Lanis leaves UCLA team because of knee soreness

The difficult task that UCLA faces in building an offensive line got a little harder Monday, after tackle Aleksey Lanis left the team because of continuing soreness in his left knee.

The Bruins’ inexperienced line has been the main concern in spring practice. The loss leaves tackle Micah Kia and center Micah Reed as the only linemen who played last season.

The first unit includes Scott Glicksberg, a converted tight end, and Darius Savage, a converted defensive tackle. Losing Lanis leaves Sean Sheller, a sophomore, as the other starting tackle.

“It takes time, it takes patience and it takes the consistent, repetition of technique” to build a line, Bruins offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. “I think it’s getting better every day. I think they did a commendable job in the first scrimmage.”

The first offensive unit, with Patrick Cowan at quarterback, moved the ball effectively in Saturday’s scrimmage. The first offensive line allowed only one sack.

But Coach Rick Neuheisel said that depth is the main concern.

“The first offensive line graded out OK, but the second offensive line still has a long way to go,” Neuheisel said. “We’ve really got to do a lot of work in the last seven days of [spring] practice to make sure our offensive line can be productive.”

More time seems to be needed to create the line depth Neuheisel desires. That chore increased when Lanis met with him Monday morning.

Lanis started six games last season and 12 in 2006 before suffering a fractured bone in his left forearm. He also underwent surgery on his left knee this past off-season.

“Two surgeries on his knee has gotten too burdensome,” Neuheisel said. “That’s a hit to us. But we wish him well.”

Lanis had participated little during spring practice. That had provided an opportunity for Sheller, who did not play in a game last season.

Still, even with Lanis in the picture, the 6-foot-5, 282-pound Sheller intends to win the job.

“I looked at that spot as my spot,” said Sheller, who played at Walnut High. “Nobody was going to take it from me after spring. I wanted this spot for two years now. Now my youth is gone, so it’s time step up.”

As a high school senior, Sheller was ranked 18th among tackles nationally by Rivals.com. His progress was slowed by a knee injury his freshman year at UCLA.

“He’s just needs to get a little stronger and a little bigger,” Neuheisel said.

——

Kia, who started eight games as a sophomore, saw his value to the offensive line unit increase with Lanis’ departure.

“He’s going to have to be leader,” Palcic said. “It’s time for him to step up.”

Palcic has seen some of that already in practice. “He will bring the guys together, get them to concentrate more.”

Said Kia: “I know that’s expected of me this year. I’m not a real vocal leader like Shannon [Tevaga] or [Brian] Abraham, but I do the best I can with what I can do. We’re a young group, real young, and we might not have the biggest size. But we’re athletic and fast. We just have to learn.”

Palcic’s philosophy could help the group. The Bruins are expected to zone block the majority of the time.

“I’m not saying that we’ll do that exclusively, but the majority of our concepts will be zone,” Palcic said. “I don’t think you can give an offensive lineman too many concepts to master, because there are too many defensive variations. Therefore you can be the jack-of-all-trades and master of none. I’d rather settle down into a few basic concepts and be very efficient at what we do.”

——

After studying the video of Saturday’s scrimmage, Neuheisel singled out the play of wide receivers Taylor Embree and Marcus Everett, tight end Logan Paulsen, defensive tackle Brian Price and middle linebacker Reggie Carter.

Overall, he said, “I thought we’re making progress offensively. Certainly the defense is coming along. Our showing raised our hope to be a decent offense.”

——

Tight end Nate Chandler did not suit up for practice after suffering dizzy spells during Saturday’s scrimmage, Neuheisel said.

“He had trouble breathing,” Neuheisel said. “He went through a battery [of tests] and we’ll get them back [Tuesday]. We hope that it’s nothing serious.”

Cornerback Chris Meadows suffered a separated shoulder during the scrimmage and may need surgery, Neuheisel said. Fullback Dylan Rush said he’d suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was not expecting to undergo surgery.

Tight end Travis Martin has left the team to focus on school.

chris.foster@latimes.com