SB Nation - Aundre Dean

Something Special Brewin? Malcolm Jones Honored As Gatorade National Player Of The Year

Nestor — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:08:15 -0000

Many of us have followed college athletics long enough to know that we shouldn't always get too excited about hype around big time recruits. It is especially true these days in the world of college basketball. Sometimes recruits in hoops such as JF, AA, and KL live up to all the hype. Other times, well I don't think I have to go through the details of the Ben Ball ~~warriors~~ class of 2008 (you can also read the comments in this thread which will go back much further).

Same dynamics also play out in football to a certain extent (even though in football it takes recruits traditionally a year or two to make discernible impact in the program). I think we can write post after posts on who has worked out (MJD, Brian Price, Akeem Ayers, Rahim Moore, XSF) and who hasn't (Ben Olson, Aundre Dean ) in recent years in Westwood. Yet, every once in a while we read and hear about a recruit in football or hoops, and we can't help but hope for something special when everything looks and sounds right about his arrival to Westwood. Well, if you haven't yet then meet Malcolm Jones. He just became the first UCLA football recruit ever to be honored as the Gatorade National High School Player Of The Year:

The LAT writeup provides the eye popping numbers:

Jones, a running back-linebacker, has scored 109 touchdowns in his four-year prep career. This season, he has rushed for 2,156 yards, putting him 40 yards short of tying the single-season school record held by Marc Tyler. He has 36 touchdowns and is nearing 6,000 yards rushing in his career.

Jon Gold from the Daily News had the following comment from MJ's team-mate on how emotional he was yesterday:

"You should have seen the expressions on his face when he was walking out of class," Oaks Christian quarterback Nick Montana said with a wide smile. "He was with his family, biggest smile on his face; I haven't seen him smile like that in a while. He was tearing up a little bit - it was awesome to see."

Well congrats to Malcolm from the entire BN. We have a little more on him after the jump.

Gold sheds a little more light on Malcolm as a student and person off the field:

Jones maintains a 3.46 grade-point average and announced in early October that he would play for UCLA, choosing the Bruins over expected front-runner Stanford. Additionally, Jones is a peer tutor and a youth basketball volunteer referee.

"He's realizes I think that he's really blessed," Marshall Jones Sr. said. "He takes his blessings as something he should utilize for the good of himself and others. And that's what makes me proud of him.

"He's a better person than he is a football player."

He also has the right perspective heading into UCLA next season:

"I really wanted to go to a school where I can really make a name for myself, not just be the "next" star running back at a USC or one of those big-time colleges," Jones said. "I want to prove to everyone that I can really help turn the program around, get them back on top."

Sounds like a Bruin already. lol Here he was few weeks ago reflecting on his team's season, his commitment to UCLA, and the looming CIF playoffs:

Well, Malcolm is going to lead his 13-0 Oaks Christian team into tonight Northwest Division championship game against Gardena Serra. He has played on three consecutive section championship teams.

In terms of some previous history on this award, I should note in hoops it was KL and Jrue Holiday who were also honored as Gatorade NPOY (as I said in my opening grafs, we have mixed records). Previous honorees as Gatorade NPOY includes names such as Peyton Manning, Emmitt Smith and Jeff George. The list also includes Matt disrespected Barkely (won the award in his junior season), who hasn't really done all that much considering the talent he was surrounded with at Southern Cal.

All that said, it's still a big deal. As noted above Malcolm is the first Bruin recruit to win this award. As excited as we all are about him, what I am even more excited is listening to him, he comes as as the perfect Bruin in the mold of ATV. Keeping my fingers crossed, Malcolm experiences the same level of success as our current senior captain both on and off the field starting next year at UCLA.

GO BRUINS.

The Wait Is Over For Bruin Football: Practice Starts Today

Nestor — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

So it all starts today. As mentioned over the weekend the season gets started today with a "Media Day" in the morning and then first practice (which is open to public) at 3:30 pm PST. I am sure we are going to be reading stories from the Media Day and first practice starting tomorrow starting later this evening and with our usual roundup in the AM. Already there are few notes up on the official site that should get all of us ready for the camp.

Following the tweeter feed yesterday it was pretty clear the players were coming back to Westwood yesterday. Everyone of them sound excited and fired up (Case in point here is Taylor Embree). Here are the details from the official site:

On Sunday afternoon, the veteran UCLA football players reported to camp. The first team meeting is scheduled for tonight. On Saturday afternoon, the newcomers reported to camp and went through a series of orientation meetings on Sunday.

Monday's schedule includes position meetings in the morning and a short walkthrough. The players will participate in Media Day at noon and at the same time shoot portrait photos for television broadcasts and other material for the Rose Bowl video board.

The first practice is scheduled for 3:00 pm. For the first few days, head coach Rick Neuheisel and the coaches will split the team into two groups so the players can receive more one-on-one coaching from the staff. The first group will begin practice at 3:00 pm. The entire team will work on special teams for 20 minutes at 4:20 pm and then the second group will practice from 4:40 - 6:00 pm.

I hope some of you get to make it out there either today or sometime in the coming weeks. Just reading through the position overviews it becomes clear how intense the competition is going to be this year. We just need to have the players stay healthy. More details after the jump.

Note "several" of the walkons are not reporting for camp until after the first game or the start of school. Also, it looks like Jayson Allmond is another scholarship freshman who is not going to report because he is waiting for issues related to NCAA Clearinghouse issues to be resolved. Perhaps Brian Price can give him a call and tell the kid to hang in there.

The official site also posted whole bunch of pre-season notes. There were few details I found to be interesting and worth sharing. First here are the players we are going to have this season who missed entire if not most of last season due to injury and other issues:

WHO WAS MISSING -- The following players, who will return to the team for 2009, were listed in the 2008 pre-season two-deep or figured to play a prominent role, if available for action last season: Offense --- TE Logan Paulsen - missed 11 g to injury; OL Jeff Baca - missed 3 g to injury; OL Darius Savage - missed 2 g to injury; OL - Sean Sheller - missed all 12 g to injury; OL - Mike Harris - missed 7 g to injury; RB - Christian Ramirez - missed all 12 g due to academic eligibility issues; FB Trevor Theriot - missed 9 g to injury; Defense --- Kyle Bosworth - missed 10g to injury; DL - Jess Ward - missed 5 g due to injury; DL Reginald Stokes - missed 1 g due to injury.

So here is these guys staying healthy in 2009. All those injuries meant UCLA had a lot of cubbies getting action this past season:

YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE -- UCLA played a total of 22 freshmen (11 redshirt and 11 true freshmen) in the 2008 season. Sixteen of the twenty scholarship players included in that group are scheduled to return in 2009. Of that group of sixteen returning players, 11 have starting experience (Defense --- So. Rahim Moore, S - 12 g; So.R Steve Sloan, LB - 9 g; So. R Akeem Ayers, LB - 3 g; So. Datone Jones, DL - 2 g; So. Tony Dye, S - 1g; Offense --- So. Cory Harkey, TE - 7 g; So. Taylor Embree, WR - 8 g; So. Jeff Baca, OL - 8 g; So.R Nate Chandler, TE - 2 g; So. Derrick Coleman, RB - 1 g; So.R Mike Harris, OL - 5 g).

Needless to say it will be exciting to see how these guys can improve on this year. Also, a total of 29 players saw action for the first time in 2009:

FIRST ACTION -- A total of 29 players (17 offensive and 12 defensive) saw their first action as a Bruin during the 2008 season (11 true freshmen - seven offensive and four defensive players (LB Sean Westgate, S Rahim Moore, TE Cory Harkey, WR Taylor Embree, S Tony Dye, WR Antwan Moutra, WR Nelson Rosario, RB Aundre Dean, RB Derrick Coleman, OL Jeff Baca, DL Datone Jones); 11 redshirt freshmen - five defensive and six offensive players (DB Courtney Viney, LB Steve Sloan, LB Akeem Ayers, DB Glenn Love, OL/TE Nate Chandler, RB Raymond Carter, DL Justin Edison, WR Ryal Jagd, QB Chris Forcier, TE Glenn Rauscher, OT Mike Harris), six redshirt sophomores - three offensive and three defensive players (OL Brandon Bennett, LB Mike Schmitt, DL Reginald Stokes, OL Sonny Tevaga, OL Jake Dean, DB Garrett Rubio), one redshirt junior (QB Kevin Craft).

