just not fully 100% just yet, but he’ll keep getting there."

As for continuity on the offensive line, Chesney did not have a definitive answer.

"I don’t because there'll be moments where we’re rotating guys regardless,” he said. “... We’re closing in on some things we like, but we have to keep challenging guys in different ways, figure out exactly what we think, then keep blending it together like we are and by the end we’ll have something. But it’s not anything we’re too worried about right now.”

Read more: Nico Iamaleava helped sell Landon Ellis on turning UCLA football into a winner

Chesney liked the way his quarterbacks adjusted to facing new defensive schemes.

"We did a really good job of handling it,” he said. "The quarterback managed it well. There were two big plays off of it and two other sacks that happened off of it. That just is what it is. When there’s one more guy than you've got, you have to have some answer to it and it’s not usually blocking him because you don’t have enough. The quarterback managed it well, created more time and got the ball out the way he should.”

Linebacker Scott Taylor was a difference-maker Tuesday.

"We switched it up a little bit today and went to more of a three-down look where there’s a little different setup, so they have to deal with a couple of different boxes offensively, which also led us into a third-down blitz game defensively,” Chesney said. "I thought Scott did a good job, though. He understood where he needed to be, he had a lot of movement before the snap trying to confuse things and then he did a real nice job of understanding the protection and what his reaction was.”

Chesney was pleased with the progress of sophomore tight end Noah Fox-Flores, who had a four-yard touchdown reception against Nevada Las Vegas last season as a freshman.

“He’s an impressive athlete,” Chesney said. "His body’s different much than what it was a year ago, he’s viable in the run game right now and at the same time his routes are great and his hands are just phenomenal so there’s a lot of good coming out of his progressions.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.