Bruins’ Josh Rosen gets enthusiastic progress report

Since UCLA only allows him to speak to the media after games, Josh Rosen doesn’t have many opportunities to talk about his week-by-week evolution as a college quarterback.

But there are plenty of people around him who are happy to talk about it.

“We just stamped him ‘Not a freshman anymore,’� said Noel Mazzone, UCLA’s offensive coordinator. “We promoted him.�

In four games, Rosen has thrown for 963 yards and seven touchdowns, while completing 63% of his passes. His passing efficiency rating of 137.5 is in the middle of the pack nationally, but his coaches and teammates say the numbers don’t tell the entire story.

The way Rosen performed against Arizona a week after struggling against Brigham Young was an example of what makes him special, they said.

Against BYU, he had three passes intercepted in the first half, all rooted in forced throws.

“He knows the severity of the situation and the level he’s playing now,� receiver Thomas Duarte said. “He is the first one to tell you when he is wrong, and take blame. He stands in front of the guys and says, ‘I messed up and it won’t happen again.’

“And he sticks to his word. It doesn’t happen again.�

Against Arizona, Rosen passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.

“He looked more poised in the pocket,� Duarte said. “He kind of trusted more. Throughout the week, we were telling him, ‘You don’t have to be a hero; if everyone does their job, things will work out.’�

Rosen showed his trust in Bruins receivers several times. He placed a high pass where only Duarte could reach it, and the 6-foot-2 receiver made a one-handed catch and bounced off three defenders for a 35-yard touchdown. Rosen also connected with Jordan Payton on two deep passes.

Coach Jim Mora even liked a few passes Rosen didn’t connect with.

“Some of his best decisions on Saturday were throwing the ball away,� Mora said.

Refresher course

The call “Let’s get ready to rumble!� applied to UCLA defensive linemen Tuesday. There were no altercations during practice, but the group did receive lessons in hand-to-hand combat from Paul McCarthy, an instructional coordinator in the UCLA recreation department who teaches, among other things, mixed martial arts.

“We worked on hand fighting, balance and body demeanor,� defensive line coach Angus McClure said. “The body balance really helps versus the run and the hand fighting helps with pass rushing.�

Injury report

Neither linebacker Jayon Brown nor reserve running back Bolu Olorunfunmi practiced Tuesday.

Brown, who replaced Myles Jack in the starting lineup against Arizona, left the game in the first half with a back injury. His status for Saturday’s game against Arizona State is unknown.

UCLA did not disclose information about Olorunfunmi’s injury.

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