Of course some of those guys such as Carter, Dean and Craft are either no longer with us or will probably not get much action this coming year. However, I think those numbers show how Neuheisel will not hesitate to put in his young guys in there if they are competing hard out at Spaulding and doing what the coaches are asking them to do.

Lastly, the pre-season notes also has some interesting numbers on freshman QBs record at UCLA during last 20 years:

*2002 (8-5, T 4th Pac-10) -- Matt Moore (Fr.) game 8 win over Stanford; Drew Olson (Fr.) game 9 win at Washington; game 10 win at Arizona; game 11 loss to USC; game 12 loss to Wash. State; game 13 bowl win over New Mexico.
*1999 (4-7, 9th Pac-10) -- Cory Paus (Fr.R) game 3 win over Fresno St.; game 5 loss at Ariz. State; game 6 win over Oregon; game 7 loss to Cal; game 8 loss at Ore. State; game 9 loss to Arizona; game 10 win over Washington; Ryan McCann (Fr. R) game 11 loss at USC.
*1995 (7-5, T 5th Pac-10) -- Cade McNown (Fr.) game 3 loss to Oregon; game 5 win over Fresno St.; game 6 win over Arizona; game 7 win at Stanford; game 8 win over Cal; game 9 loss at Ariz. State; game 10 loss to Washington; game 11 win at USC; game 12 bowl loss to Kansas.
*1992 (6-5, 8th Pac-10) -- Rob Walker (Fr. R) game 2 win at BYU; game 3 win over San Diego State; game 4 loss at Arizona; game 5 loss to Stanford; game 10 win at Oregon; Ryan Fien (Fr.) game 7 loss to Arizona State.
*1990 (5-6, T 6th Pac-10) -- Tommy Maddox (Fr. R) game 3 loss at Michigan; game 4 win at Wash. State; game 5 loss to Arizona; game 6 win over San Diego State; game 7 loss at Cal; game 8 win over Oregon State; game 9 loss at Oregon; game 10 win at Washington; game 11 loss to USC.
*1989 (3-7-1, 9th Pac-10) -- Bret Johnson (Fr. R) started all 11 games. game 1 loss to Tenn.; game 2 win over San Diego State; game 3 loss to Michigan; game 4 win over Cal; game 5 win over Ariz. State; game 6 loss at Arizona; game 7 loss at Oregon State; game 8 loss to Washington; game 9 loss at Stanford; game 10 loss to Oregon; game 11 tie at USC.

You can sense that Cade McNown was kind of an anomaly and even he had a roller coaster first two years. Bret Johnson, Rob Walker, and Ryan Fien were total disasters (well Johnson was just a disgrace).

Anyway, those numbers above are fairly sobering and should be datapoints we all take into account before deluding ourselves with visions of grandeur that takes over average college football fans around this time of the year. I still think Prince will be an upgrade from what we saw last year. However, given how legends like McNown struggled during their first year in college we should keep our expectations in check.

GO BRUINS.

A Stable Of Talented But Unproven UCLA RBs: Who Will Step Up?

Nestor — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:00:10 -0000

Let's pick up from our discussions on quarterbacks. When discussing QBs, we talked about how we need Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut - whoever among those two step up as the signal caller this season - to develop into efficient manager of our offense. Well as BruinAl mentioned in the comment thread our quarterback "can only manage a game if there is a running game to manage." That all depends on whether our OL which was battered and depleted last season, will be able to improve upon from the dreadful performance of this past year. It also will depend on whether a group of talented but unproven stable of running backs will be able to step up for the Bruins this year.

Already this off season a number of great previews have gone up regarding our running back depth chart. If you haven't done it yet you should read up captainqtp's upgrade or downgade post on our backs and his followup. The guy who everyone is talking about is redshirt junior Christian Ramirez. From Sam Saig on All Pac-10 blog:

If there is a headliner to be found in this group, then redshirt junior Christian Ramirez is probably it. The 6-2 220 pound athlete missed the 2008 season due to academic ineligibility. Ramirez began his career as a safety before switching to tailback in 2007. He debuted as a running back against Stanford and wasted no time impressing the coaches, rushing for 55 yards on 5 carries, including a 24-yard scramble. For his career, Ramirez has run for 104 yards on 19 carries and has one career touchdown.

The El Centro California native might not have much experience, but his upside is exciting. While at Imperial High School (CA), Ramirez set a single-season school rushing record with 1,558 yards and 23 touchdowns. That season, he had a game in which he rushed for 304 yards and five touchdowns, another school record.

Ramirez runs with a slashing style and possesses a nice combination of size and speed. Norm Chow’s 1-back set should allow for Ramirez to flourish, but only if the offensive line can open up some running lanes. Unfortunately, Ramirez missed most of spring with a hamstring problem. If he can return to full speed this fall, UCLA may have their feature back.

CRN is excited about Ramirez. More back talk after the jump.

Chris Foster in his LAT's post on UCLA RB provided the following observation from CRN on Ramirez's potential of providng multidimensional options out of the backfield:

Ramirez's size (6 feet 2, 222 pounds) and speed are augmented by his pass catching abilities, making him extremely useful in offensive coordinator Norm Chow’s schemes.

"He can go out and make you a three-wide receiver team without any substitution," Neuheisel said.

This won’t be a solo act, as Neuheisel said, "Everyone pretty much does tailback by committee."

Speaking of other backs, Aundre Dean and Raymond Carter have moved on. As we have mentioned this off season they just couldn't break through in our offense schme in which Chow often uses two tail back sets, requiring them to be well adept in pass blocking. Behind Ramirez for now we have Derrick Coleman and Johnathan Franklin. I am excited to see how Derrick builds on his freshman season:

The leading rusher among backs returning to Westwood this fall is sophomore Derrick Coleman. As a freshman last season, Coleman ran for a respectable 291 yards and two TD’s on only 53 carries (5.4 yards per carry).

At 6-0 231 pounds, Coleman has tremendous size and strength, while displaying deceptive speed. Like Moline, he is great in short yardage situations and figures to see a lot of carries on 3rd down. Coleman flashed his potential against Fresno State last year, running for a team-high 86 yards on 10 carries. Coleman will start the 2009 season right behind Ramirez on the RB depth chart.

The kid Coleman reminds me off is Manuel White (who apparently Karl Dorrell forgot was on the team in his first game as a UCLA football coach in Colorado). He is a big bruising back but I wonder if Chow will use him in situations asking him to catch the ball out of the backfield. He only had 4 receptions this past year but then again we didn't have much time to throw behind our dreadful OL. I just love the way he churns straight up and given the fact that he gets more than 5 yards per carry, giving him usually is a good bet for putting our offense in favorable down positions.

While we are all excited about Coleman's power, it will fun to check out Franklin's speed. More from Sam's piece in the All Pac 10 blog:

The speed element of UCLA’s running attack could be provided by redshirt freshman Jonathan Franklin. The 5-10 200 pound sprinter is also a track star and will give Norm Chow a potential home-run threat. Franklin impressed coaches during his redshirt year, earning co-MVP honors on the scout team.

He is a skilled receiver out of the backfield as well, giving the UCLA offense another mismatch capability. Rivals.com rated him as the 16th best athlete of the 2008 class, and gave him four-stars. The Dorsey High (Los Angeles, CA) standout is a strong pass-blocker as well.

