SB Nation - Steve Sloan

Moving Forward: Bruins Need One More Win (And Focus On Arizona State)

Nestor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:36:07 -0000

about 1 month ago: UCLA tailback Derick Coleman (33) runs the ball as Washington State linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, right, defends during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. UCLA won 43-7. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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I know lot of us are dying to think about that last regular game of the season (especially after what transpired yesterday) but this is not the time for any of us to look ahead. It looks like we did have a good reason to feel slightly better after that fourth quarter against Oregon State, when we got the sense that it was time to rally around our Bruins. Well something is clearly working right now and it feels good.

Yes, last night's blowout win was only against lowly Washington State. We could have looked lot better than we did against Paul Wulff's demoralized bunch. Yet, I still think there is something little encouraging about that performance because it was one of those games we have seen UCLA football team either choke away or make it unnecessarily hard on themselves to win over the years. We now hope our team can keep it going by locking in on the next opponent which is capable of ruining senior day at the Rose Bowl.

Let's start with something CRN did to get his players in the right mindset to deal with the elements. From the LA Times:

Neuheisel's cold-weather preparation included holding Friday night's team meeting outside in a snow storm.

"I was amazed how many of our guys had never been in snow before," Neuheisel said. "It gave us the right mind-set."

Still, it was cold.

He also made his players get a little taste of snowball fights so that they could "get used to the weather":

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel had his players throw snowballs, while his kid threw touchdown passes.

UCLA players hardly seemed uptight heading into today’s game at Washington State. A snowstorm Friday night had a handful of Bruins outside throwing snowballs at each other for a half hour.

The frolicking was the result of Neuheisel’s instructions to go outside and get used to the weather.

Yeah, his son - Jerry Neuheisel - threw a 45-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-11 play with 31 seconds left to give Loyola a 41-37 victory over Crespi (which I guess was a good omen for the weekend). Anyway, going back to the game, what I liked about iur guys was how they looked confident. They weren't cocky as team leaders like Reggie Carter struck all the right notes before the game as he was gracious towards a struggling team. Our guys had the look of a locked in football team that knew exactly what was at stake and what they needed to hold on to the momentum Rahim Moore and co grabbed to end the Washington game on our home coming weekend. It is going to be a challenge for us to hold on to that momentum next weekend against a very good defensive team. However, if we can continue to build on the successes of last 9 quarters, this will truly turn out to be a Novermbet to remember.

As noted in the post game thread, Kevin Prince was the head line grabber. He had a great game by all accounts. Yet CRN (as he mentioned during half time) though Prince could have played even better:

"When you're enjoying this kind of success, it's almost like going down the cafeteria line and trying to grab everything," Neuheisel said. "You have to maintain your patience. I thought Kevin tried to make throws down the field instead of taking what they were giving him underneath."

Prince completed 27 of 40 passes, as Neuheisel, said, "I thought he did a nice job getting back to the scheme." Practice-like corrections made possible by the scout-team-like defense Washington State offered.

I thought we saw that in Prince during the second half, especially after the Cougars scored a TD. Prince drove the team down for our own TD drive during when he was methodically looking of his primary and secondary targets. He also did a great job during the two min drill to end the first half when he was finding Moline for little check downs:

Prince hit Moline four times on the ensuing drive for 35 yards, meticulously going through his reads until settling short, and the Bruins chopped their way down the field to set up a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Kai Forbath.

"All week in practice we knew the check-downs were going to be a big factor in the game," said Moline, who finished with three carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 60 yards. "We check-released, we checked down from linebackers, and especially in that two-minute drive when I got all those catches, Prince was checking down the field and no one was there."

Moline had himself a great game which you can read more about here and here.

However, the fact that Moline was our most productive running back is a cause for concern. Derrick Coleman had a decent game yesterday rushing for 50 yards in 12 carries. Our entire team (thanks largely due to Prince's 68 yard rumble down the sidelines) rushed for 232 yards which is not too bad against a bad Washington State defense. However, Coleman to me appears more as a servicable full back than a feature tailback. He did a better job of falling forward yesterday though which is a positive but I think he will have tougher times against team with average or better defensive speed (like the one we are going to face next weekend at home).

JetSki's fumbling issue is a real problem now. Not sure what else the coaches can do. They have sent every message they possibly can. It's a matter of him playing with focus and concentration on every down. Milton Knox picked up some decent chunk of yardage during garbage time. Yet he looked unsure in the fact of Coguar blitzes and failed to hit the hole with authority on a key 3rd and 1 in third quarters. Thigpen has a lot of promise but he doesn't have the frame to be a every down back. Christian Ramirez is just too brittle and inconsistent to have a discernible impact. So, you can see why getting both Malcolm Jones and Jordon James were big deal for this year's recruiting class. It looks like we have a QB of the future slowly emerging in Chow's offense. We now need a back or two, who can costar with the Prince.

