Spaulding Report: UCLA WR Kyle Philips Expects Offense to Be Among Nation's Best
Spaulding Report: UCLA WR Kyle Philips Expects Offense to Be Among Nation's Best
Yesterday was UCLA's first day in shoulder pads since camp began.
After practice yesterday, two wide receivers gave interviews. First up was junior wide receiver Kyle Philips.
Philips began his interview by discussing the offense’s potential this season and he was optimistic about how good the Bruins could be on that side of the ball. Philips said:
I feel like we can be one of the best offenses in the country. We lost Demitric Felton last year, but britain brown is taking over right now and, then, we have a deep running back room with Zach Charbonnet coming in and we’ve got a lot of receivers with experience. We’ve got a couple new guys that have been stepping up and playing well. Dorian has been playing phenomenal all camp and all Spring ball. I feel like we can be a really good offense.
Of course, last season, UCLA was ranked second in the conference in both scoring and rushing while being sixth in the conference in passing. So, it appears that the building blocks may be there. The team will need to work on the small details to truly be one of the best offenses in the country.
“We just harp on the small details, whether it's alignment, steps in the routes…every small detail…each day, we want to stack it on top of the next and just get better each day.” Philips added.
He also spoke about Jerry Neuheisel’s impact as the team’s new receivers coach as well as how he’s feeling after getting dinged up during Spring and how he felt about there being a shorter time period between Spring Practice and Fall Camp.
“I'm 100% healthy. I feel amazing. I feel more explosive. I'm bigger, faster, stronger and just excited to be playing football,” he concluded.
The other receiver who spoke yesterday was a younger guy, sophomore Matt Sykes. He mentioned the work that Neuheisel has done with him as well as mentorship from Chase Cota and Philips as things which have made him feel a lot more comfortable heading into his second year in the program. He also addressed what his biggest goal was coming into the season. “I think my main goal coming in was to get faster and Coach [Belton] helped me with that,” he said.
He closed by discussing how the extra reps in Spring helped him out. “With all those guys down in Spring Ball, I got a ton of reps,” he said. “So, it's just been mental repetition and just experience.”
Thanks to UCLA Athletics for yesterday’s post-practice video.
The team has today off after yesterday’s practice was the first one in shoulder pads, according to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the LA Times.
Go Bruins!!!
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.