Bruins’ Spring Still Has a Leak

UCLA completed spring football practice Saturday with a scrimmage at Drake Stadium that was not indicative of the Bruins as a whole but said a lot about how far they still have to go at quarterback.

Injuries and the decision by Freddie Mitchell, the projected starter at flanker, to play baseball in the spring cost the availability of about 20 players who will be in uniform when training camp opens Aug. 12. That included Cory Paus, whose shoulder surgery limited him to non-contact drills and meant the Bruins made no progress toward picking between Paus and Ryan McCann for the No. 1 quarterback.

McCann, who was pushing Paus for the job at the end of last season and got most of the snaps during the spring, completed three of six passes for 18 yards and an interception Saturday, and third-stringer Scott McEwan was four of seven for 18 yards. But both were part of the sloppy offensive performance that included several fumbles, blown handoffs and poor exchanges between center and quarterback.

“We looked like the Keystone Cops out there,” said Coach Bob Toledo, who has been disappointed with the progress of his quarterbacks even before this showing.

The offensive star was Akil Harris, the redshirt freshman from Monrovia High who capitalized on the absence of DeShaun Foster because of a sprained knee ligament to rush for 53 yards and a touchdown in nine carries. The highlight, as he hopes to impress enough to convince Toledo to stay with a three-tailback rotation even after the departure of Keith Brown, was a 40-yard run up the middle.

The scrimmage lasted only about 50 plays, some 40 less than usual, because of a lack of bodies and an extra precaution against additional injuries. Among the other prominent Bruins not to play were offensive linemen Brian Polak, Troy Danoff and Blake Worley, linebackers Ryan Nece and Robert Thomas, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and split end Brian Poli-Dixon. All are expected to be ready Aug. 12.