Guess the key will be how Franklin also handles pass blocking schemes. I think if he gets the hang of that we will see him getting some carries. Again from the LAT sounds like CRN took note of Franklin's potential:

Neuheisel also singled out redshirt freshman Jonathan Franklin as "another piece to the puzzle." Franklin offers lickety-split speed that Neuheisel said would give the Bruins "a little more diversity."

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see whether Knox can break into three deep this fall camp. I think the key again as it is for Franklin is getting comfortable with pass blocking schemes. I am hoping he can get some chances to show his stuff this coming season. He seemed to have a decent game during spring scrimmage and hopefully he can continue that momentum into this fall camp.

As for other guys on the roster, I think Chow will be using Moline lot more as a FB in pass catching situations. Given the off season surgery incoming freshman Dalton Hilliard had, I think he is more likely a redshirt candidate. Damien Thigpen is obviously an x-factor at this point. We have read a lot of stories about his speed this off-season from various writeups, but I am not sure right now whether he will break into the RB rotation. Guess it will not be a surprise if coaches decide to use him in special situation as a skat back (like FSU used Dexter Carter back in the day perhaps?) have him dart out of the backfield and turn and burn with quick catches.

Anyway, as you can see we certainly have the potential. But we have to keep our expectations somewhat in check given that none of these guys have had substantive experiences as college starters, and of of course those quesitons about our unproven quarterback and offensive line. Nevertheless, I am getting excited to find the answer on who will step up.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Josh Smith Coming To UCLA & Other Football Notes

Nestor — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:12:38 -0000

Of course we are talking about football (not that Josh Smith). And it looks like big news for Coach Neuheisel and UCLA football program as the Bruins per Dohn are about to nab one of the better playmakers in college football. Former Colorado WR is heading to UCLA:

UCLA is getting a deep-threat receiver and a proven kick returner in former Moorpark High star Josh Smith, who will complete a transfer from Colorado to UCLA by the end of the summer, according to sources.

Smith left Colorado in the spring, in part because he wanted to pursue a degree in music, and Colorado does not offer one. Under NCAA transfer rules, Smith will sit out the 2009 season and be eligible for the 2010 season.

According to sources, Smith will enroll at UCLA in September and redshirt. He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he returns to the field. The only hang- up would be an unforeseen issue with his transcripts, sources said.

Roundup From BN Walk: UCLA Football/Futbol News & Notes

Nestor — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:21:57 -0000

Let's start our walk on a Humpday with some football news and notes. If you have not done yet make sure you are checking out "Upgrade or Downgrade?" segment (inspired by Jake over at Building the Dam), captainqtp have been putting up in the fanposts. So far captainqtp has gone over the postions of SS, CB and DT with more to come. If you have specific feedback in those threads, fire away now because it will be helpful to everyone in the community getting ready for the football season.

Speaking of feedback, I don't spend any time playing video games any more but I can totally appreciate the excitement/obsession around the release of EA Sports NCAA Football 2010. The folks at EA Sports take all of this pretty seriously as they had released their "first look" back in February. Here is the trailer if you haven't seen it:

NCAA Football 2010 [OFFICAL] Trailer (via JustWatch312)

More info over here which includes FAQs, "passing tops," "community playdate" and information on how to use the roster.

As I mentioned above, I have not spent a lot of time on video game in recent years but from what I have read, I have heard of negative feedback re. the UCLA roster as it shows Craft as the starter, includes players who have transferred out of the program (such as Dean, Carter and Johnson), doesn't include recruits such as Sua' Filo, and doesn't include Kevin Prince (again please let me know if my info. is wrong and post in the comments). If you guys have more thoughts of course this would be the place to share it. FWIW, the video still gets me fired up for the season. More notes after the jump

Staying football, looking way ahead there has been some excitement around the UCLA-Rutgers series. From Mark Hasty at NCAA Football Fanhouse giving both schools credit for scheduling this game:

These two schools deserve more credit than they're getting. They deserve praise because this game isn't an automatic victory for either school. Let's face it, non-conference scheduling has become a joke. Teams which aspire to the BCS games routinely refuse to play anybody with a pulse unless tradition forces them to. Instead, the month of September is filled with the likes of David at Goliath, Fire Hydrant at Large Dog, and Movable Object at Irresistible Force. [...]

Look, fan, you're in this for one reason and one reason only: entertainment. If you're not playing or coaching, that's all college football is good for, as far as you're concerned. Maybe you're entertained by a game that's 56-0 at halftime. If you are, please do me one favor: Go dip yourself in honey, then roll around on a hill of fire ants until you change your mind.

The rest of us want to see a game that actually catches and holds our attention. Kudos to Rutgers and UCLA for agreeing to provide games whose outcomes aren't foregone conclusions. (No need to bring up Appalachian State. I've heard of that game.)

Well UCLA has never been shy of scheduling difficult/unpredictable games. Trip to Rutgers should be a lot of fun and exciting for thousands of alums who live around the 1-95 corridor up and down the Eastern seaboard. Speaking of Rutgers, if you don't think they are serious about football, here is a recent update from the NY Times re. their effort to improve their facilities:

Rutgers will build a deluxe football recruiting lounge with a $5 million donation from private benefactors, an amenity that had been trimmed from the university’s stadium expansion plans after it scaled back the project because of concerns over financing.

The plans, approved by the Board of Governors at its meeting Tuesday, call for construction of a 7,600-square-foot lounge that will seat 300 at the south end zone of the renovated Rutgers Stadium. One of the donors is Greg Brown, the president and a co-chief executive of Motorola and a 1982 Rutgers graduate. The other donor wished to remain anonymous, university officials said.

Always interesting how success spurs fundraising and excitment around a program. Gives something to think about if Neuheisel is able turn around our program in next 2-3 years.

Lastly, let's end the walk on futbol notes. Per, What's Bruin Blog, UCLA alumni Patrick Ianni and Chad Barrett are both up for Major League Soccer's Goal of the Week. Ianni scored the game-winning goal for Seattle on a spectacular bicycle kick. Take a look:

Patrick Ianni gives SSFC a 2-1 lead over Houston (via sseatlefan)

Don't have a video for Barrett, who scored his first of two goals for Toronto after sneaking into the box to receive an over-the-head pass from a teammate. Don't feel too bad for him not having a video though. He was named Major League Soccer's Player of the Week. Congrats to both Patrick and Chad.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Roster Management & Other Football News/Notes

Nestor — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:00:35 -0000

I am still slowly working my way back from a long vacation. Looks like during last few days a number of football related notes (besides Fauria's transfer and E.J.'s desire to be a Trojie) trickled out of Westwood. So let's try to rest and try to put them all together in one place.

In addition to E.J.s departure, UCLA also said goodbye to Shannon Tevaga(HT to thisismitchell). Tevaga had to leave the program due to academic issues:

On a day former UCLA safety E.J. Woods said he finalized plans to transfer to Santa Monica College, the attrition continued with offensive lineman Sonny Tevaga leaving the program for what sources said were academic issues.

Tevaga, who started three games last season, is enrolled in UCLA's summer school, but he will not return to the Bruins even if his academic troubles are resolved, sources added.

Instead, Tevaga will explore a transfer to another school. He is the sixth UCLA player to leave the program since spring ball concluded.

Well the problem with Tevaga was that there has always been questions regarding his total commitment to play football at UCLA. This is something he has had issues with dating back to last November and he was still struggling to get into the right midset this past spring. So it's not a total surprise that it never worked out for him him. Hopefully wherever he ends up he finds a right fit that will fit his abilities both in the classroom and on the football field.

As Dohn noted Tevaga became the 6th player to leave the progam since spring ball (following Dean, Carter, Forcier, Johnson and Woods). This kind of attrition however is not really something negative for the program. Remember at the end of the spring UCLA was about 5 or 6 players over the allotted 85 scholarship limit. Because of their departures room opened up for a kid like Joseph Fauria and it looks like coaches will also try to hold a spot open for Josh Smith from Colorado.