Our OL did a decent job of providing pass protection. However, there were moments of sloppiness that needs to be cleaned up. Darius Savage didn't look totally comfortable at RG stepping for Ryan Taylor. I thought our OL's overall run blocking performance was pretty mediocre against an atrocious defensive line. Also, our OL looked somewhat unprepared for WSU blitzes when it seemed like opposing LBers was getting to Prince untouched. Again, it's something we really have to work on this game week to prepare for a solid Arizona State defense.

Moving on to the other side Akeem and Brian Price were the two big stars in last night's defense. From Jon Gold in the Daily News here are Kyle Bosworth's comments on what BP did to the Cougars' offense:

"BP has always had his name out on the leaderboard, but with Akeem, it's really good to see him kind of shine today," Bosworth said. "Two picks is huge for anybody, and it's good to see him with those two sacks.

"I'm happier for him, but BP did great - I know he'll be in the league one of these days, and this is one of the games that's going to help him do that."

Price racked up three tackles for loss, which makes him Pacific-10 leader with 16.5 for the season. He also has 5 sacks to go along with those stats. There is not much I can add to make him sound more incredible than he already is. I cherish watching this kid play just like I enjoyed recent great Ben Ball warriors such as KL, RW, LRMAM, AA, and DC. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can add to his legend on a week by week basis (because I won't blame him if he decides to jump provided he gets positive feedback from NFL draft whizes during the off season).

In addition to Price, Akeem had a great game as he benefited from a new look Bullough through at the Cougs:

For the first time this year, UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough lined up Ayers on the defensive line in a three-point stance, allowing Ayers to burst off the ball at the point of contact. He said both of his sacks were from the formation.

That is sure to catch the eye of those in the NFL, as well, as hybrid pass-rushers - those who can play both in coverage and on the line of scrimmage - have become in vogue in 3-4 defenses.

"It wasn't anything really new to me," said Ayers, who played his sophomore and junior seasons in high school at defensive end. "I'm used to being in a three-point and getting a pass rush. I definitely can see myself doing something like that - I'm athletic enough to stand up and drop into coverage, but I'm also able to rush the passer."

Hope Akeem can build on this weekend's performance to put together another consistent outing next against Arizona State.

While Akeem and BP had great games, I am getting worried about Reggie Carter's contribution to our defense. Reggie Carter is a great Bruin and solid leader for this football team. He is definitely the emotional heart and soul of our defense. However, the more I have watched him in recent weeks, the more its becoming clear to me that he is not the same Reggie we have seen over the years. It looks like his injury is really bothering him. He doesn't have the same ability to move around from MLB spot and he routined finds himself away from the action. Just look at the game tape from Tennessee and compare it what we saw yesterday. It's not even close.

Apparently Reggie is trying to will himself through these last few games of his Bruin career. The coaches tried to take him out during early in the fourth quarter but he wouldn't come out. So per the LA Times the coaches had to take a time out to get Reggie out of the game:

"That was the first time since I have been at UCLA that we have been ahead by so much that they were taking me out of the game," Carter said. "I told them, 'No, let me stay.' Then coach told me he didn't want me to get hurt. So I apologize, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment."

I think Reggie needs to rest up a bit. I think it could potentialy be worth it to use him as sparingly as possible next weekend against Arizona State and perhaps use Steve Sloan at the MLB spot, who did a servicable job last year when he took over for Christian Taylor. Guess, this is an issue we will have to defer to the coaches who have shown pretty good judgment wrt to injury issues this season (See the cautioun they showed with Aaron Hester).

Our punt return performance continues to be a concern. Terrence Austin had another fumble yesterday, which luckily for us went out bounce. He also had a fumble against Washington State during kick return the previous weekend. Terrence has to clean this up. He is running out of time in his last few games as a Bruin.

On the flip side, Sean Westgate came out with a huge punt block. It's not the first time he has made big plays a special teamer (remember the punt block he had against Tennessee last season at the Rose Bowl). I also liked the intensity Damien Thigpen showed during punt coverage even when we were up by a huge margin late in second half. Damien sprinted down the field during Locke punt and dove to down the ball at 2 yard line even when we were up by a score of 43-7. That kind of little details tells us something about the character of the team under its head coach.

Going back to big picture as good as we feel this Sunday, it is important that we don't get carried away. Tracy Pierson from Bruin Report Online had a solid breakdown of the game, in which he rightfully warns UCLA fans to not get too carried away. However, Tracy ended with the following encouraging notes (not behind a subscription firewall at the time of this post):

UCLA’s 556 total offensive yards were better than Arizona (471), Arizona State (410), and Stanford (481).

In fact, it was better than what USC did in the Coliseum against WSU (403), or even Oregon in Eugene (514).

UCLA’s defense held WSU to 180 yards, compared to the 185 yards WSU gained against Arizona, 206 against Notre Dame, 440 against Cal (what the heck?), 181 against Arizona State, 229 against USC, and 351 against Stanford.

Yeah, WSU was without its starting quarterback when it played UCLA, but Jeff Tuel didn’t even play in some of those other games.

So let’s overlook the actual play on the field and go with that. It’s so much more fun to look at it that way, huh?

Regardless if you’re the type who watched that game and came away satisfied (Blue), or came away thinking there wasn’t much you could take away from it and it didn’t give you great expectations for facing ASU and USC (Crank) – or a little bit of both (most of us) – it was good to see UCLA have an easy, blow-out win for the first time in a while. It clearly kept Prince and Co. in the same productive, offensive rhythm established in the OSU 4th quarter and against Washington last week, which is a good thing. It’s also good that the defense maintained its bottom-line successful M.O. – looking vulnerable but doing enough to put UCLA in a position to win.

In other words, at this late stage of this season the team under CRN's leadership continues to move forward. We now have 5 wins which on paper at least is clear step forward from last season. We now need our boys to take lock in and focus for another game week to get that much talked about 6th win next weekend at the Rose Bowl. That's all we should be thinking and talking about till next Saturday. If we can accomplish the objective of getting our 6th win, we will have our program in a pretty decent spot heading into last regular game of 2009 season. So, let's just all focus on Arizona State just like we have been taking it game by game since Oregon State.

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: LB's

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:12:48 -0000

We've graded the entire offense and with the defensive line grades being handed out earlier today, the defensive marks are officially underway. Now we head to the linebackers where it's fantastic at the top and truly frightening at the bottom.

Linebackers

If starters were just taken into account, this would easily be the best position UCLA has. All three starting linebackers are outstanding and bring different things to the table for the Bruins. In the middle is the heart and soul of the UCLA defense, Reggie Carter. The unquestioned leader, Carter is a redshirt senior who was named Scout Team Player of the Year in his redshirt year, Freshman All-American in his redshirt freshman year, has now started for the last three years and was named second team All-Conference last year. This year, he's on the watch list for just about every award out there and is considered one of the best linebackers in the conference. He does it all and there's little doubt that each time he step on the field, you're going to get his best, which is good news for the Bruins and bad news for the opposition.

Flanking Carter on one side is another redshirt senior who is coming off of injury. Kyle Bosworth injured his knee in just the second game of the 2008 season and missed out on the rest of it, which sounds like a bad break, but when you consider that it was a 4-8 season it may not have been so bad. Now he gets to come back with a stellar group of linebackers and try to move the program forward to a bowl game. Bosworth was strong against the run during camp, disciplined in his fits and quick to the perimeter, but needs to be better in coverage. While he wasn't poor in coverage and put himself in good position often, his ball skills with subpar and the good positioning was wasted.

The final starting linebacker spot belongs to the unit's best athlete with the biggest upside. Redshirt sophomore Akeem Ayers is the heaviest of the UCLA starting linebackers. He's also the fastest of the three and has the best ball skills. Physically, he can be as good a linebacker as there is in the Pac-10. He's going to be used a lot as a blitzer because of his ability to get to the quarterback, but don't sleep on his ability in coverage. He had at least a half dozen interceptions in the ten or so practices I attended and will get his hands on some balls at the Rose Bowl this year. The problem Ayers had last season was in reading the movement of the offensive line on run plays and then getting caught in traffic, unable to make a tackle. He showed great improvement in that area in camp as he was quick to read plays and get into position before an offensive lineman could get to the second level and put a block on him. Ayers could have the best year of any UCLA linebacker, which is quite an accomplishment with the other two starting linebackers the Bruins have. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he LOVES to hit. Quarterbacks beware.

After the starters, there is a major drop off at the linebacker position. Donovan Carter is a guy who caught my eye during camp. He was quicker than I remembered him and at about 250 lbs. is plenty big enough. If he can keep himself in position, he could provide adequate backup. The two guys who will get the bulk of the backup time though are Sean Westgate and Steve Sloan. Many of us saw Sloan last year when he took a starting spot following the injury to Bosworth. He manned the middle while Reggie Carter moved outside, but it's been said that Carter isn't leaving the middle this year so Sloan may see his snaps decreased. Westgate is the guy who I was really excited about when watching camp. He's an instinctive player and while that gets him out of position from time to time, for the most part it serves him well. He's quick to the ball and a strong tackler. At only 5'11'' 205 lbs. he's a bit smaller, but he's tough and plays bigger than he is. This is one guy who I have my eye on this year because he probably took the biggest step forward from the end of last year to this year.

