quarterback

Tennessee told Nico Iamaleava to go fly a kite, so UCLA said come fly it here.

That alleviated some homesickness, but it didn’t get Iamaleava’s career up off the ground. Of course, the conditions in Westwood last season weren’t ideal for takeoff.

But now they are.

Here comes Bob Chesney’s rebuild. And Iamaleava’s redemption. An exceptional head coach and an exciting quarterback, with the wind at their backs, racing toward a relatively breezy schedule?

USC defensive tackle Carlon Jones grabs UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava during a game on Nov. 29.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Sky’s the limit, man.

Watch them dip and dance and make defenders miss all the way to New York. Watch the cautionary tale about the perils of the transfer portal turn into a fairy-tale comeback.

No, that’s not me building castles in the sky.

Consider the unprecedented heights to which Chesney took tiny James Madison, and think of the places he can go with a junior QB whose trajectory had him headed toward Heisman Trophy hopefuldom before turbulence hit.

Iamaleava arrived in Knoxville, Tenn., with more hype than any quarterback since Peyton Manning. The 6-foot-6 Long Beach native, with an outside hitter’s rocket arm and the gazelle-like gait, was considered the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit out of Warren High in Downey. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he won 10 games and led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff.

Heisman buzz was building. Until it wasn’t, deadened last spring by the contract dispute that was debated ‘round the college football world. There was disagreement between Iamaleava’s camp and Tennessee — which was reportedly paying him more than $2 million per season, less than the going rate for some comparable quarterbacks and more than the Bruins reportedly offered.

UCLA — 3-9 last season and with only two bowl appearances in eight years — isn’t anyone’s idea of a shortcut back to glory. But there is this: The Bruins seem really to have Ted Lasso’d a certain energy these days. A can-do frequency. Joy and positivity are in.

The women’s basketball team danced its way through the Big Dance and emerged as national champs.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney leads the Bruins through their first spring football practice at Spaulding Field on April 2.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Alysa Liu, the figure-skating psychology-student Olympic champion? She said there’s a new golden rule: Am I having a good time?

And mercy, the No. 6-ranked softball team — whose silly postgame interviews have gone viral — is having a record-smashing season.

Now we also have Chesney extra-cheesing out here, showing up with free pizzas at fraternities, outreach to get the bros out to the Bruins’ spring game Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

But how does Iamaleava fit into this bright motif?

Perfectly, actually. When I asked him last year what he was telling his teammates after head coach DeShaun Foster was fired three weeks into the season, sky falling, wheels falling off, Iamaleava smiled his easy smile: “Man, just keep the belief.”

If that reads like a cliché, imagine the coolest guy in school saying it, and meaning it.

Iamaleava has a Long Beach lean, laid back and comfortable in his skin. He’s super-tight with his seven siblings, and super-proud of their Samoan heritage. And even though he and his younger brother Madden, a backup UCLA quarterback, were always “the toughest dudes on the field,” former Warren coach Kevin Pearson said, “they are the nicest, sweetest off of it.”

But wasn’t Nico the villain? The bad guy? That disloyal, greedy kid at the center of college football’s first apparent holdout?

The criticism was so loud — and so wrong, Pearson said — it had the man stressing. “It made my stomach hurt,” he said, “what people were saying about Nico.”

Pan out and Nico is a face in a crowd. For example, of the top 600 football prospects in the class of 2021, more than 60% of them transferred at least once, and 42 of the top 50 quarterbacks changed schools, according to the Athletic.

And he was about the only thing that was good about last season’s Bruins.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes the ball during an upset of Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 4.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

He was their leading passer and rusher. Of UCLA’s 24 touchdowns, he accounted for 17, including five in the Bruins’ 42-37 victory over No. 7 Penn State, which earned him a slew of national weekly honors, including Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

But the Bruins won only three games. The whole season was a hot mess, though you wouldn’t have known it, talking to Nico.

He seemed to get it. Not like he understood the assignment of rehabilitating his image, but with the sincerity of someone who appreciates what’s actually hard.

You might remember, his mom, Leinna, was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 14.

“She definitely opened my eyes, just as a young kid growing up,” said Iamaleava, noting that she is OK now, busy traveling all over the country with his younger volleyball-playing sisters.

“She got diagnosed my freshman year and it was just kind of time to grow up and take care of the little ones. That changed my mindset and my perspective on life. Life’s short, you know? And we’re very blessed to be here and wake up every day.”

Nico could have been defensive in the face of criticism and failure, but he never was. Could have disappeared after defeats as some quarterbacks have, but he didn’t.

His mantra: “That’s on me, man.” Even when it wasn’t.

Despite everything, he was overly accountable, gracious under pressure, upbeat.

“Think about what he had to go through last year,” Chesney said. “He got the preseason, had a couple weeks with the guys, then he got into season, had a couple weeks with the guys, and then all hell broke loose, right?

UCLA offensive linemen Garrett Digiorgio, left, and Sam Yoon, right, help quarterback Nico Iamaleava up after he ran for extra yards against Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 4.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“To be able to stick with it and stay through that, you’re just probably trying to keep your head above water. And a lot of our conversations are about that, ‘Hey, this is different this time around.’”

Way different. Chesney has revamped UCLA’s roster with 40-plus transfers, including several key contributors from the JMU team that made the College Football Playoff.

And then there’s Nico, looking like everybody’s big brother at spring practices, smack-talking and celebrating the guys, as engaged as Chesney but easier to spot because his golden helmet glistens above everyone else’s.

“We did a leadership vote,” Chesney said, “and it was undeniable, [Nico] was the No. 1 vote on this entire team to be the leader. And I wanted to just share that with him and make sure he didn’t have to wonder, ‘Do these guys respect me?’ They do. And not only by the position you play, but by the way you play it. By the way you handle it off the field.”

By smiling through it all, even in the immediate aftermath of the Bruins’ loss to New Mexico, their third loss in as many weeks, when it looked like UCLA might not win all season.

“This is a game that as a little kid you loved to play,” Nico said that night. “A lot of [us] are treating this like a job. We gotta get back to having fun.”

And now that Nico and the new-look Bruins have that kite in the air, watch them run with it.

Brenen Thompson is from Spearman, Texas, at the top of the panhandle, where the gusts are constant and the only tourist attraction is a collection of old windmills.

Have you checked out Thompson’s speed numbers?

Prepare to be blown away.

Thompson, newest receiver for the Chargers, ran the 40-yard dash in a forehead-slapping 4.26 seconds — a mere .04 off the NFL combine record. What the former Mississippi State star lacks in size — he’s a shade under 5 feet 10 and 164 pounds — he makes up for in an ability to almost teleport from one spot to another.

Not the biggest position of need for the Chargers, who took him in the fourth round, but a nifty weapon for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who in the past has drawn up schemes for such scorchers as Jaylen Waddle, Travis Benjamin and Tyreek Hill.

Now, for the plodding part. OK, the Chargers didn’t race to the podium to select offensive linemen — their undoing last season — but they have remade their offensive line anyway.

First, they’re getting back Pro Bowl tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, who missed all or most of last season with leg injuries; signed center Tyler Biadasz and guard Cole Strange in free agency; and drafted Florida center Jake Slaughter in the second round, with the idea of him playing guard.

So if the plan works out, the Chargers will start five linemen who weren’t even in uniform for them for the January playoff loss to New England. Good thing, because that injury-ravaged line was a fire-drill mess last season.

In years before the Jim Harbaugh regime, the Chargers didn’t embrace the notion of trading down for more picks. But general manager Joe Hortiz likes doing that, and turned what would have been a quiet weekend — two selections on Day 3 — into a six-pick bonanza.

The club took Memphis tackle Travis Burke in the fourth round, presumably adding depth at the position because he’s not the type of player who is going to move inside to guard (and he’s almost certainly not going to unseat Slater or Alt). Depth is good at that spot, because as the Chargers were reminded last season, you’ll sooner find a stray $100 bill on the street than a capable NFL tackle.

