SB Nation - Raymond Carter

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.

Roundup From BN Walk: New Commitment For UCLA, Another Football Preview & Other Notes

Nestor — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:39:42 -0000

Let's start the Thursday with some good news from the football front. Looks like Neuheisel picked up another solid recruit securing a commitment from former Birmingham Senior HS grad Marquis Johnson, who is one of the best JUCO DEs in the country. Brian Dohn reports on the committment (HT muircoach):

"It was humbling. It was different," the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Jackson said of the junior college experience. "Although I was a good athlete, it was not just like I was going to go somewhere based on my talent. I had to take care of academics.

"Once I got dropped by Fresno State, things started changing. I wasn't ready to give up. Once I knew in high school I wasn't going anywhere, I had to get on my game."

Jackson and his mother, Robin, met with UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and defensive line coach Todd Howard on Wednesday and committed.

His twin brother, Malik, plays at USC.

"It's time for us to separate," Marquis Jackson said. "We've been together for 18 years. I think it's a good time to separate. When I first started getting offers, I had no idea where I was going to go. I need to be in California. It's the best place for me. It's home. UCLA came out to be the best option."

As always, we have to see how this all pans out because of our recent history of JUCO commits who weren't able to fulful their academic obligations. Per Dohn Jackson still has "coursework to complete" as he plans to enroll at UCLA for 2010's winter quarter. So good luck to him both off and on the field this fall.

As mentioned above he was a standout at Birmingham High School (also attended by current Bruins such as Milton Knox and Donovan Carter). Here are some highlights from his high school days:

Marquis Jackson (via noseguard59)

He sure looks like a beast and probably explains why he had offers as JUCO recruit from schools such as LSU, ASU, Oregon and others. Anyways, it's key committment given DL is such a huge area of need for the football program. You can see our full committment list here. Roundup down the BN walk continues after the jump ...

Of course UCLA recruiting will be impacted by the kind of season we are going to have on the field this coming year. We have maintained that if Bruins are able to show tangible improvement (record wise) from this past season and show that they are moving in the right direction, recruiting will get even better. Overwhelming majority of the previews we have seen this season have essential set the expectations line around 6 or 7 wins and I think that is just about right. Jake from Oregon State's Building The Dam just wrote up his UCLA season preview this week that hits many of the themes we have been discussing on BN this off season. It will all come down to our OL:

As discussed above, the offensive line is the major area of concern for the Bruins this season, but a lot of players have been able to gain valuable experience. Will they be able to put it to use? Sophomore left guard Jeff Baca, sophomore senior Kia Maiava, and junior left tackle Sean Sheller are the leaders of the group. If the offensive line can be somewhat successful, the Bruins will be able to move the ball easier, which means less reps for the defense, which could go a long way to getting UCLA back to the .500 mark.

That is exactly right. Jake does need to however, update the details re. our RB situation. Jake observes:

The success of the rushing game will have a lot to do with how the offensive line fares. Kahlil Bell is gone, but sophomore Derrick Coleman and fullback Chane Moline return. Coleman averaged just under 30 yards per game last season, and Moline checked in at just under 10 yards per game. Sophomore Raymond Carter, who appeared in seven games last season, figures to also be in the mix.

Of course from what we have heard it will be Christian Ramirez who will most likely come in as the number 1 starter at the RB spot this fall. Coleman will be the number 2 guy at this snap shot of time with Jonathan Franklin (who apparently has shown a lot of promise at Spaulding) at number 3. Carter has transferred out this off seaosn. I am sure Moline will be in the mix as a seasoned veteran and we can't forget about Milton Knox who could break out this August. But for now Ramirez, Coleman and Franklin are going to be the guys getting their shots. Rest of Jake's preview is a solid read, which you should do so by heading over to BTD.

Elswhere, on the Ben Ball front KL has been playing hoops at the UCLA mens gym. His former head coach really appreciates it:

Kevin Love is playing pickup with our current players this week. He likes our young guys. It's good to have him around- such a smart player.

Well I know if I was taking summer classes in Westwood, I'd stop by to see those outlet passes flying towards ML and JA (assuming they are also playing with KL and the gang). That would beat watching the replay of old football games currently on Fox Sports West during this dead off season.

Lastly, UCLA's What's Bruin Blog has a cool update on former baseball alum Tim Murphy putting together dominating performances in the minor leagues. For a full list of former UCLA ballplayers in the minor leagues go here. Late this afternoon rye will continue with his analysis/reflections from his recent meeting with Savage. Today he is going to tackle the facility related questions and concerns about UCLA baseball. So stay tuned.

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.

Spaulding Roundup: Another Recruit Commits & Transfer Notes

Nestor — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:42:25 -0000

Some quick football related news and notes from the football front. Looks like Rick Neuheisel has picked up his second commitment in this recruiting season:

Fresno (Calif.) Edison defensive back Tevin McDonald verbally committed to UCLA on Thursday, just days after receiving a scholarship offer from the Bruins as a result of a very good performance at UCLA's One-Day Camp.

Go here to read up the scouting report on Tevin. Here is the thing. McDonald has Trojan bloodlines. His Dad Tim McDonald was an All American at U$C*.

The McDonald family from Fresno is going to have an interesting time during the UCLA-USC football game in 2010 now that cornerback Tevin McDonald from Fresno Edison has committed to the Bruins. His older brother, T.J., will be a freshman defensive back at USC this fall. And his father is former Trojan Tim McDonald.

"It is crazy that I am the only Bruin in the family and I was the last boy, but that's how it has to be and I'm ready to take that challenge in," Tevin McDonald tolds Rivals.com.

He was a great defensive back for the Niners that played a huge part in the 1995 Super Bowl championship season. Perhaps it's appropriate. The two Trojans I have ever rooted for - Lott and McDonald - they both will have sons going to UCLA (although Tevin's older brother TJ signed with U$C* this February.

Edison is turning out to be a pretty good pipeline for UCLA. Currently we have Courtney Viney on the team who is an Edison alum. Also the school sent players like Ricky Manning and Brandon Breazell to the program. Not bad. So once again welcome to Westwood Tevin.

Meanwhile, while we are excited about Tevin join the Bruin family, other players who have made decisions to transfer out this off season are finding places to land. Raymond Carter is headed over to Colorado State and Dominque Johnson is headed over to Cal Poly SLO. Per Dominque he transferred primarily for family reasons:

Former UCLA receiver Dominique Johnson, who is from Moreno Valley, said family issues were the driving force behind his transfer to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His family will re-locate to the SLO area.
If there wasn't such issues?
"I think there was a strong possibility I would have stayed,'' Johnson said.

Best of luck to both of them. Lastly, speaking of transfer note the Brandon Warner saga continues to remain bizarre. He is apparently now heading to New Mexico State and said the following to Dohn:

"I am going to head to New Mexico State,'' Warner said. "Right now, me and UCLA were having problems. I am on my way to call (Bruins coach Rick) Neuheisel today."
As a side note, Warner said he is fully qualified, meaning he would be eligible to play at UCLA.

(Editor's note: Sources told me that Warner was told if he received his A.A. degree and was NCAA qualified, UCLA's admissions said they would admit him to school.)

I am sorry but there just way too many gaps in Brandon's story. I just don't think we can really go by with his statements suddenly turning on UCLA after all these weeks of saying how committed he was to joining the program. Given what we have seen from Neuheisel to date, it would be laugable for anyone to claim that he wasn't attentive to any concerns he might have presented before. One thing we have seen from Neuhisel that is pretty clear from last two years: he pays attention to all details when it comes to recruiting. I find it amusing that it took him months to get this transcript situation all figured out for UCLA, yet it took him just days to get all signed up with New Mexico State.

Something is really missing from this story and I am not going to go with the version we are hearing from Warner. Whatever. Time to move. Wish him luck in New Mexico. For us, we have a football program that needs to be focused on rebuilding brick by brick, and less drama there is around it, the better.

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.

First Look At Fresno State's "Mere Tuneup"

Nestor — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:00:06 -0000

No matter how many Fresno State fans drive down the I-5 this weekend, the game is setting up as Bruins being huge underdogs in their own home stadium. The ESPN game preview is in fact calling it nothing more than a “mere tuneup” for Fresno State:

When Fresno State scheduled a road game against UCLA, the Bulldogs and coach Pat Hill probably didn't figure it would look like a mere tuneup heading into the WAC season.

If UCLA plays anything like it did for the last two games, it would be hard to imagine any other outcome.

There is not much we can say in response given how our team has performed in last two games. And it doesn’t seem to far off the mark from our off season projection when we marked this game as a “tossup” writing that “the prospects for the Bruins in this game depends on how the offense is performing under Olson or Craft or Forcier with a brand new OL.” Well the results from last two weekends are not too encouraging to say the least. So Craft and his team-mates are going to have their hands full against a team that will be looking to make some kind of statement with their first ever victory against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

Fresno State is coming into the game after a thrilling 55-54 double OT win against Toledo in which Toledo gambled and lost. Toledo went for two rather than kick the extra point following their TD. Toledo offense rolled up 598 yards of balanced offense with 297 yards coming via their ground attack.

As mentioned earlier today Fresno is also coming into this game missing two of their best DL. So the game presents an opportunity for the Bruin OL to build upon its improved performance against Arizona, particularly if we get Ray Cater back in full speed and have Bell available for action.

We don’t need to go over our offensive statistics since we have been barraged with all the gory statistics from last two weeks. As for Fresno State here are few numbers that kind of jumped out to me:

FSU opponents have been averaging 4.68 yards per rushing attempts (557 yards in 119 attempts
FSU’s passing defense has been pretty decent holding opposing QBs to a very average 52.7 percent completion rate

FSU’s defense is headlined by their MLB Brandon Jacobs. From Kevin Pearson’s notes at PE.com:

BEN JACOBS (6-3, 240, So.): The Bulldogs middle linebacker, Jacobs leads the team with 28 tackles, including three for a loss. He has also recovered a fumble and blocked a kick this season.

The numbers highlighted above indicate that FSU has a solid secondary. That was the assessment in this preview by Rivals.com before the season:

STRONGEST AREA: The secondary returns cornerback Damion Owens, strong safety Moses Harris and free safety Marvin Haynes from a team that ranked third in the WAC in pass-efficiency defense, though Haynes still must beat out senior Jake Jorde to keep his starting job. Owens, Harris and Haynes have two years of starting experience each. The only hole is at the second cornerback spot, where standout kick returner A.J. Jefferson gets first dibs at replacing departed three-year starter Damon Jenkins.

We have talked all week about how the pressure is on Craft to produce this weekend. Hopefully the return of Bell and Carter will give him a decent ground game to work with this week. The key for Craft and UCLA’s offense will be gain 4-5 yards in first down so that they can get themselves in manageable 2nd and 3rd situations. Otherwise, if the offense gets itself into 3rd and long often, it will be another long afternoon at the Rose Bowl.

Meanwhile, on offense here are the key players per Pearson’s notes:

QB TOM BRANDSTATER (6-5, 225, Sr.): Brandstater is a highly regarded NFL prospect who is among the best quarterbacks the Bruins will see this season. He is big and smart, throwing for five touchdowns and one interception this season. He is averaging 224 passing yards per game.

TE BEAR PASCOE (6-5, 260, Sr.): Pascoe is likely one of the best tight ends UCLA will see this year. He leads the team with 11 receptions and is an adept blocker and will certainly create some tough matchups for the Bruins.

In addition to those two tailback Ryan Matthews is having a decent start to the season. He has rushed for 304 yards in 61 carries averaging 5 yards per carry (3TDs). More from Rival.com’s season preview, which once again headlines Pascoe:

STAR POWER: How good a tight end is senior Bear Pascoe? Ask Texas A&M. Pascoe scored three touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 47-45 triple-overtime loss to the Aggies last season. Pascoe finished with 45 catches for 553 yards and four touchdowns. He could emerge as one of the nation's top tight ends this season.

IMPACT NEWCOMER: Fresno State has so much experience on offense that it will be tough for any first-year guy to get much playing time, but the Bulldogs' leading scorer still could end up being a redshirt freshman. We're referring to Kevin Goessling, the favorite to win the kicking job.

IT'S HIS TIME: Wide receiver Chastin West was one of Fresno State's most promising underclassmen after catching 33 passes for 365 yards as a freshman two years ago, but he missed 2007 with an injured left knee. If West can stay healthy for an entire season, he has star potential.

STRONGEST AREA: Fresno State was 14th in the nation in rushing offense and capped the season by running for 286 yards in the Humanitarian Bowl against a highly regarded Georgia Tech defense. And the Bulldogs delivered that big performance against the Yellow Jackets without leading rusher Ryan Mathews, who finished the season with 866 yards and 14 touchdowns. Mathews, Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding are back after combining for 1,878 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. They will be running behind a veteran line that features left tackle Bobby Lepori, right guard Andrew Jackson and right tackle Kenny Avon.

WEAKEST AREA: Although Fresno State's line boasts plenty of experience, the departure of Ryan Wendell leaves a big hole at center. The Bulldogs are counting on senior Adam McDowell or sophomore Joe Bernardi to fill the void. This offense doesn't have many weaknesses, but the situation at center does offer cause for concern.

It will be interesting to see how the defense stacks up against Pascoe given the success Gronkowski and Pitta enjoyed against us last two weekends. One thing that could potentially help Walker is that Fresno State runs more of a traditional pro set offense and their QB doesn’t have the same mobility as Tuitatama.

Another data point that stuck out to me re. Fresno St

Once they get into the red zone they are deadly (91.67%) while their opponents convert 76.92% of red zone opportunities.

The obvious challenge for next weekend is for UCLA to play a mistake free football game and play solid special teams. We can’t afford to give FSU’s offense short field like we did to Arizona time after time last weekend. You can check out more numbers on Fresno State here and here.

Obviously we will have post more notes on FSU next couple of days. Meanwhile, we would love to hear your thoughts on how the Bruins can pull of this upset in this “tuneup” game for Fresno State.

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.