LOS ANGELES — T.J. Harden set out to improve himself in the offseason. He expected to get more carries in the coming season, and his spring form just wasn’t cutting it.
He sought out extra conditioning on his own time, working through cone drills on the field and embarking on mile-long runs whenever he got the chance. The distance work also improved his mentality.
“The fact that it’s long distance, you’ll see yourself get tired fast,” Harden said. “So I’ll just try to make my mindset to just push through that.”
Harden can fill a bigger role as part of the NFL-style offense that offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has introduced. The junior rushed for 827 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore and shined in UCLA’s 38-20 win over USC at the Coliseum with 142 yards on 22 carries.
He was the team’s second-leading rusher last season behind Carson Steele, which prompted running backs coach Marcus Thomas to push for Harden to use his voice and expand his leadership role this fall.
Harden is still soft-spoken but handled himself with poise and thoughtfulness when he joined reporters for media availability after Saturday morning’s practice.
“Him being an older guy who’s been here for three years, who’s played a lot of football,” Thomas said, “I’m definitely putting that on him to be more vocal. To show the guys, tell the guys – because we have a few new guys – show them how we do things at UCLA.”
Harden grew up in South L.A. and attended Inglewood High, which provides extra motivation for him to live up to his potential as a running back.
“When I go back to the city and see all the people I grew up with rooting for me, it’s just a dream come true,” he said. “It’s crazy.”
“I go back often. My grandmother still stays there so I’ll go out and visit her. She comes out to some games. I just thank God for stuff like that.”
Injury update
Running back Jalen Berger was seen fully participating in individual drills during the media viewing period of Saturday morning’s practice, which was in full pads. The practice was originally scheduled to be open, but the decision to keep the practice closed was made during the week.
Berger previously played at Michigan State and Wisconsin, where he rushed for 1,16 yards and 10 touchdowns on 257 carries over a combined 24 games.
The redshirt senior adds depth and experience to a running back room that also includes Harden, Keegan Jones and Anthony Adkins.
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“He’s a pretty cool person,” Harden said of Berger. “Solid running back. Humble. It’s pretty cool. And he’s an older guy that’ll help us out throughout the season.”
Redshirt senior long snapper Travis Drosos did not participate in practice Saturday but was seen participating in light cardio drills outside Wasserman Center.
Drosos, who was South Alabama’s long-snapper for all 13 games last season, is the only long snapper on the team with significant playing experience. Salem Abdul-Wahab is next after playing 11 games at Northern Colorado in 2022.