The Chargers rounded out the draft by selecting a pair of guards in the sixth round, Logan Taylor of Boston College and Alex Harkey of Oregon. Whereas Taylor was a four-year starter, Harkey started one season at right tackle for the Ducks — he bounced from Colorado to Texas State to Oregon — and projects as an interior lineman in the pros.

Oregon’s Alex Harkey is among the four offensive linemen the Chargers selected in the 2026 NFL draft.

(Mark Ylen / Associated Press)

With the third of their four fourth-rounders, the Chargers took Arizona safety Genesis Smith. He has the cover skills and range to play the deep part of the field, and he’ll be learning from the best in All-Pro Derwin James Jr. Harbaugh is constantly saying, “Competitors welcome,” and Smith figures to be just that. If there’s trust on the back end, James can move up closer to the line of scrimmage to make plays and wreak havoc.

If a player is especially tough and violent on the field, the Chargers will affix a magnetic hammer sticker next to his name on the draft board. That’s what they did with South Carolina defensive tackle Nick Barrett, their final pick of the fourth round. The team typically carries five or six defensive linemen, and Barrett joins a group that includes Teair Tart, Jamaree Caldwell and Dalvin Tomlinson.

The Chargers already ramped up their pass rush by selecting Miami’s Akheem Mesidor at No. 22, a player widely projected to be off the board by then. Doesn’t matter the division, a strong pass rush is always essential. But having that in the AFC West, with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Denver’s Bo Nix and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza heading to Las Vegas, turning up the heat on quarterbacks is especially important.

Mesidor, who began his career at West Virginia and finished at Miami, was among the oldest players in the draft at 25. Some saw his age as a negative.

“I’ve been doubted my whole life. I’m ready to come in and earn the respect of my teammates and my coaches and compete,” he told reporters. “The age stuff, any of the negativity that people push into the media about me, is all out the window. It does not faze me, I’m here to play football.”

In the NFL, you can never have enough good pass rushers, and the team that winds up winning the Super Bowl is often the one at or near the top in getting to the quarterback. But first things first. The Chargers have to win a playoff game, something they haven’t done in two seasons under Harbaugh and six with Justin Herbert at quarterback.

Thompson could help in that regard. The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss., told this story last year: When the future Chargers wideoout was 6, his mother signed him up for flag football in Texas.

She told her young son that she would reward him with $1 for every flag he grabbed, and $5 for every touchdown he scored. After the first game, the two had to make a trip to the ATM.

After all, who has $65 at the ready?

Rams take a quarterback

From Gary Klein: The Rams have a roster that is Super Bowl ready.

So on Thursday, with the 13th pick in the NFL draft, the Rams looked beyond the Matthew Stafford era to the future.

The Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, making him the heir apparent to the reigning NFL most valuable player.

“I was just super blessed and super excited,” Simpson told reporters during a videoconference. “The fact that an organization like the Los Angeles Rams believed in me, took a chance on me, it’s just something that I’m so grateful for.”

With Stafford, star receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and a defense featuring star edge rusher Jared Verse and the recently acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams are regarded among the favorites to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in February.

Rather than adding a player that could potentially help them immediately, the Rams opted to select Simpson, making him the first quarterback chosen in the first round by the Rams since 2016, when they traded up a record 14 spots to pick Jared Goff No. 1 overall.

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Chargers take an edge rusher

From Austin Knoblauch: It was no secret the Chargers were searching for a pass rusher in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night — and they found one.

The Chargers selected former Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 overall, making him the heir apparent for Khalil Mack in a pass-rushing unit that was hit hard by Odafe Oweh leaving in free agency.

“I finally know where I’m going and I can’t wait to get there and move all my stuff out to the West Coast,” Mesidor said in a conference call with reporters. “I want people to look at me like, man, this guy came to work.

“I am ready to play right now. I have the motor and relentless effort.”

The 6-foot-3, 259-pound Mesidor should provide immediate depth to a edge rushing unit that needs to recoup some of the production Oweh took to Washington. And with Mack’s career being renewed on a year-to-year basis, Mesidor will get the chance to learn from Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree before seeing a likely starting role in the seasons ahead.