Note that we still have some ways to go before our personnel issues are all sorted out. From the incoming class three players - Taniela Maka, Nike Abele and Eddie Williams - still have some work to do to become academically eligible for UCLA (remember unlike U$C* those issues don't get magically "resolved" at UCLA). So after all is said and done UCLA could be around the 81/82 mark in terms of total scholarship players, which would give the coaches lot more room to maneuver with regards to the class of 2010.

Moving on to other football related notes, congrats to Christian Yount for being named to the Playboy All America team. He became the first ever long-snapper to get selected for that team:

Meanwhile, Christian's teammate ATV has put up his second blogpost from this summer:

This past week has been a bit slower than the week before. My Romanian class has gotten a bit harder. We are now getting into conjugations of verbs, definite articles, and masculine/feminine forms of nouns, all of which can be very tricky! I scored another 10 on a quiz so I am starting to get the hang of it. The hours are long, but we are making a lot of progress in the class. However, speaking the language is a totally different challenge. It's hard for me to get that "r" sound just right, but the teacher is working with me.

Football workouts have been stepped up this week. The intensity in the weight room has been pushed way up and the conditioning drills are also at a high level. The defensive backs and every other position have been competing to be the best at each of the drills. A special "shout out" goes to fellow defensive back Courtney Viney, who works out with me at six o'clock each morning. He has been trying to make me better by challenging me in every obstacle, but I do the same to him. We had a couple of people plateau already this summer and that gets me fired up to get there as well.

Learning Romanian sounds just a tad bit more difficult than cruising through Senora Ross's class. No?

Lastly, ATV is not the only UCLA football player who is having fun writing this summer. Tobi Umodu has his own writeup of Bruin football players' summer workouts in his weekly "Keeping it Bruin":

Last season the offense took a lot of criticism for most of the problems the Bruins had, but this summer the offense has worked as hard as they can to change that. Recently named starting quarterback Kevin Prince has taken a strong leadership role among the offensive players and seems to be handling his new responsibilities with a lot of poise and capability.

There is nothing easy about getting up early morning to workout and run until your legs just will not carry you anymore, and then have to head off to class right after, but the members of the UCLA football team do not feel that way. They know how much work it will take to change the Bruin football program around and they are not afraid to do it.

You can read rest of Tobi's writeup here.

I always love reading this kind of reports on off season workouts. My issue with them though is its something we read every off season from every team. So you have to take them with a grain of salt. Still though I think for the first time in years, there is certain amount of optimism around our program given the way our coaches have been managing the program. As we had said over and over again, if they can build on the recruiting successes of past two years and put together a bowl season (6 or 7 regular season wins), that will make all all the hard work these kids are putting through this off-season worth it. It will allow the program to continue to move towards the right direction for the first time since December 5, 1998 (Melsby was down).

GO BRUINS.

Feeling Alright

Nestor — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:03:18 -0000

Bruins got a much needed win last night in Seattle. Even though it is clear what Washington is perhaps one of the worst teams in the history of the Pac-10 conference (along with Washington State), I think folks shouldn’t be dismissive of the effort our guys put together last night in Seattle.

Earlier in the day I was watching a Michigan team going through the same rebuilding pains we are experiencing during the first year of a new regime. Seeing the Wolverines struggle against Northwestern (which is having a good season) in the Big House and tumble to a 3-8 record was something that put what we have been going through in perspective.

After beating Washington we now have a record of 4-6, keeping alive a shot at a minor bowl game. As I said during the game threads, I don’t think our team is as mediocre as our 4-6 record indicates, just like we weren’t as good as that 10-2 record from the 2005-06 season. I think if we had either Pat Cowan or Ben Olson healthy for an entire season, I could see our team winning at least 3 games out of Arizona, Fresno State, Oregon, Cal and Oregon State. So, given all we have gone through this year with our injury and personnel issues, I am feeling all right with where we are at this point of this season:

Photo Credit:John Froschauer / Associated Press (via the LA Times)

So with the macro stuff out of the way, here are some the micro issues going through my mind this Sunday

Craft had a good start last night but after a solid first series he reverted back to some of the same habits that have plagued our team all season along. He threw three picks. The first one was not his fault as Dominique Johnson simply dropped a catchable pass. The other two were indefensible (one he threw into traffic trying to thread the needle, the other was a badly overthrown ball). He also gave up a sure TD when instead of running into the endzone, he inexplicably tried a shovel pass dumbfounding the entire Bruin Nation. There is not much to add to the Craft story at this point of the season. The kid is playing his heart out. He is being a warrior. But what is obvious to all of us is a best he is a below average QB. I don’ t think he is the worst QB in UCLA history because I don’t believe QBs like Brett Johnson, Rob Walker, Ryan Fien or Ryan McCann had the moxie and toughness Craft has shown this season. But at the same time Craft hasn’t done much to cement himself as the returning starter for next season.

Still if anyone is clamoring for Forcier, just consider the fact that even after the game was long over late in the fourth quarter, Forcier was nowhere to be seen. It is clear to me that Chow and Neuheisel have concluded based on his observations that Forcier is not a viable option as a UCLA QB. If that is their decision, I am going to defer to their experience as probably the best QB guru tandem in all of college football.

While the Craft is cemented as the starter at QB this season, the running back position is becoming intriguing. Derrick Coleman started last night. Per Dohn’s report he got the start because Bell was disciplined for being late into a team meeting:

"Kahlil was late for a meeting," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Bell, who has been bothered by a sprained ankle much of the season, carried 25 times and scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs. His plunge in the second quarter gave the Bruins a 14-7 lead, and his dive over the pile on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Bruins ahead 24-7.

"I think he's gradually getting better, and with another bye (next) week he may be getting fresher," Neuheisel said about Bell. "We'll probably nurse him more and see if we can get him even better for two weeks."

However, what got the Bruins' stagnant running game untracked was Coleman's performance on the first series. He carried four times on it, finishing with an 11-yard run around left end for UCLA's first opening drive touchdown of the season.

"Derrick Coleman came in and gave a huge spark to our offense," Bell said. "That set the tone for the game, especially controlling the line of scrimmage."

Everyone here knows, how much I love Coleman. I love his running style. He is a straight ahead North-South runner, who doesn’t dance around and waste time. He makes his decision fast and just pounds it. The energy and power he brought in that first drive was noticeable. I can only hope the coaches increase his carries even more in last two games. As for Bell, the kid is playing like a warrior. It’s obvious he doesn’t have the full power and menu of moves from last year. However, what was encouraging that he was getting stronger. It was great to see Carter make an appearance and he showed a burst of speed. But I guess I totally missed Aundre Dean’s 3 carries (for 9 yards) late in the fourth. So, you guys will have to fill me in on how he looked.

Hopefully our OL can generate the same kind of holes for our backs in our next game. Last night gave them a much needed confidence boost. Let’s hope they can maintain it.

As for our defense, it was mostly dominant:

With the running game, which averaged just 77.8 yards per game this season, in full swing, UCLA's defense was also dominant. The Bruins allowed a season-low 135 yards and tormented freshman Washington quarterback Ronnie Fouch -- a Redlands East Valley High graduate -- all night.

"We didn't scout them to blitz that much," Fouch said. "They blitzed a lot more than we thought they would."

Fouch was 7 for 22 for 39 yards and threw two interceptions and was sacked twice. Washington (0-10, 0-7) turned the ball over five times and averaged just 3.2 yards per carry against a UCLA defense that blitzed more than it had all season and looked like it had a different mind-set than it had of late.

"We went all four quarters," said safety Rahim Moore, who had an interception and a team-high six tackles. "That was the best defensive game we've played all year. We came out here and got a nice win and it feels really good."

Rahim Moore had a great game. As did Akeem Ayers. Ayers was simply a menace. He was the catalyst in two of Washington’s 5 turnovers while registering 2 sacks for a loss of 15 yards. He terrorized Fouch all night by repeatedly blowing through the Husky OL like a guided missile going straight after the QB. Given the way Ayers has emerged this year and the solid play from Carter and Sloan, the future at our LB is looking great.

In addition to those two ATV and Norris had great games. I can’t remember who it was on, but ATV put on a bone crushing hit on a Husky player that would have made Matt Darby proud.

My only two complaints re. the defense from last night was first, early on they looked a little tentative against the run. Also, I thought they folded a little too easy in giving up the TD when they were put in a short field after Craft’s pick. Still all in all a great effort and I hope they can replicate that for an entire game against Arizona State in about couple of weeks. It would have them peaking going into the biggest game of the season.

In terms of injuries and personnel issues, here are the notes from the LAT:

Quarterback Ben Olson, who is recovering from a broken foot, did not make the trip to Seattle. . . . Olson, who is recovering from a broken foot suffered in the summer, has been trying to get back onto the field before the season ends.

He took snaps in practice during the week but had to back off. Neuheisel said he did not travel with the team because he would not have been ready to play.

UCLA offensive lineman Darius Savage tore a ligament in his left ankle during the first half of Saturday night's game at Washington. Savage will require surgery.

The note re. Savage is a huge bummer, especially considering the great start our OL had last night. Here is to hoping a full and healthy recovery.Glicksberg took over for Savage last night.

As for Olson, I wonder where did the broadcasters last night got the info re. Olson being at the game last night.

Speaking of broadcasters, one side note. I am getting sick and tired of announcers bloviating about CRN and Craft’s sideline discussions. It is pointless and tiresome. Guess what guys? I like the fact that my head coach is coaching his heart out and showing passion and care for his players. That’s how CRN has coached QBs all his life and he has a track record to back him up. The announcers commenting on CRN’s sideline discussions with Craft is just about as tiresome about reading knee jerk, reactionary comments about wanting Forcier, beating a dead horse. It’s boring and pointless.

Lastly, speaking of CRN we will end this Sunday by closing the loop on Washington-Neuheisel-UCLA story line:

"Emotional," Neuheisel said in describing his Montlake return. "Pleasantly, there were a lot of friendly faces. There's a number of great people here at the University of Washington. Contrary to all the articles and stuff, my memories are mostly favorable. I understand the messy ending. I apologized for my role in it. I'm hoping we can put this behind us as both programs look to the future."

CRN didn't mention it ... we will ... that was his 70th win in his 9th year as a head coach in college football.

Washington drama is certainly behind us now and we can now look forward to Arizona State.

Enjoy a feel good Sunday.

GO BRUINS.

More Than Words

Nestor — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:21:39 -0000

Before getting into some of my specific impressions from yesterday’s thrilling win let’s quickly reset the big picture here a bit. We now have a record of 3-4 with a conference record of 2-2. Looking back at last 7 games, the loss that really hurts right now is the one against Fresno State. Given what we have now seen from Kevin Craft (more on his clutch second half below of course), I think we would have had a good shot at winning that game if we hadn’t turned the ball over in that last drive. If we had won that game we could have probably looked at a record of 4-3 (and if we had gotten lucky at Oregon) perhaps 5-2.

Given what we have been through in terms of injury situation that pretty much wiped away an entire starting offense from last spring, lack of experienced talent in our roster , what the coaches have done is nothing short of remarkable. I am still not sure whether we are going to get to a bowl game this season. My brain tells me it’s a tall order since every game for this team will be a challenge. But it’s obvious now that when CRN and his players and coaches talk about "relentless optimism" and not giving up on this season, we are hearing more than just words:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Time

So with that here are some thoughts from yesterday’s afternoon hear stopper. For today though, I will start with the portion from yesterday’s notes that are disconcerting before going on to the positive/inspiring moments from yesterday’s resilient win.

I will break up my negative notes in two sections. First, talking about personnel related issues then raising question about decisions (just for discussion’s sake).

So let's start with the personnel issues. Here is my question that I think is on lot of people’s mind: can we afford to stick with Kahlil Bell as our starting tailback?

Let’s first look at the numbers from yesterday: Bell had 28 yards in 11 carries (2.5 avg), while Coleman rushed for 20 yards in 4 carries (5.0 avg). For the season now Bell has rushed for 187 yards in 71 carries (2.6 avg) and 5 TDs. While Coleman to date has rushed for 191 yards in 32 carries (6.0 avg) and 1 TD.

In terms of number, right now I think it is pretty clear who has been the more productive back at least when it comes to sustaining drives and getting us into more manageable 2nd and 3rd down situations at a more consistent level. From what my eyes are seeing, it appears that Bell is playing injured. He still has the power to go straight up, but he is not as effective as he was before getting injured, when he tries to make his cuts. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the effort this kid is giving for this team and the leadership he brings to the table. But at the same time, I think we have to ask the question whether the coaches need to lessen his load a bit so that we can look at more productive options.

I think based on numbers at least it makes sense to increase the work load of Coleman a bit and also give Aundre Dean some good looks so that perhaps we can take advantage of the speed and power he brings to the table. Am I off here? One explanation I can think of about why Bell is getting more time is perhaps Chow and Palcic think he is a better option when it comes to providing Craft a little extra protection as he is more familiar with blocking schemes and in sync with our OL. They see the tapes lot more than I do and I will not question their eyes given their proven track record. However, I am still a little perplexed.

Staying on the theme of personnel issues, Bret Lockett was getting lit up against yesterday. I am sure you have seen the highlights Tele posted below and saw the block Gerhart made on the poor kid. Lockett at times looked helpless when it comes to providing help against the Stanford rushing attack. But Walker stayed with him yesterday:

After playing poorly last week at Oregon and nearly losing his job, Bruins senior strong safety Bret Lockett played so well Walker scrapped plans to use redshirt freshman Glenn Love to spell Lockett.

"It was probably the toughest week, this and the Tennessee week when I did not play (because of suspension)," Lockett said. "All the criticism and the people doubting me, but I just used it as motivation."

Lockett finished with three tackles and also forced a first-quarter fumble.

"I felt like he was playing well enough to where it was like, `OK, let's not break the rhythm,' because he's been ridiculed the whole season," Walker said. "For him to be having a little bit of success, in terms of doing his job, I thought that was important for his confidence."

I actually thought Walker had a good game scheme wise yesterday. Our tackling looked much better than it did against Oregon (and previous game) and he seemed to put our two monster DTs in best position to contain the Stanford running attack. Moreover, I think he deserves credit for the coverage our secondary provided the whole game, which completely shut down the Stanford passing game. Still that said, I would have love to see a little bit of Glenn Love at SS and see what the kid could do. It’s obvious Love can hit, as he showed in that hit during Stanford punt return leading to turnover. He is a physical player. I think it would be good to see him in there in the coming weeks and see what he can do. Again just my 2 cents because whenever I see an opposing TB bowling towards Lockett, I think I am not the only one with a lump in my throat.

Those are the two personnel issues that stick out to me for now. Now let’s get to one specific decision from yesterday’s game. Here was the sequence after UCLA had a 1st and goal on the Stanford 6 yard line towards the end of 3^rd leading to a Forbath FG:

1st and Goal at STAN 6: Chris Forcier rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Stanf 7.
2nd and Goal at STAN 7: Kevin Craft sacked for a loss of 3 yards to the Stanf 10.
3rd and Goal at STAN 10: Kevin Craft rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Stanf 11.

