Scrimmage a Success for Olson

Coach Karl Dorrell decided to have an impromptu scrimmage and it turned out to be a good move for senior quarterback Drew Olson, who looked sharp with touchdown passes to J.J. Hair and Andrew Baumgartner against the Bruins’ first-team defense.

“Sometimes, when you are in camp, you go through the monotony of just getting through the normal practice routine,” Dorrell said. “And, I just wanted to see what we could do.... It was good to see the offense respond early, make a few plays and get the ball into the end zone.”

Although Dorrell said after practice that the quarterback competition was wide open, Olson continues to play like a three-year starter in UCLA’s West Coast offense.

To start Friday’s scrimmage, Olson marched the Bruins’ first-team offense on a four-play drive that was capped by a short touchdown pass to Hair, a junior who has caught only two passes in his career.

Later, Olson completed a deep sideline pass to Baumgartner, a walk-on who beat cornerback Michael Norris for a touchdown.

“My body feels like it’s ready to go for the season, but I know it’s still early,” said Olson, who missed the entire spring after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee. “Everyday is a day about getting more confidence for me. It’s important for me to gain confidence in the offense again.

“In this offense, we have to rely on everybody. We can’t rely on Marcedes [Lewis], Maurice [Drew] and Junior [Taylor].... Who knows who is going to make the next play. Every day you hope that it’s somebody new.”

Although Olson continued to play well on Friday, redshirt freshman Patrick Cowan had his problems again.

Cowan, who alternated with Olson directing the No. 1 offense Friday, has not been as impressive as he was last spring when he emerged as a contender for the starting job.

Senior David Koral and redshirt freshman Ben Olson, who both practiced exclusively with the second-team offense on Friday, each had their moments, but they spent much of their time running away from an aggressive pass rush -- sparked by Justin Hickman, Brigham Harwell, William Snead and Nikola Dragovic -- that improved as the scrimmage went on.

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Drew had a long touchdown run and safety Jarrad Page made a few big hits in the scrimmage.... After missing the first four days of camp following the death of his brother, senior defensive end Kyle Morgan returned on Friday but did not practice.

Senior center Mike McCloskey and freshman receiver Gavin Ketchum went down with shoulder sprains Friday.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Graves did not practice because of a minor knee injury.... Sophomore wide receiver Alex Ghebreselassie, who has not played in two seasons, left the team and will transfer, according to Dorrell.

The Bruins will have their first twice-a-day workout today and will practice only once on Sunday.