UCLA doesn’t expect too much of a surprise from the Aggies’ offense

UCLA spent part of practice Tuesday teaching its freshmen on the scout team how to mimic the style of play the Bruins expect from Texas A&M during their season opener Sept. 3.

What the Aggies unveil on offense probably won’t be much of a surprise.

Noel Mazzone, Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator, held the same post under Coach Jim Mora at UCLA for four seasons before departing Westwood for College Station in January. Mora said he didn’t expect Mazzone to deviate much from the fast-paced spread attack he ran with the Bruins.

“Noel is very smart and Noel will have wrinkles,” Mora said, “but coaches believe in what they believe in and when you start to game-plan, what you’ll do, he’ll look at our guys and say, ‘Who can I attack? What are my good matchups?’ and those are the things he’ll try to emphasize. But in terms of just coming out with an entirely different scheme, probably not.”

Mora did acknowledge that Mazzone might be in the process of unearthing his next Myles Jack, referring to the former Bruins linebacker who also became a dynamo at running back under Mazzone.

UCLA defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes, who earned the nickname “Kung-Fu Panda” while occasionally running the ball as part of Mazzone’s offense, wondered whether anyone had assumed his role with the Aggies.

“I would love to shoot him a text and ask him, ‘Who’s the new Panda?’ ” Vanderdoes said. “Now I know that if we go third-and-goal from the goal line or short and I see a big guy in, I’m just going to yell, ‘Panda! Panda! Panda!’”

Mazzone is known for running largely the same plays out of a handful of packages. He also likes to use plays that work multiple times within the same game.

Vanderdoes said the Bruins’ knowledge of Mazzone’s thinking could prompt some unexpected changes.

“He’s a smart guy,” Vanderdoes said, “so he’s not going to call the same stuff that we’ve been seeing for four years in practice. He knows better than that.”

Poll position

The pollsters have weighed in with their preseason assessment of UCLA. The Bruins’ response? A collective shrug.

“We for sure look at it, but at the end of the day, everybody starts off at 0-0,” linebacker Jayon Brown said of the rankings. “At the outcome [of the season], we’ll see what happens.”

The Associated Press seemed to think most highly of UCLA, ranking it No. 16 and behind only Stanford (No. 8) and Washington (No. 14) among Pac-12 Conference teams. Sports Illustrated put the Bruins at No. 23 and the Amway coaches poll placed them at No. 24.

UCLA’s schedule sets up nicely if the AP poll holds to form. The Bruins play only two ranked opponents — Stanford and No. 20 USC — and both games will be played at the Rose Bowl. Texas A&M was listed among other teams receiving votes.

More interesting than the rankings might have been an opposing coach’s take on UCLA in SI’s college football preview issue: “There’s times they look like the best team in the country. A week later they don’t look interested.”

Quick hits

Cornerback Marcus Rios rode a stationary bike during practice after having his foot stepped on, Mora said, but there was no structural damage. … Defensive end Deon Hollins (concussion) wore a red non-contact jersey in practice but was making improvement, Mora said. Fullback Cameron Griffin (concussion) experienced some light-headedness Monday and will rest until he’s feeling better. … Guard Kenny Lacy experienced soreness in his knee but was expected to practice later in the week. … Defensive end Jacob Tuioti-Mariner (appendicitis) was expected to be cleared for activity Wednesday. … Defensive end Takkarist McKinley had some stiffness from a groin injury and was being given additional time to recover.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch