Tension hung in the air like Texas humidity as J.J. Molson lined up for the first field-goal attempt of UCLA’s training camp.
“Hey, no pressure, J.J.,” one of his teammates bellowed, “except for in the game.”
Molson took a few quick steps forward and booted the ball through the uprights.
It wasn’t the only distraction the freshman kicker readily dismissed during early practices. Before almost every snap, defensive line coach Angus McClure squirted high-arcing streams of water from a plastic bottle at Molson, his holder and their linemen.
The kicker always maintained his footing and his composure.