UCLA added size and strength to the running backs room
TJ Harden and Carson Steele among leaders buying in to what DeShaun Foster is coaching.
UCLA football spent the offseason as well as spring building a running backs room with depth and size, and it’s coming to fruition now that the Bruins are entrenched in fall camp.
Sophomore TJ Harden and junior Carson Steele, a transfer from Ball State, lead the position group as a one-two punch, but other Bruins like redshirt senior and former receiver Colson Yankoff as well as redshirt junior and Army West Point transfer Anthony Adkins are in the mix, too.
Harden was a backup running back last season and played in six games, rushing for a total of 325 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries. Steele was at UCLA for spring camp after previously starting in all 12 games at Ball State. He rushed for over 100 yards in nine of those games.
“We have depth right now,” coach Chip Kelly said. “That doesn’t mean after the Coastal Carolina game we’ll have depth, but I think we have some guys there and we’re bigger. And we consciously wanted to get bigger at the running back spot.”
UCLA’s offseason conditioning and nutrition programs helped players get faster as well as put on healthy weight and muscle mass. Kelly estimates Harden weighs 220 pounds, Steele is at 227, Yankoff is 230 and Atkins checks in at 245 pounds. Harden said he feels more difficult to bring down this fall.
“Last year I had a little bit more fat on me and I have more muscle now,” he said. “Honestly I feel lighter, which is crazy. I feel faster.”
The running backs learn from each others’ abilities since there’s so much depth and a wide range of abilities in the group. They’re also building chemistry under running backs coach DeShaun Foster, who has seen four of his players selected in the NFL Draft in the last four seasons.
Foster arranged a meeting of UCLA’s current running backs with alumni, including Zach Charbonnet, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the most recent NFL draft. Efforts like that have helped players buy in.
“You can see how much credibility there is with coach Kelly’s offense,” Steele said. “Especially with coach Foster, watching him being able to develop somebody into a next-level type running back.”
Griffin wears helmet camera
In Sunday’s practice, quarterback Chase Griffin was wearing the GoPro helmet used by the Bruins’ coaching staff to record 360-degree video for film review.
The senior is at least the third quarterback to don the camera after redshirt junior Ethan Garbers and freshman Dante Moore. The wearer of the camera doesn’t indicate who will be starting in the first game, but it does give coaches insight as to what that player is seeing.
Griffin played in two games as a backup quarterback last season against Alabama State and Colorado. In 2021 he was the scout team quarterback.
Full pads and officials
The Bruins came onto Spaulding Field for practice on Sunday morning in full pads and officials were on the field, indicating that there could be live team drills. UCLA doesn’t typically tackle to the ground in practice, but Harden and Steele said they enjoy the competition and a little contact.
A one-on-one drill that pitted running backs against linebackers was seen during the media viewing period and although there was no tackling, it did give a glimpse of players in action.
“I like these days because they’re more game-like and they’re real competitive,” Harden said. “We compete with the linebackers a lot.”