Patrick Larimore and Mike Schmitt are the last two linebackers are really primed for serious time in the event of an injury. Both showed flashes in camp, but neither would even remotely consistent. They were caught out of position and didn't fit well against the run. Both are also somewhat limited physically so they need to learn to read plays better or risk being a major liability out there.

While many expected him at defensive line, Keenan Graham spent very little time with his hand on the ground in camp and it appears that he will be used as a rushing linebacker in passing situations if he's not redshirted. Isiah Bowens is another guy who could be used in the same capacity, but it appears he'll be redshirted after a decent, but not eye opening camp. Todd Golper was less than impressive during camp, often being caught out of position so anything but a redshirt would be a surprise.

Grade: B The starters get a A, but the depth is a major, major concern. Frankly, the level of play behind the top four of five is horrid and needs to improve because it's unreasonable for expect all three starting linebackers to stay healthy for the whole year. Even more a concern is what will happen next year when Carter and Bosworth graduate. If it weren't for the emergence of Westgate, this could be a scary situation.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA linebackers?

A

91 votes

B

137 votes

C

22 votes

D

3 votes

F

2 votes

255 votes | Poll has closed

UCLA Linebackers: Explosive Starters But Depth Is A Concern

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

This could be Akeem's year. (Photo Source: Nathan Tyree (flickr))

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We finished up looking through the offense last weekend. So time to shift the focus over to the defensive side, which many are expecting to be the strength of our football team. I will start by looking through the LB corps in this post. It's a position that features one of the key leaders of the football team along with some talented sidekicks, but has questions concerning depths.

Obviously the story at LB corps begins with MLB 6-1 240 pound Reggie Carter. He is the heart and soul of our defense if not the entire team. He is going to anchor our defense from Mike position which is his natural position. He did spend a little time at Sam during his career at UCLA however his physical attributes and overall understanding of the game makes him a natural fit at MLB. In other words he is the perfect heir apparent of Christian Taylor except he happens to be lot more athletic. The key for Reggie (knock on wood here) is going to be staying healthy.

He got banged up a little this past season and still finished with a team leading 83 tackles. Of course Reggie's signature moment at UCLA came during 13-9 game when he owned Booty at the Rose Bowl all afternoon long. I haven't seen the kind of swagger in a Bruin LB as I see in Reggie since the days of Donnie Edwards. We cannot afford to lose him this year if we want to make a charge into the post-season. Reggie could potentially have a memorable season if his team-mates can also step up with him. More on them after the jump.

As excited as I am about what Reggie can do this year, the kid I am excited to see is Akeem Ayers. From the LA Times:

[T]he player who may catch eyes this season is the other guy: Akeem Ayers, who started three games last season.

"Akeem’s problem wasn’t his play, it was that he didn’t always know where he was supposed to be," Carter said. "That’s changed. I don’t have to tell him where to be as much. He knows what he is supposed to do and doesn’t second-guess himself."

Ayers’ raw ability was obvious. Chasing Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli down from behind last season made that clear. He also has the size (6 feet 4, 252 pounds) to battle offensive linemen.

Akeem is a weapon. Pure and simple. He can go after RBs and TEs like a heat seeking missile. And after the weigh he has put during this off-season he is going to be absolutely lethal if he shows the same type of explosive ability in terms of speed, he has shown his last two years at UCLA. He is simply an amazing athlete and if he comes in this year, a little more polished with a better understanding of UCLA's defensive scheme (which is not going to be changed up much), he could be effective. I also think his speed is going to be key when UCLA will be facing Pac-10 teams with explosive athletes such as Best, Massoli or Rogers. He is the kind of LB who can provide the answer for an embattled DC looking to solve probelms posed by spread types of offense seen at the college game.

Rounding up the trip at Will LB is Kyle Bosworth who hopefully will have a great senior season at UCLA. From Sam at All-Pac-10 blog:

Joining Carter as a starter will be fellow senior Kyle Bosworth. Bosworth will occupy the weakside at linebacker once again, after an injury forced him to miss most of the 2008 season. Bosworth sprained his knee against BYU last season after playing in just two games, and was granted a substitute year of eligibility as a result.

At 6-1 234 pounds, Bosworth is an extremely physical presence at weakside linebacker, and like Carter he plays with steadfast aggression. In 2007, Bosworth finished 5th on the team with 74 tackles and four tackles for loss.

He plays much faster than his forty-time suggests (4.70), and is rarely caught out of position. The Plano (TX) native will look to wreak havoc on opposing offenses alongside his brother Korey (defensive end). Bosworth enters fall camp in good health, and has a firm grasp on a starting role in 2009.

Here is to Kyle staying healthy. The problem for UCLA right now is depth. In terms of starters we probably have as good as combination at LB as anyone else in the conference. However, after we go beyond that first unit we have questions. Right now Steve Sloan and Sean Westgate are primed for the reserve spots. From Sam Saig's rundown linked above:

The 6-4 231 pound Sloan was able to take advantage of playing time after Boswroth went down, starting nine of 12 games and finishing with 29 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Sloan played inside last season, and will therefore be the main backup for Carter.

The Campbell (CA) native played linebacker at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, making 143 tackles during his senior year. Rivals and Scout.com rated him as a 4-star prospect and he will be the future at middle linebacker for the Bruins once Carter is gone. He enters fall camp as one of the top reserves for UCLA.

The 5-11 205 pound Westgate wasted no time making an impact at UCLA, picking up a blocked punt and returning it for a TD in the season opener against Tennessee. He went on to appear in all 12 games as a true freshman, making 18 tackles on the season. Westgate does not have the size of the other linebackers, but he is a fierce competitor that plays with a high motor. The Oak Park (CA) native enters fall as the main backup to Bosworth on the weakside.

Both of them are capable backsups and were steady last season. However, the dropoff following the first trio is obvious. In addition to those two we Donovan Carter, Patrick Larimore, and junior Mike Schmitt in the depth chart who might be able to contribute this season.

In terms of true freshman we could see Todd Golper, who seems healthy following an injury plagued senior year in high school, getting some action this year. We could also see Isaiah Bowen (6-3, 220) from Bishop Amat getting some action as well. However, we are not going to have Taniela Maka (academics) and Jared Koster (sports hernia) on the team this fall who won't be ready to join till Winter quarter.

So, the key for this unit will be health. We need to hope and pray that our starters stay healthy this year. They certainly have the potential to make this a memorable year for our defense and the team. However, we are going to need them fresh and on the field throuhout the season. That of course again brings us back to our offense. If our offensive line can help the team play lot more ball control this season, it will keep our guys on defense, especually these studs at LBs fresh and ready to terrorize offenses every chance they get.

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.

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.

Hope

Nestor — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:59:22 -0000

Let’s build on Class of 66’s post game thoughts because I found myself nodding with most of what he wrote. Now that I have had some time to think about it and replay the two in game situations (call to for it on 4th and 1 and the decision to accept the holding penalty that put Fresno State at a 3rd and 22), I find myself completely as peace with the decisions CRN made on those two situations.

The bottom line here is CRN played to win. That is my kind of head coach who will always go for it based on calculated decisions. As 66 explained, both of those decisions were well calculated given the circumstances at the time. Kicking it on 4t and 1 would have been the Dorrellian thing to do. And we know what it feels like to play it safe during last few years.

However, that said right now unlike lot of fans who are being rough on DeWayne Walker for the defense’s performance from last three games, I am not all that upset with what is going on. I really believe Walker’s hands are kind of tied given what he is working with. Let me see if I can explain what I am seeing, while watching our defense. From what I am seeing Walker is in a very tough situation.

It’s obvious right now that the opposing offenses are having their way with our defense by carving it up underneath. QBs like Max Hall and Tom Brandstater have simply killed our offense in that proverbial "death by thousand cuts" (a feeling that unfortunately we became familiar with during the Donahue era). It seems like right now they have all the time they need to sit back and pick their targets, and pick apart our secondary. But what can Walker really do? Let’s take a look at our front-7 again.

We have two incredible talents in Brian Price and Brigham Harwell. Those two are amazing and are doing what they can to seal up the middle. And backing them at LB Reggie Carter is doing what he can to fly all over the field. But besides those three, Walker is having a difficult time putting together a combination that can generate sustained pressure on the opposing QB or contain the opposing RBs when they go outside. Right now from what I am seeing it seems like Blake (Senior LE), Hale (Senior SLB), and Korey Bosworth (Junior RE) are having a rough time out there. Steve Sloan, a RS Frosh starting his second game at Mike. It’s not because of lack of effort on any of their part. They are playing their hearts out but right now getting out toughed by the opposing offense.

It is clear right now that this defense is sorely lacking the athleticism, experience and toughness of Bruce Davis, Justin Hickman, Christian Taylor, Trey Brown, Dennis Keyes, and Chris Horton. At this point Walker is in a lose-lose proposition. I can sense why he is reluctant to blitz because he is not sure if his young CBS can lock down the opposing receivers, the same way Brown, ATV, Keyes and Horton were doing last couple of years. While up front Blake, Hale, Bosworth et al are not being able to complement the inside toughness of DTs with, the effective speed rush we saw courtesy of Hickman and Davis from last couple of seasons. Remember those guys – Davis, Hickman, Brown, Horton, Keyes, Taylor – they came along in their junior and senior seasons at UCLA. Growing/developing into effective football players take time at D-1 level. It sucks that the defense of last two years were completely wasted because of the total cluelessness on offense. But there is no need to go over that Dorrellian offense again.

We have had some really tough words for Walker here on BN, especially during the toxic times of Dorrell era, and the campaign for the head coach (when things got heated and emotional after a decade of train wreck). However, folks cannot dismiss how Walker improved the defense from the Larry Kerr era (another Dorrell fiasco). I think Walker is a good DC. He has the potential of being an elite DC if he can show in next two years, his ability to figure out the spread/multi dimensional offenses in college football, using the talent he has brought into our program. And I think there is a good chance he will develop into one as he will get more and more support from the developing offense from the other side of the ball (which he didn’t get last two seasons), and the new talent matures by next season (hopefully).

For the short term though, I wouldn’t mind if he gives the news guys more chances. One of the bright spots from yesterday was the play of Akeem Ayers. From what I am seeing, it seems like Ayers brings so much more speed and athleticism at Sam LB than Hale. Seems like every time he was lining up he was in the middle of the action. I think it would also be worth pondering whether any of the new cubs – Dye or Hester – would be better options than Courtney Vinney. Again from what I was seeing, it seemed like Vinney was having a "rough" time. This was not the first time Vinney was struggling. It has been a pattern since the Tennessee game. Same goes for our safeties. I think if Lockett doesn’t step up in next couple of weeks, it might be worth considering starting our other young safeties, getting them ready for next season. We will see how they come out and respond against Washington State next weekend.

On to some of the great positives from yesterday. There were lots of them. Here are just some, I jotted down while watching the game:

It’s obvious how our OL has been improving. However, we should note that yesterday’s performance came against a Fresno State defense that was struggling against ground attacks, and was missing two of their best DLs. Still a tremendous effort by Coach Palcic’s unit. It was especially heartening to see that performance given how the OL so freaking young featuring true frosh such as Baca and sophomore such as Jake Dean. They were terrific.
It was great to see Kahlil Bell back. Hopefully in couple of weeks he will be back in full form. You can sense he needs to get in little more game shape. And I am digging what I am seeing from Derrick Coleman. I don’t really care about that last fumble. That happens. Watch the replay. He had his shoulder down and was taking care of the ball. It was just a great hit by the Fresno defender. I simply love how the kid doesn’t mess around and just explodes forward.
How about that end of the half 2 minute drill? That was a methodical drive upward with 46 seconds left, which didn’t depend on desperation or athletic skills of freaks like MJD. I haven’t seen a Bruin offense march up the field with such composure with clock winding down, since the days of number 18.
Speaking of methodical, the offensive play calling was a delight. I was I enjoying the package Chow put together featuring roll outs, options to Kahlil Bell, reverse, runs to the outside, draw plays. Man … just mouthwatering stuff and gets you even thirstier when you imagine that offense with little more experience and talent.
Speaking of talent, welcome Terrence Austin!!! Now please don’t leave. Stick around, stay steady and play with same kind of swagger and confidence rest of the season.
Taylor Embree is a rock star. I have never cared about glowing practice reports that we read from beat reporters or message boards. But all that hype we read about how this kid doesn’t drop a ball (knock on wood so that we are not jinxing him) is true and then some. This kid is a natural. In some ways he reminds me of Danny Farmer and Sean Lachappelle. Whatever is thrown at his direction, he comes up with it.
Kevin Craft was steady. Except for a play or two he was steady throughout the day and play within himself. And I also think he has more ability than people give him credit for. Let's hope he keep this up.
As for the special teams, it was infuriating to see that first punt return for TD. However, other than that I though the unit was somewhat steady (not including Austin’s spectacular afternoon) and also provided a huge boost courtesy of that extra point block.

So there we are. That’s what I have for now. In some ways this am, I am not as down as I was following the Arizona and BYU game. I still think there is a good chance (a very good one) that this team is going to struggle rest of the season and end up with 3-9 record or something worse, given the situation described re our defense. I am not sure we have the horses to win shootouts after shootouts. However, what I am more than encouraged from last three weeks is that the team overall is moving towards positive direction. Now if it can take care of business against another desperate team (which it has a very tough time with in recent years) next weekend, it will give us more reasons to hope to keep moving towards the positive direction rest of the season.

Here is to HOPE:

Photo Credit: Louis Sinco (Los Angeles Times)

We have seen enough to keep us charged with it rest of the way.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: New Starter At Mike & 29 Inches

Nestor — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:00:06 -0000

We will start our roundup today on the defensive front. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise reports that Steve Sloan will get the start at MLB against Arizona (shifting Carter over to WLB and I guess at this point still keep Hale at SLB):

Steve Sloan has never played a single snap on defense for the Bruins, but on Saturday he will be the man in charge of making sure everything goes correctly on that side of the ball.

A redshirt freshman, Sloan will start and get his first game action at middle linebacker as the Bruins host Arizona in the teams' Pac-10 opener at the Rose Bowl.

Because of an injury to weak-side linebacker Kyle Bosworth, the Bruins have reshuffled their linebackers this week in order to get their three best available players on the field. That forced Reggie Carter from the middle to the weak side and creates the opening for Sloan, a 6-foot-3, 235-pounder who fits better in the middle.

Steve Sloan will have some big shoes to fill. MLB is basically the QB position on the defensive side, which involves calling the right signals. Christian Taylor did an amazing job playing that role last two years. Reggie Carter last week despite the defense’s overall meltdown registered 20 tackles at that spot. So Sloan will have to step and make plays.

Meanwhile, on the other side the biggest concern continues to be the lack of running game:

Of all the labors set before this Bruins' coaching staff, which some people have dubbed a dream team, generating a running game appears to be the most urgent.

Palcic's line was supposed to be a weakness. It has been. He was so steamed after watching film of the 59-0 blowout at BYU, he practically fired the whole group and opened the starting spots to auditions.

The running backs were supposed to be OK, but – already hobbled by injuries – they have disappointed.

UCLA has not chosen to run the ball often and why should it? Quarterback Kevin Craft has handed off 47 times (vs. 82 passes) and it has netted 38 yards, an average of 0.8 yards per carry. That's good for 119th out of 119 major-college teams. The Bruins aren't even close to the No. 118 team, San Diego State.

Why even bother trying?

"I think we do the kids harm when we don't do it that way," UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "It's tougher to defend. If you know we're going to pass the whole game, how tough is that?"

Chow said he will begin restoring balance Saturday against Arizona. He might have the perfect chance, when his resistible force meets a moveable object.

While coaches are trying to figure out a way to get some kind of running game going, Bell is patiently working to get healthy and waiting for Neuheisel’s decision:

With UCLA needing to jump-start a sluggish running game, all eyes have focused on tailback Kahlil Bell and his sore ankle.

Bell looked relatively sound during Wednesday's practice and said he was ready to play against Arizona on Saturday, but that doesn't mean he will.

"It really will be on me," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "I haven't made up my mind as to whether or not I'm going to let him, just because it's a long year and this is only Week 3."

Bell said he understood his coach's concern. The senior has some experience dealing with injury after suffering a torn ACL last season.

"It's tough," he said. "I want to be back, but at the same time I've got to be smart."

Neuheisel says he will watch Bell for the next few days and make a decision by game time. If Bell cannot play, a healthy Derrick Coleman could pick up some of the slack.

Again right now our running backs are averaging 0.8 yards per carry. Think about that. I believe that comes out to about 29 inches per carry.

29 inches per carry.

I know it is incredibly when we point out the lack of talent, size and athleticism in our OL. But we have to be cognizant about reality. We did that when Howland was dealing with a team that had Brian Morrison and Ryan Walcott in the backcourt and Josiah Johnson and Michael Fey up front. People who have jumped on to the Ben Ball bandwagon since that epic game against Gonzaga in 2006 don’t remember the agony, frustration, and humiliations from Howland’s first year. Just like we have few chicken little out there complaining and whining about what we are seeing on the field – a program result of almost a decade of listless, uninspiring and competent leadership – there were number of folks questioning Howland’s leadership in those first two seasons (even after Howland miraculously turned the worst UCLA teams in its history to a tournament team).

Yet, we have Brian Dohns of the world looking beyond the obvious and trying to come up with other reasons behind the roller coaster ride UCLA football will go through this season. In what is probably one of the worst articles, I have ever read from a UCLA beat writer, Dohn has a write up today featuring comments from couple of shrinks on why Bruin football program go through extreme up and downs. Dohn dialed up some dude named Dr. John Murray, “a Florida based … nationally known sports psychologist” to spout this:

"Whereas you get a team like UCLA, that really doesn't have a backbone or tradition or history or a coach, they're going to be all over the map. That's kind of how it feels. But they come back after a big loss, they're hungry and they're angry and feeling ashamed, so they fight for pride, or whatever it is."

Somehow Dohn, the Rutgers graduate forgot to mention how that “tradition” entails 18 Conference Championships, 1 National Championship, 1 Heisman Trophy Winner, 12 Rose Bowls, and 8 straight bowl victories (1983-1991).

I wonder if Dohn bothered to dial up these “nationally known sports psychologists” when Bruins were getting pounded by Arizona, Stanford, California, Southern Cal, St. Johns, and Washington State in six straight humiliating defeats during the midpoint of Howland’s first season when bunch of Lavin recruited basketball players quit on the best coach in the game. I wonder if Dohn bothered to write up articles from sports psychologists dumping all over the “tradition” of UCLA basketball program (which many pundits predicted would not reemerge in the modern era) that year when the Bruins finished the season with another 6 game losing streak.

There was no going around the fact that we didn’t have the talent and athleticism and offense to being a .500 team in Howland’s first season. We have no choice but to take the same mindset now, while hoping for the best (rooting for the kids wearing UCLA uniforms). Not much else can we do when the team features an OL that generates 29 inches per carry despite getting coaches by some of the best in the game.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Culture Change

Nestor — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:04 -0000

As Bruins get set for their next game, Rick Neuheisel and his players directly addressed the need for changing a culture that has sustained the mediocrity of this football program last five years. Given his pre-existing friendship with Karl Dorrell, CRN addressed the issue in a diplomatic way:

"I'm careful, because when you change the culture, it is as if you don't think the one before was good enough," Neuheisel said. "I'm sensitive to my friend Karl Dorrell. But we've got to get an expectation level that we're going to play to, and that doesn't happen by talk but by working toward it."

However, Brigham Harwell, who has emerged as the key leader of CRN’s first team at UCLA was lot more direct:

"Before if we lost a game like this, on the plane ride players would be joking, acting like we won," senior defensive tackle Brigham Harwell said. "After this loss, the bus ride and the plane ride, everyone was quiet."

Harwell called for a players-only meeting after Neuheisel spoke to the team Sunday night. Harwell and other seniors spoke, stressing greater commitment.

"When I was a kid watching the Bruins on TV they had great teams that played great games," Harwell said. "I think it faded away a little bit in the four years I've been here. You could sense that the players were not into it, and we were taking tough losses. This year, it's a different feeling."

If that is not a direct indictment on the prior regime, I am not sure what is. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise has more on the player only meeting:

"Guys spoke up and said what was on our minds," Harwell said. "Yesterday, it was a good feeling.

"If you saw how hard we worked in the offseason, you would think we should be the best team in the country. We worked too hard. This is my senior year, and I won't let this happen again. We came too far, we have the staff, everything is supposed to be perfect.

"I am going to make sure this team won't fall off."

Harwell said that the focus now needs to be on Arizona and having a good week of practice, something that the Bruins certainly didn't do a week ago in preparation for the BYU game.

One of the ways to change the previous culture is for both coaches and players sharing responsibility when results don’t break they way. In the past we have had lot of consternation here on BN when we have seen football coaches call out our players without taking any responsibility. After the BYU game (judging from our comment threads here and elsewhere), few folks were a little uncomfortable concerning Walker’s comments on ATV’s failure to provide tight coverage on Collie. Well, it looks like folks can rest easy, because from the comments today it is clear that following the game, Walker took the Howland route of staying up to watch game films (and taking responsibility) instead of infamous KD route of "sleeping well":

When the Bruins returned from the 59-0 trouncing at BYU on Saturday night, Walker went straight to the football offices to watch film. He stayed there until 1 a.m.

Walker wasn't alone. Carter and strong safety Bret Lockett each headed straight to the film room.

"The first thing I'm going to question is the scheme, and what could I have done differently," Walker said. "As a staff, we've kind of reverted back to our first year. We've cut back on some things, because you've got a young group."

Walker added the defensive staff will get back to basics in preparation for Arizona (2-1), which is coming off a stunning 36-28 loss at New Mexico.

"You kind of get sucker-punched a little bit because no one expected (the BYU loss), but you still have to counter-punch it," Walker said. "The defensive staff is all about `What can we do to help them, even more so.' "

Needless to say that is very encouraging to hear from DW. Also wrt to the defense due to injury issues we are going to see some shuffling around in the LB core. Due to Kyle Bosworth’s injury (who has a partially torn ligament and could be out for couple of weeks), Walker could move Carter to Will LB and have red shirt freshman Steve Sloan start at Mike. The other possible combo is to have Josh Edwards at Will and keep Carter at Mike. Should be very interesting how it plays against Arizona on Saturday.

Going back to the topic of culture change, as we have said here on BN, it is unrealistic for all of us to expect this to take place within just one year. However, we can certainly expect CRN to chip away in making his players believe the program is heading towards the right direction:

Asked whether he could change that culture, Neuheisel said, "They have to buy into it. Results are the easiest way to be all in, but results aren't always guaranteed. . . . You have to believe we're on the right track and we're going to continue in that direction."

As for those who have been snickering at the "relentless positive" mantra of CRN, well he let the press core know about one of the main sources of his inspiration:

" 'Long before any championships were won at UCLA, I came to understand that losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing," Neuheisel said, reading from the letter Wooden wrote him. " 'You must simply study it, learn from it and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.' "

So CRN is leading this program through the words of John R. Wooden. I for one cannot think of a more appropriate approach for any leader a football coach at UCLA.

GO BRUINS.