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NFL draft first-round recap: Fernando Mendoza goes No. 1

Kings in a 3-0 playoffs hole after loss

From Kevin Baxter: The Colorado Avalanche rode swagger, poise and the league’s stingiest goaltender to the best record in the NHL this season. And nothing about that formula has changed in the postseason, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson giving Colorado a 4-2 win Thursday over the Kings and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Kings, who have lost their last six first-round playoff series, need a victory at home Sunday to extend their season. Their goals in Game 3 came from Trevor Moore in the second period and Adrian Kempe on a third-period power play.

“They’re best team in the league for a reason. But we’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “We’re a confident group.”

“One game at home. Must-win game,” defenseman Drew Doughty added. “Everyone’s going to give everything they’ve got. We’ve got to win that one, and then hopefully get to go back to Denver.”

The difference in the series has been Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who was nearly perfect again Thursday, making 24 saves to leave the Kings 60 minutes away from summer.

Anton Forsberg, playing in the postseason for the first time, has been almost as good in goal for the Kings, though he was victimized by two fluke goals and an empty-netter.

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Kings summary

NHL playoffs schedule

Kings playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Colorado 2, Kings 1 (summary)
at Colorado 2, Kings 1 (OT) (summary)
Colorado 4, at Kings 2 (summary)
Sunday: Colorado at Kings, 1:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max
*Wednesday: Kings at Colorado, TBD
*Friday, May 1: Colorado at Kings, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Kings at Colorado, TBD

*- If necessary

Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
Friday: Edmonton at Ducks, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max)
Sunday: Edmonton at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD
*Thursday, April 30: Edmonton at Ducks, TBD
*Saturday, May 2: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD

*-if necessary

Dodgers shut out the Giants

From Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers tout Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a Cy Young award contender, and every one of his starts has been a quality start, including the one he made here Tuesday.

The Dodgers talk up Shohei Ohtani as a Cy Young award contender, and Ohtani has given up one run all season. He pitched six shutout innings here Wednesday.

But the pitcher who delivered the best start of this series against the San Francisco Giants, and the one that stood tall between the Giants and what would have been a humiliating sweep, was Tyler Glasnow.

That was one storyline from an eventful afternoon at the ballpark and, for the Dodgers, a sorely needed 3-0 victory on a day they found themselves a new cleanup hitter, a new closer — and on a day a Giants player blasted a Dodgers player for making a “dirty” play.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Friday: Lakers at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Sunday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., NBC
*Wednesday: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*Friday: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Still want some Olympics tickets?

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.

LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”

But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.

LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.

Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday at tickets.la28.org and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.

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UCLA women’s basketball team adds a key player

From Marisa Ingemi: UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.

Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.

Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.

The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.

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How USC men’s basketball team added a big man

From Ryan Kartje: Earlier this month, days after Connecticut lost to Michigan in the national title game, Eric Reibe said Huskies coach Dan Hurley came to him with an offer. Hurley wanted the 7-foot-1 German big man to stay in Storrs and anchor the Connecticut frontcourt next fall.

It was a tempting offer at such a prestigious hoops powerhouse. Especially after spending his entire freshman season scrapping for minutes behind All-Big East big man Tarris Reed Jr.

But Reibe turned Hurley down.

“I just decided to explore a better fit, for me and my game,” Reibe told The Times.

That exploration ultimately led him to USC, where Eric Musselman and his staff view the 7-footer as a centerpiece of their third portal haul in L.A. Reibe is joined so far by Georgetown transfer KJ Lewis and former Colgate point guard Jalen Cox in a class that’s sought to directly address the misses of Musselman’s first two forays into the transfer portal.

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Angel City expands pro-immigrant campaign

From Eduard Cauich: Angel City Football Club announced on Thursday the expansion of its “Immigrant City Football Club” campaign, unveiling a limited-edition apparel collection featuring the slogan “Los Angeles is for Everyone” written in 13 languages representing the city’s diverse communities.

The T-shirt and cap, available in the club’s colors, feature languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Armenian, Farsi, Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, Yoruba, and Zapotec — the latter representing one of the city’s largest indigenous migrant communities, originating from Oaxaca, Mexico.

“Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and that diversity is our strength,” said Chris Fajardo, Angel City FC’s vice president of community relations, in a statement. “This campaign is more than a t-shirt. It’s about showing up for our community, celebrating our differences, and making it clear that everyone belongs here.”

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This day in sports history

1963 — Bob Cousy ends his 13-year career by scoring 18 points as the Boston Celtics win their fifth consecutive NBA championship, beating the Lakers 112-109 in Game 6.

1967 — The Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA championship in six games with 125-122 comeback victory over the San Francisco Warriors. Billy Cunningham scores 13 points in the final 12 minutes as the 76ers overcome a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.

1974 — Tampa, Fla. is awarded the NFL’s 27th franchise.

1981 — San Antonio blocks 20 Golden State shots to set NBA regular season game record.

1988 — NFL Draft: Auburn tight end Aundray Bruce first pick by Atlanta Falcons.

1993 — George Branham III becomes the first Black bowler to win a PBA Triple Crown event when he beats Parker Bohn III 227-214 in the Tournament of Champions.

1994 — David Robinson scores 71 points to win the NBA scoring title as the San Antonio Spurs end the regular season with a 112-97 victory over the Clippers. Robinson, the fourth NBA player to score more than 70 points in a game, edges Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal for the scoring title.

1994 — NFL Draft: Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson first pick by Cincinnati Bengals.

1996 — Petr Nedved scores a power-play goal with 44.6 seconds left in the fourth overtime, ending the longest NHL game in 60 years and giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.

2003 — Petr Sykora scores 48 seconds into the fifth overtime as the Ducks outlasts Dallas 4-3 to win the opener of the Western Conference semifinal series. The game is the fourth-longest in NHL history.

2004 — NFL Draft: Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning first pick by San Diego Chargers.

2010 — Jamaican Usain Bolt dazzles a capacity crowd with a lightning-fast final leg, overtaking USA Blue’s Ivory Williams to win the 4×100-meter relay at the Penn Relays. A quartet of Mario Forsythe, Yohan Blake, Marvin Anderson and Bolt finishes in 37.90 seconds for Jamaica Gold, setting a Penn Relays record. Trailing entering the final leg, Bolt takes the handoff and finishes the final 100 meters in an unofficial time of 8.79 seconds.

2016 — Klay Thompson scores 23 points and the Golden State Warriors set an NBA playoff record with 21 three-pointers to overcome another injury to Stephen Curry and beat the Houston Rockets 121-94 for a 3-1 series lead. The Warriors made eight threes in the third quarter alone to set a franchise playoff record for three-pointers in a period. Thompson led the way from long range, going 7 of 11, and Draymond Green made four.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1901 — Chicago defeated Cleveland 8-2 in the first American League game. Three other scheduled games were rained out. The game lasted 1 hour, 30 minutes in front of a reported crowd of 14,000 at the Chicago Cricket Club.

1911 — Battle Creek of the South Michigan League turned two triple plays in the first two innings against Grand Rapids.

1917 — George Mogridge of the New York Yankees pitched a no-hitter against the Red Sox in Boston, winning 2-1.

1947 — Johnny Mize of the New York Giants hit three consecutive homers in a 14-5 loss in Boston. It was a major league-record fifth time in his career that Mize hit three home runs in one game.

1957 — The Chicago Cubs set a National League record by walking nine batters in the 5th inning of a 9-5 loss to the Cincinnati Redlegs.

1962 — Sandy Koufax struck out 18 Chicago Cubs and pitched the Dodgers to a 10-2 victory at Wrigley Field.

1965 — Casey Stengel recorded his 3,000th victory as a manager as the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 7-6.

1978 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels strikes out 15 batters for the 20th time in his career.

1994 — Julio Franco and Robin Ventura twice hit back-to-back homers in Chicago’s 7-6 loss to Detroit.

1996 — Greg Myers and Paul Molitor each had five RBIs as the Minnesota Twins set a team record for runs and routed the Detroit Tigers 24-11. It was the highest run total against the Tigers in 84 years, matching the mark set in a 24-2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912.

1998 — Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza ties a major league record hitting his third grand slam of the month.

1998 — Moises Alou drove in five runs and Carl Everett homered from each side of the plate to lead Houston to an 8-4 win over Montreal.

2001 — The American League celebrates its 100th anniversary as a major league.

2007 — Oakland set a major league record in a 4-2 win over Baltimore, keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard in the first inning. It was the 20th straight game in which the A’s did not allow a first-inning run, a record for the start of the season.

2009 — Zack Greinke continues to dominate opposing hitters as he pitches a second straight complete game for the Kansas City Royals.

2012 — Chipper Jones homers on his 40th birthday as the Braves beat the Dodgers, 4-3. He becomes the fifth player in major league history to do this, following Bob Thurman, Joe Morgan, Wade Boggs and Tony Phillips.

2014 — Pitcher Michael Pineda of the Yankees is handed a ten-game suspension after being caught using pine tar on the mound in the previous day’s game.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

One quarterback will go in the first round of the NFL draft, but he won’t have to wait long to hear his name.

And five Ohio State players will go in the opening round, including three in the first seven picks.

That’s how this year’s beat-writer draft unfolds, at least. For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Times has turned to reporters who cover NFL teams on a daily basis to make their selections.

This year’s version is heavy on edge rushers, light on quarterbacks, and has two running backs as bookends at the beginning and end of Thursday night’s first round, which for the first time is taking place in Pittsburgh.

🚨 The NFL reporters’ mock draft begins at 9 a.m. PDT, with the Las Vegas Raiders on the clock at No. 1.

NFL teams are living on the edge.

Sure, it’s a quarterback’s league, but a major focus of the upcoming NFL draft will be about getting to the quarterback. This class is loaded with talented pass rushers, and teams figure to take advantage of that early and often. This mock draft has edge rushers off the board with the second, third and fourth selections.

How appropriate that the April 23-25 draft will be held for the first time in Pittsburgh, birthplace of the Steel Curtain.

The Steelers, incidentally, take a receiver in this mock — and there are lots of talented prospects at that spot, too. This contemplates the Rams selecting USC receiver Makai Lemon, although it’s entirely possible that the sure-handed Trojans star will already be gone by the time the 13th pick rolls around.

The Chargers, meanwhile, take an offensive lineman to address the need that haunted them all last season after they were ravaged by injuries up front.

One look at how the draft could unfold:

1. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) — Tom Brady loves him. The Raiders are trying to build something, and this Heisman winner figures to be a cornerstone.

2. New York Jets: Edge Arvell Reese (Ohio State) — Jets had zero interceptions and four takeaways last season, both NFL records, and think Reese has some Micah Parsons qualities.

3. Arizona Cardinals: Edge David Bailey (Texas Tech) — As pass rushers go, the Cardinals have Josh Sweat, who isn’t particularly happy, and a bunch of young guys who have struggled to stay healthy.

4. Tennessee Titans: Edge Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) — Although they have been collecting defensive linemen, the Titans still need help at the edge. Also could use a supporting cast for Cam Ward.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love carries the ball against Pittsburgh in November.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

5. New York Giants: RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) — John Harbaugh doesn’t always draft for need, and he loves to pound defenses with a running game. Love is the best in this class.

6. Cleveland Browns: OT Monroe Freeling (Georgia) — The Browns are completely rebooting their offensive line and had hoped to sign Packers free agent tackle Rasheed Walker, instead nabbed by Carolina.

7. Washington Commanders: S Caleb Downs (Ohio State) — The Commanders could use help at virtually every position — everything but QB — and a game-changing defensive back would get a warm welcome.

8. New Orleans Saints: LB Sonny Styles (Ohio State) — Saints might go receiver here, but Saints need a defensive stalwart too. If Love and Downs are gone — as they are in this mock — Styles would be a fit.

9. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Carnell Tate (Ohio State) — The cupboard is bare at receiver with just Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals, so the Chiefs are desperate for some help there. Not the first time.

10. Cincinnati Bengals: CB Mansoor Delane (Louisiana State) — The Bengals are bringing back virtually their entire offense and have spent the offseason coming up with ways to improve their historically bad defense.

11. Miami Dolphins: WR Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State) — The Dolphins are trading Jaylen Waddle to Denver for another pick, so they immediately address their need for another playmaking receiver.

12. Dallas Cowboys: CB Jermod McCoy (Tennessee) — The Cowboys traded for Rashan Gary, which addressed their need at edge. Here’s a chance to upgrade at corner.

Wide receiver Makai Lemon runs with the ball during USC’s pro day on March 12.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

13. Rams: WR Makai Lemon (USC) — Having raided Kansas City’s defensive backfield, the Rams can stay put and take a receiver, or maybe trade up for a long-term bookend to Puka Nacua.

14. Baltimore Ravens: G Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State) — The Ravens have an opening at both guard and center, so they turn their attention to the interior of their offensive line.

15. Tampa Bay: Edge Keldric Faulk (Auburn) — The Buccaneers are sorely lacking when it comes to generating pressure off the edge, and Haason Reddick hasn’t been the answer.

16. New York Jets: WR Omar Cooper Jr. (Indiana) — The Jets need a No. 2 receiver to line up opposite Garrett Wilson and command some attention on the outside.

17. Detroit Lions: Edge Akheem Mesidor (Miami) — The Lions need someone they can pair with Aidan Hutchinson to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and Mesidor has a lot of potential.

18. Minnesota Vikings: S Dillon Thieneman (Oregon) — Harrison Smith is 37 and the Vikings need to start planning for the future at that position; they need another defensive back.

19. Carolina Panthers: OL Spencer Fano (Utah) — Fano can play all five positions on the offensive line, and that’s awfully enticing for a franchise with an injured left tackle and in need of a center.

20. Dallas Cowboys: LB Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) — Micah Parsons is gone, and the Cowboys allowed 6.1 yards per play last season, second worst in the league. They need help all over.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers: CB Avieon Terrell (Clemson) — A receiver would be nice, but the Steelers can get one later. Terrell gives the Steelers depth and potentially a long-term bookend to Joey Porter Jr.

Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa prepares for a snap against Louisville in October.

(Doug Murray / Associated Press)

22. Chargers: OL Francis Mauigoa (Miami) — With all the problems the Chargers have had cobbling together an offensive line, they need to focus on protecting Justin Herbert.

23. Philadelphia Eagles: S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo) — Reed Blankenship, a fixture in Philadelphia’s defense and a QB in the secondary, signed with Houston as a free agent.

24. Cleveland Browns: CB Colton Hood (Tennessee) — The Browns addressed their offense with the sixth pick and now can focus on a defensive position of need. Corner is key.

25. Chicago Bears: CB Chris Johnson (San Diego State) — Tyrique Stevenson is the fourth-most-targeted corner in the league. The Bears need to upgrade at that spot opposite Jaylon Johnson.

26. Buffalo Bills OL Kadyn Proctor (Alabama) — Buffalo wants to run the ball, and Proctor is an outstanding downhill run blocker. He can also move inside and benefit a team that needs interior help.

27. San Francisco 49ers: OT Blake Miller (Clemson) — The 49ers have to plan for their future at both tackle spots. Miller is durable and a particularly adept pass blocker.

28. Houston Texans: OT Caleb Lomu (Utah) — Houston’s offensive line has been a problem for years and that’s not going away. Lomu is young but terrific in pass protection. Good news for C.J. Stroud.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: Edge Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) — Kansas City’s pass rush has declined two years in a row. The Chiefs need help in a lot of areas, but getting to passer is vital.

30. Miami Dolphins: Edge T.J. Parker (Clemson) — The Dolphins have an underwhelming cluster of pass rushers, led by Chop Robinson. They need help pressuring the quarterback so they will be looking for an edge rusher.

31. New England Patriots: TE Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon) — Mike Vrabel has already tipped his hand about his interest in this class of tight ends. Give Drake Maye another weapon at the position.

32. Seattle Seahawks: RB Jadarian Price (Notre Dame) — Two ball carriers from the same college backfield in the opening round? The defending Super Bowl champions need to start reconstructing a backfield.