Wednesday’s UCLA sound bites from practice

It was the coordinators’ day to talk to the media yesterday, so the stories follow accordingly. Here’s a longer look into UCLA’s defensive line, and here’s a shorter look into why offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone isn’t worried about his running game.

There’s a tendency in college football (or I guess sports in general) to overreact to things in small sample sizes, kind of like the overreaction to the Bruins’ running game. It’s been one week. If the team is still averaging three yards per carry after Texas, then that’s an issue. But for right now, it’s just see what happens with Memphis on Saturday.

And, of course, some other quotes from Wednesday are below.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich

On sophomore linebacker Deon Hollins: “I’d imagine that tackle from Virginia is going to have a few thoughts, a few dreams about him in the wrong way. He did a great job. That was really his first opportunity to start and play a substantial amount, and I thought he made the most of his reps.”

Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone

On managing poor offensive performance last week: “Let me tell you the first thing I was really shocked by. We get home Saturday night, and when I woke up the next morning, the sun actually came out. It was shocking to me. I didn’t think it was going to.”

On the running backs: “Our front five guys, I have to just give them more of an opportunity to start to feel the game, handing the ball off, make them pay, get dirty and hit people, all that kind of stuff.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes

On the offensive line: “They’ve been physical, but this week, it’s been like let’s get even more physical and try and finish blocks. I like what they’re doing. I just think it wasn’t their game. What we see in practice every day isn’t what we see on Saturday. They’re really good when we face them every day in practice, they’re some of the best offensive linemen I have to face. They’re going to get it this week, we aren’t really worried about them.”

For more Bruins observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook