Tuesday’s sound bites from UCLA practice

With school starting this week, UCLA’s football team has officially switched to an early-morning schedule. Practices start at 7 a.m., which reminds writers like myself what it’s like to have a regular job and wake up when it’s dark outside.

Another upbeat day out on the farm. We talked to Takkarist McKinley, who has one of the most interesting stories on the team. Also on the blog is a post about the secondary moving players around.

And, of course, quotes from after practice early on Tuesday morning:

Sophomore defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes

On the defensive pass rush: “We don’t have the sack numbers, but we’re doing our jobs and collapsing the pocket. It’s one of those things that when we watch film every week, it’s like, right there. Right there. Either we’re a second or two away from the quarterback, or if we would have hit him with one move we would have been there. So it’s like we’re almost there to get more sacks.”

On Utah’s offensive line: “They have a bunch of big Samoans up front. The last two years, they’ve been real big and physical.”

Freshman wide receiver Alex Van Dyke

On getting his first playing time of the year last week: “I wasn’t really nervous until I stepped onto the field, that’s when a lot of adrenaline was rushing, like, “This is real.” It was fun to get out there.”

Redshirt junior offensive lineman Jake Brendel

On the team’s new morning practices: “I like them a lot. You get to start your day out hitting people, so that’s fun.”

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