I will never question Chow’s over all game scheme just like I have never called out Coach Howland’s game schemes. Chow had no peer when it comes to devising schemes. None (at least in college football). But honestly just in this specific case, those three plays left me confused. Perhaps it showed he is merely human. :-) I would have loved to hear his explanation for those calls and find out what his thought process was behind those calls. I don’t write that to be snarky at all. I am genuinely curious behind what he was thinking.

So those were the negatives. Let’s pivot from the negatives to yesterday’s heroes and great storylines, and the perfect transition is this guy:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Uh yeah … count me in as one of those who got excited when Forcier was warming up on the sidelines. I have been supportive of Kevin Craft all season and I more than understand how at this point it is probably the best decision on RN and Chow’s part to stick with this kid. But at the same time while watching the first half, the question kept popping in my head: could Forcier be any worse?

After KC fumbled in the first half, I don’t think I was the only one somewhat excited in reading CRN’s lips saying something like, "that’s it. We are going with Forcier." From CRN in today’s DN:

"There was a point in the game where I did consider it, and sometimes it gets the better of me because I'm an old quarterback and an old quarterback coach," Neuheisel said. " It was probably a little irrational on my part, but the kid, God bless him, he responded. His resiliency is one of the reasons why we're standing here with a victory. Norm calmed me down."

Two things here. First, and 66 already noted this in his as usual brilliant observations, note how CRN had no problem checking his ego and deferring to Chow. For those who have been involved in leadership positions or observing effective executive decisions, that is pretty much perfect example of how an effective CiC takes in the feedback of his trusted advisors and has the instincts to overrule himself after careful insta-analysis. That’s good stuff. Second, going back to Chow, given how KC has his trust, I think rest of Bruin Nation should have the same faith in this kid who is doing as much as he can within his athletic ability to listen to his coaches.

The last play Craft made up was a scrambling throw to backup tight end Cory Harkey, a freshman who has had a bum ankle.

It came with 10 seconds left, it was for a seven-yard touchdown, and Chow said that if Craft hadn't trusted his instincts he might have settled for a receiver who was open on the one- or two-yard line.

"The initial read Kevin wasn't real patient with," Chow said. "The initial read would have gotten us four or five yards, and we needed seven. Kevin scrambled around and made that play. If he would always trust that instinct, he's a really good player."

And it’s not just Chow, who are believing in the Bruin QB:

"He's clutch," UCLA offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani said. "I really believe he's a clutch player. When it comes down to it and it's on the line, he's going to make plays. I love blocking for him."

Craft, the son of former San Diego State coach Tom Craft, could spend the game ripping his offensive linemen for ridiculously poor protection - they allowed seven sacks against Stanford - but he doesn't.

After a roughing-the-passer penalty, lineman Jeff Baca tried to help Craft up and make sure he was OK, and Craft flung his arm away.

Craft can take a hit and bounce back on his own.

What was even more impressive was how Craft handled himself after the game. Instead of being over exuberant, he was ice cold, composed and talked about how he needs to address all the issues from first half. To me that was even more impressive on how didn’t lose perspective despite the great win.

Speaking of instincts perhaps the coaches should think about getting Craft and co in the "hurry up" no-huddle mode all game? The results kind of speak for themselves. No?

In addition to Craft’s clutch turnaround there were other heroes in our offense. From the LA Times:

UCLA wide receiver Nelson Rosario, a freshman from Oceanside who has been slowed by a sore knee, had a career-high four catches for 71 yards. One catch came over the middle where he was unfazed by the hard tackle that came immediately, and another came during UCLA's game-winning touchdown drive.

"It feels so great," Rosario said. "I think I'll get more chances as I'm healthy, and when I make catches the quarterback will have more faith in me."

Another freshman, Taylor Embree, was on the receiving end of a 43-yard pass from Craft in the third quarter -- UCLA's longest gain on a pass play this season.

In addition to Rosario and Embree, huge props go out Terrence Austin. Austin was nothing short of a warrior, leading the team with 5 receptions (for 50 yards) and catching that huge TD of Craft’s shovel pass. There was also Chane Moline’s clutch run in that last drive when he rumbled up for 17 yards on 3rd and 1. Ryan Moya also came up big with not only a huge catch, but also to have the smart instinct to run up and hustle towards the sideline to save time on the clock.

Going back to game winning touchdown the LA Times has some interesting quotes from Micah Reed on what went on in the huddle:

"I told those guys, this was a moment we could look back on down the line," Reed said.

If hindsight is 20-20, Reed's foresight turned out to be 23-20 -- the numbers favoring UCLA on the scoreboard at the end.

Craft scrambled to his right and flipped a pass to Cory Harkey, who was in the back of the end zone.

"Micah told us," guard Scott Glicksberg said. "This was a chance to move forward as a team. This makes it easier to believe in what we're doing and keep doing it."

Reggie Carter had this to say about the same play:

"I had a few tears," UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter said. "After the offense scored that touchdown, my eyes watered up. You get emotional. It's hard to hold all that emotion in. Winning is fun."

I know I am probably not covering number of other details from yesterday’s game (i.e. we still need to see better coverage from our special teams) … but I can’t think of any better way to end on that note for this Sunday, before starting to focus on what will be an incredibly difficult and challenging game next weekend.

I like this team … a lot. They are making football fun (despite the frustrations we experience as fans), which I haven’t had following UCLA football since Cade left Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

Right Direction

Nestor — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:36:05 -0000

Let’s do a quick reset before getting to extended thoughts on last night’s game. Let’s take a count on what CRN and Norm Chow were working with in one of the toughest venues in college football against one of the more talented teams in the west coast:

A 3rd string JUCO transfer (playing his first year under Chow and CRN)
A hobbled starting tailback and a true freshman in Derrick Coleman
A backup fullback (Theriot out for the season)
Backup TEs (as we lost our starting TE, one of the only players on the offensive side of the ball with experience and NFL potential in first game of the season)
Backup WRs (without our senior WR who went down in the first game of the season and TA who we lost during crunch time)
4 different starters at OL from last spring (after losing three of our most talented starters - Lanis, Sheller and Kia - to an array of injuries ranging from career/season ending to nagging kind impacting effectiveness)

Basically in a sense we were fielding what might have been a scout team from this year's spring ball. And yet after all that the Bruins gave us a game, in which our hearts were beating almost to the closing mins against a team that was favored to win by almost three touchdowns on the road? So does anyone still in their right mind want to call that performance Dorrellian?

So with that out of the way, here are some thoughts on certain aspects from last night’s game. From my jotted down notes from 2 am stream of consciousness (writing down on post-its before going to sleep):

Playing to win: I have absolutely no problem with the call re. that onside kick. I find all the second guessing and Sunday morning quarterbacking of a head coach’s willingness to go for the win, after being subjected to years of timid and playing not to lose mentality that have driven us over the wall here on BN. At least here on BN we are going to appreciate a coach being fearless and going for the win. We are going to appreciate a head showing complete faith on his entire team (including on a defense which might be finding it’s away) in the most crucial moments of the game.

I haven’t seen any specific data points re. success rates on onside kicks. The only statistics I was able to look up this am was from the wiki entry pointing the 2004 success rates in the NFL which was around 24 percent. That is not very high. But it is probably not a reach to assume that success rate is a bit higher when it on side kick comes in a situation when the opposing coaches are least expecting it (would love to see some data points on that).

[UPDATE] silverlakebruin with a solid find re data points re success rates of surprise onside kick:

[T]he success rate of a surprise onside kick, one that happens prior to the fourth quarter, is 71 percent from 1997 through 2006.

Well that certainly gives support to CRN's decision.

Also, couple of more factors to consider in what kind of risk/rewards analysis CRN might have done to make that decision. Until that point of the game (except for that last drive to end the first half and Masoli’s early success in the first quarter), UCLA’s defense was adjusting pretty well. They were throttling the passing attack. I don’t think it was unreasonable for CRN to assume that even if we didn’t recover the onside kick, our defense would be able to contain Oregon’s offense to a 3 point FG (which they did after Craft’s interception resulting from TA’s scary injury). Another factor to consider, given how we have been unable to kick it deep all season routinely giving up great field position, giving up good field possession on a surprise onside kick, wasn’t really the end of the world.

In any event, it didn’t work out due to a bad call (although the bad calls evened out in another badly officiated Pac-10 game). But I am not going to second guess CRN’s decision to be aggressive and play to win by showing his faith in his young team. I love that kind of aggression and eventually balls are going to bounce our way in the coming years. This is what makes football fun.

Sticking with Craft: Speaking of second guessing, after sleeping on it, I am not finding a lot of reason to clamor for a QB change. CRN and Chow are working with what they have right now in Kevin Craft. KC to this point of the season has completed 59 percent of his passes for 1233 yards with 5 TDs and 6 picks. Yes, he had a lot of Vinney Testeverde moments from his Tampa Bay days last night. Yes, we were holding our breath at times when he was throwing it underneath. But we have to ride this out with him (even if he can’t throw deep). The cold fact is that despite being at UCLA for one extra year and having full opportunity to compete for this job since last spring, Chris Forcier hasn’t been able to charge up the depth chart (at times falling behind true freshman Kevin Prince).

Also, I can’t fault the coaches for not wanting to burn up Prince’s redshirt season unless they are totally desperate. Even with Craft’s at times erratic throws, we have been hanging in there except for one and half football games (BYU and late second half against Zona) this season. I don’t mind that all too much.

Moreover, think out loud a little bit before getting frustrated over Craft not being able to go deep last night. The Ducks’ defensive frontline was at times pile driving our OL with a 3 men rush. Jake Dean (who is giving it all he has at center) was getting driven into the turf. Baca was getting terrorized (not too surprisingly) by all Pac-10 DE like Nick Reed. It’s not like Craft had time to settle down and pick apart the Duck’s defense. He got sacked 6 times and hurried countless others. So considering the circumstances, I think he did what he could and at this point, I am going to put my complete faith in the combination of Neuheisel and Chow in their managing of Craft and UCLA’s QB position until it gets settled in next couple of years.

Clock Management at the end of the second quarter: So that brings me to the issue of clock management particularly concerning our second to last possession at the end of the first half. Here is how it went with 1:08 left in the first half and UCLA down 0-7 courtesy of WWL’s playchart:

1st and 10 at UCLA 11Derrick Coleman rush for no gain to the UCLA 11.
2nd and 10 at UCLA 11Timeout OREGON, clock 01:08.
2nd and 10 at UCLA 11Kevin Craft pass incomplete to Taylor Embree.
3rd and 10 at UCLA 11Kevin Craft rush for 1 yard to the UCLA 12.
4th and 9 at UCLA 12Timeout OREGON, clock 00:50.
4th and 9 at UCLA 12Aaron Perez punt for 40 yards out-of-bounds.
DRIVE TOTALS: UCLA drive: 3 plays 1 yards, 00:24 UCLA PUNT

I think the key here was the play on 2nd and 10.

IIRC (haven’t reviewed the tape) KC rolled out to his right and had a little bit of real estate to gain perhaps 3-5 yards. Instead he rolled it and flinged it for an incomplete pass. I think that is where it went wrong. If KC had just tucked it in (similar to a decision he didn’t make against Zona and couple of other occasions last night) and gained 3-5 yards using his feet in that play, he would have made the situation much more manageable on 3rd down. I understand even if he ran, Oregon would have taken a time out, but it still would have made the situation manageable. And I think the roll out is designed to give him the option to make the decision between going up for positive yardage and completing to an open receiver. He made the wrong call in that split second. It happens for a first year QB (Cade made lot more bonehead mistakes in his first two season, not just his first season). But those play calls by no means were bad clock management on the part of UCLA’s coaching staff.

Running back rotation: I think this is where we have some rooms for raising questions re. personnel decisions. No doubt Kahlil Bell is a warrior. The kid is giving everything he has out there but at some point the coaches need to ask the question whether it would be more productive to go with Coleman and even Dean. The only explanation I can think of coaches not trying out Dean as much is probably because he is still learning to pick up blitzes (which right now is essential given the precarious state of protection our QB is getting from the OL). Kevin and his OL need all the help they can get and if that means going with the experience of Bell (despite being wobbly) or Coleman (due to his size) over Dean, that is understandable. But in terms of getting reps, I wouldn’t mind if I see more of Coleman over Bell.

The kid runs with aggression:

Photo Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer / US Presswire (via the LA Times)

Also Moline is really coming into his own at FB and at least to this 49er fan bringing up fond memories of Tom Rathman.

Defensive adjustments: The final score doesn’t show it. The rushing totals for Oregon is cringe worthy. Still, I thought Walker coached one of his better games as UCLA DC last night. I was very impressed with the way our defense adjusted after getting stomped early on by Masoli’s read option play. Ayers finally had his much anticipated coming out party as a starter. I love this kid’s game and I think the way Walker has slowly worked him into the starting rotation is a very encouraging sign.

The question remains around the issue of tackling. Brett Lockett once again had a glaringly tough night (no hiding from the highlights on what Masoli did to him). But what can Walker really do? Replace him with Ware who was not all that effective against Tennessee? There is not a lot of options he has right now except to burn the red shirt years of E.J. Woods or try out someone like Love. But I rather have those kids red shirt and get physically ready for next season, instead of exposing them to D-1 speed and ferocity as a true freshman. Ask any Washington fans about how Willingham has ravaged his depth chart by burning through his freshmen’s redshirt seasons. Again, I don’t really have any answers here except for hoping that somehow Lockett will be able to get it together rest of this season.

Still, give all the adversity this team has gone through (outlined at the very top of this post), I am feeling pretty good about where we are as a team. After the massacre in Provo, I am seeing unmistakable progression on both sides of the ball from game to game. The game to game improvement will still likely not result in a winning season, but now more than ever I am confident we are headed towards the right direction.

Now the challenge remains is to build on the positives. One of the more encouraging aspects from last night’s game was Watson’s sideliner report that the offense was upset even after scoring the final TD to make the game close in the waning mins. I like the fact that the team wasn’t smiling or hamming it up after a moral victory, instead showing the same kind of angst and frustration we kept seeing in the faces of AA and JF in their first season at UCLA. This is going to take a long time but now after few weeks, the signs are there that this team is taking one positive steps after another. Hopefully they will have a chance to take another a big one by flipping the scoreboard in our favor next Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Dealing With Reality: Bouncing Back With Basics

Nestor — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:06:44 -0000

So where to pick up the day after?

All off season we had been mentally preparing ourselves for a very tough season during Rick Neuheisel’s first year at UCLA. There were a number of outsiders who mocked those pre-season projections asserting that somehow we were low balling the expectations game to protect a first year coach. What we saw yesterday was a realization of all the warning signs we flashed this off season based on our thorough analysis of our entire roster. Sure the jolt of 0-59 was beyond jarring:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

However, the kind of low we are all collectively experiencing this morning, shouldn’t have been a surprise to any knowledgeable Bruin football fan who has been following this program on a day to day basis for last few years. This was coming and there wasn’t much even the best coaching combination in the country could do about it.

The victory against Tennessee was magical. No doubt. But there was a reason we posted this warning sign moments after that missed Volunteer OT kick at the Rose Bowl (emphasis added):

Tonight is just a start. We are experiencing the kind of high we haven't experienced since 13-9. We know there are tough times ahead. We are going to experience our share of adversity. It is going to happen.

So it has happened. Within 2 weeks, the reality around UCLA football has brought everyone back crashing to earth. The question is how everyone is going to react?

Well, a good place to start would be not to get into any kind of blame game and recognize the reality that right now we don’t have the horses to compete at an elite level. Please note that when I make that assertion it’s not meant to be an attack on any of our players in the team. I have no doubt these kids are doing everything they can and will do everything they can to help the new regime build a foundation for the long term future of this program. But that doesn’t preclude us from making the observation that right now we don’t have the talent and experience to compete at the top level of the Pac-10 conference or even the MWC.

Let’s take our defense for example. Over here we have been critical and difficult on DeWayne Walker and have raised questions about his ability to scheme against the spread offense. Yet, today I am not sure it would be wise to single him out for failing to properly scheme against BYU’s lethal passing attack. Let’s go back to the discussion we had on stopping spread type of offense before the Tennessee game:

The most effective way to stop spread offense is to have speedy defenders who can offset any mismatches spread OCs try to create with their skill position players. So what can a DC like Walker do to spread the effective passing attack of Max Hall? He can compete when he can field a defense with speedy LBs and a fast and athletic defensive secondary. Does he have that? Well again just look through our roster. Walker is working with 3 new starters in his defensive backfield and his experience safety Lockett was getting in his first action of the season. At LB with all due respect to Bosworth and Hale (who are playing their hearts out), Walker has a blue chipper in Reggie Carter who is playing a new position at Mike, replacing the experience and brain of last two year’s unit in Christian Taylor.

I guess the question here could be is why did our DBs give Cougars receivers so much cushion? From Dohn:

Collie matched a career-high with 10 receptions - all in the first half - and scored two touchdowns as quarterback Max Hall picked apart UCLA's secondary, Verner in particular, en route to No. 18 BYU's 59-0 thrashing of the Bruins on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"It was a shocker," Walker said. "We've got to get (Verner) going. I'm just as shocked as you guys. I thought he could handle (Collie).

"That was our whole game plan going in, and it didn't work out that way."

Walker said he did not want Verner to give Collie much of a cushion at the line of scrimmage, but time and again Verner lined up 10 yards off the line of scrimmage.

It allowed Hall to constantly complete short passes to Collie, and kept UCLA's defensive line and blitzing linebackers from pressuring Hall. He finished 27 of 35 for 271 yards and seven touchdowns, and was a big reason the Cougars were 13 of 17 converting third downs.

"I played off too much," Verner said. "They were doing short routes most of the game, taking 5- or 6- or 8-yard gains all day. I played too far off him and gave him too much room to make catches. That type of guy you have to get up and try to take their space away and make them go over the top on you.

"I didn't do that in the beginning, and I tried to change it up at the end."

I think the fact that our best cover corner felt like he had to give Austin Collie a cushion to effectively cover him tells us all we need to know about the talent level in our defense. This is the kind of reality that might not be pleasant for fan but this is where we are after what has transpired in the recruiting front over last five years. I know we have lot of youngsters who came in this last recruiting class. But football is not basketball where kids can just come in and take over. There are some exceptions but it generally takes 2-3 years for a high school kid to get comfortable in the college game.

The obvious difference in this year’s matchup with Cougars from last year was the absence of Bruce Davis. Davis was a terror who brought the heat on Hall from the outside. There was only so much the combination of Harwell and Price could do. They tried to push from the inside, but the BYU OL was able to neutralize them given the fact that we were not getting any pressure from our DEs and backers. As a result, Hall had enough time in the pocket to write up terms papers and slice up the UCLA secondary. And when Unga was getting outside he was simply bulldozing over our ends and LBers. They were undersized and overmatched.

There was not much Walker could do. Could he have gone for broke time and again by bringing in LB and safety blitzes? I am honestly not sure if that would have worked because as mentioned above he doesn’t have seniors like Davis, Horton or Keyes in the roster. Only thing he can do right now is to try to get back with his players and get them to refocus on the fundamentals for next weekend at the Rose Bowl.

Now let’s shift our attention towards the offense. Again there is not much either Neuheisel or Chow could do yesterday. If you go through the game, I am not sure how much second guessing we can do about their play calling. If anything, they actually tried to be aggressive. They head faked the BYU coaches into taking a TO, when they showed as if they were going for it on 4^th and 1 in our first drive. They mixed in good calls on first downs. Loved those quick outs and bubble screens to WRs on first downs that worked like running play.

But all that didn’t hide the stone cold reality about our OL, which once again generated only 16 yards in 9 carries (See box score). I have always liked the effort the Chane Train gives out there. But he is not really an every down back. We didn’t have Bell out there and Carter got dinged up early on. My main reservation from yesterday was that I wish our coaches had tried out Dean or Franklin out there early. My understanding is that Dean was out there for 1 carry and got hurt (update below). I think it would be good for coaches to get these kids out there lot more (if Dean is healthy) next week and just give them their chances. Because they need something.

As for Craft, again this is a kid who is giving everything they have. He did missed couple of easy passes. But his production was decent (23 for 39, 240 yards, 1 pick). He did what he could to move the chains. Then again we saw the extent of his athleticism when his hailmary pass at the end of the first half fell more than 20 yards short of the end zone. Once again, it’s telling about the talent level of our program when our best QB prospect (including the current kids on the roster) is probably a helicopter ride away from Westwood.

What happened yesterday was a total implosion that’s a result of a decade long roster and recruiting mismanagement in this football program. And the problems on both offense and defense metastasized and spilled over into every facets of the team which we saw in the repeated breakdown of special teams. As painful and dispiriting as it is, there is not much we can do about it.

We already posted CRN’s message re. adversity. As T pointed he has standing when he talks about dealing with adversity given what he has gone through last few years. There is no one better in terms of offering to lead by his own example. He also had this to say about yesterday’s loss:

"We have to get better, and that's across the board," Neuheisel said. "All of us have to get better. This loss is pinned on every one of us. The bottom line is what do we do to fix it?"

I think in terms of fixing the problems, as alluded it will probably start with going back to basics on defense. Same goes for both offense and the special teams. I imagine coaches are going to be working on with basic drills of holding on to the ball. CRN had to say this about our offense:

"Our game is always going to be the same; we're going to have to stay on the field, keep our defense off of it,'' Neuheisel said. "We could not do that. We left our defense out there far too long, and BYU was methodical.''

And that plan falls apart when the offense keeps turning the ball over. For the long term issues silverlakebruin nailed it:

The Key now is to get the troops rallied, play with pride the next 10 games, hope for a .500 season, and one more thing::

ITS ALL ABOUT RECRUITING… CRN MUST HAVE STELLAR RECRUITING THE NEXT TWO SEASONS

Then we will be in a position to be excellent in 2010.

As for injuries here was the update from Don following the game:

Center Micah Reed injured the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, and it appears he will not be ready for next week against Arizona.
Linebacker Kyle Bosworth injured the MCL in his left knee, and was pulled from the game so not to injure it more.
Running back Raymond Carter has a bruised knee, but said he didn't believe it was serious.
All three will have MRIs Monday or Tuesday.
Running back Aundre Dean sprained his ankle on his only carry and defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski suffered a strained neck. Not sure on either's status for next week until the next few days.

I haven’t seen any updates yet. If you see it, please post it in the comments on the fan shots.

Right now ... we don't need outsider's "pity" or calls for "gut check" who in their cursory interest in writing about our program never really cared to deal with with facts and failed to recognize what our program has gone through this past decade. Let the MSM types cackle all they want. We need to stick together with this team and with each other.

So, I will reiterate what I wrote last night. We saw this play out in Howland’s first couple of years again, again, and again. Under the best coach in college hoops, kids with UCLA stitched in front of their jerseys were getting humiliated at Pauley and on the road in blowout losses to Arizona, Notre Dame, St. Johns and on and on. In fact Howland’s best moment his first season was a close loss against Tubby Smith’s Kentucky team in Anaheim. I remember those days clearly because it makes the taste of success we have experience last three years that much sweeter. Especially sweet for those of us who stay with the team for the entire ride.

So chin up … take a deep breath.

GO BRUINS.