UCLA spring football: April 25 notebook

With two days until the UCLA spring football showcase at the Rose Bowl, any thoughts that Thursday would be a practice light on noteworthy moments because the Bruins were in shorts would be wrong.

The offense, in particular, had an eventful day and it was perhaps the most lively practice in terms of offensive coordinator/associate head coach Eric Bieniemy’s unfiltered thoughts about everyone from the offensive line to the receivers to the quarterbacks.

And by lively, a two-minute stretch of sequences led to the type of colorful language that would make just about anyone blush.

“Either you know what to do, or you’re not gonna (expletive) play,” Bieniemy told the sideline in one of the more subdued moments.

It came after Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers had little time to do much as the pocket collapsed quickly.

Bieniemy essentially told the offense to get its heads out of the, um, let’s say clouds, as the defense continually got into the backfield against an experimenting offensive line (more on that in the notes and observations below).

Whether it was Garbers or backup Justyn Martin, no quarterback was safe as the offense took a bit longer to get the play called and snapped than Bieniemy would have preferred.

Enter Ted White, the new quarterbacks coach who took the role of the “sense of calmness” on the sidelines as the quarterbacks traded repetitions and received further feedback.

“In practice, we understand things are not going to be perfect, but we try to strive for perfection every single day,” White said after practice in his first meeting with the local media. “You know, (Bieniemy) gets at them a little bit. Sometimes he takes his turns to get at ‘em, sometimes I take my turn to get at ‘em. You know, so we kind of play the good, bad cop deal.”

As practice was nearing the close, the quarterbacks quickly made adjustments and finished in a flurry.

Garbers found tight end Michael Churich for a 7-yard touchdown, third-stringer Luke Duncan connected with tight end Jack Pedersen on a leaping 28-yard score and Martin ended the session with a 7-yard touchdown to walk-on receiver Carter Shaw.

It’s all part of the plan to see how the players respond to tough moments, with the practices designed to be “harder than the game,” White said.

“Sometimes you have some good plays, sometimes you have some things that stall drives,” White said, “but the opportunity of getting in and dusting yourself off and making sure that you’re ready to play the next play is always important.

“So we want to be able to make the game an easy situation to where something bad happens in the game, then now we’re able to dust ourselves off and respond with the next play.”

Watch the full post-practice interviews with White and Notre Dame transfer safety Ramon Henderson below: