UCLA dons full gear and has first full-contact practice

UCLA walked onto the field a little past 9 a.m. on Friday, itching to finally hit each other.

The players hadn’t worn full pads since the end of spring practice, and the first four practices of training camp were a test of patience. That trickled into the start of the fifth day, as positional drills teased live action while keeping the collisions on hold.

When the linebackers threw their bodies into tackling dummies, there was a shrill creaking noise from the metal base. When an assistant coach swung a big blue pad at the running backs, there was a loud thump. But it wasn’t until Soso Jamabo took a handoff from Josh Rosen and rumbled into a crowd of defenders that the familiar helmet-on-helmet crack rung out.

It finally sounded like training camp, and the hitting commenced.

“I feel more at home now having the pads on,” said offensive lineman Poasi Moala. “I feel like the defensive linemen have more of an advantage not having the pads on, so it’s a lot better having the pads on.”

Whether it evened the playing field, upped the noise level or simply made the players more excited to suit up, the addition of pads is always welcome. The coaches have criticized how UCLA’s finished practices this week, and being able to simulate more game-like situations seemed to sustain the energy until the end of Friday’s three-hour session.

The Bruins will hold their first two-a-day on Saturday. They will then relocate Monday to San Bernardino and its looming triple-digit temperatures. For now, laying a few real hits on one another was a good step toward UCLA’s Sept. 3 opener at Texas A&M.

“It was fun bringing out the full pads today,” said offensive tackle Kolton Miller. “There’s a certain mind-set that comes with that, so you’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game today or else you’ll be made to look a fool.”

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse