The Bruins blast music over the speakers at Wasserman Football Center every morning they hit the fields for practice.
The tunes that play later in the day sound a little different, though.
UCLA football has been running a team-wide karaoke tournament since fall camp started in late July, with one position group performing every day after the team's final round of meetings. Redshirt senior Qwuantrezz Knight posted a video of he and the rest of the strikers performing "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston on Monday, a rendition he said was among the best on the team.
"First and second place, for me, is tight ends, and then the strikers," Knight said. "The strikers and the tight ends right now are going neck-and-neck, so it's up to someone else to beat us."
While Knight couldn't remember the exact song the tight ends sang, he said it was a Michael Jackson track. One wouldn't expect a quartet of Greg Dulcich, Mike Martinez, David Priebe and Michael Ezeike to be able to hit the high notes in "Billie Jean" or "Smooth Criminal," but Knight's high praise may suggest otherwise.
For every performance, the Bruins wheel a screen onto the field for the lyrics. Creating a circle around their teammates, those who aren't belting out classics spend their time cheering and laughing instead.
Knight said he also wants to be having fun during practice, not just after it. He attributed that mindset to defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro and the coach's belief that positive mindsets lead to wins.
"This game is all about fun, and when you're having fun, it makes you play better," Knight said. "Coach Azz tells us the best guys perform the best under a great mood. If you're down and mopey all the time, that tends to mess up your performance."
And if it were up to Knight, his coaches would have to practice what they preach after the final whistle blows too.
The striker said the coaches are going to be some of the final contestants in the karaoke tournament, and that he hopes two of the staff's more seasoned veterans feature heavily in whatever they decide to sing.
"Coaches are gonna go closer to the end, so we're pretty excited to watch who goes," Knight said. "Hopefully we get coach Kelly to go, that's who I'm looking for – coach Kelly and coach Azz."
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