SB Nation - Jess Ward

Spaulding Roundup: "Arizona State. Nothing Else Matters"

Nestor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:57:14 -0000

by Paul Connors - AP

Erickson and his ASU are in the same boat as Neuehisel's UCLA program

Well I knew one of these days football was going to put Ben Ball in the backburner here on Bruin Nation but I didn't think it was going to get here so fast. lol As much of a downer the unthinkable loss (and we will probably have few more of those this season) against Cal State Fullerton was last night, right now my mind is completely locked into the huge football game on Saturday. I really hope everyone around Southern California - students, alums and fans - make an effort to pack the Rose Bowl this weekend because to me this might be the biggest game of the season.

While given our "Bruin instincts" it is natural for all us to think about that last game of the season, right now nothing else except ASU matters. CRN set that message yesterday in Westwood (emphasis added):

Just don't ask the Bruins to talk about any bowl games or crosstown showdowns that might exist beyond their home finale Saturday.

"Arizona State. Nothing else matters," coach Rick Neuheisel said Monday. "There's conversations all around about things that can't help us. Our conversations will center around the Sun Devils and what we have to do against a fine football team, and we'll give ourselves a chance for all of those other conversations to matter."

He knows full well how big this game is for both teams:

"I know they, like us, are trying to finish the season with a flurry," Neuheisel said. "And I know this game looms large for both programs, so looking forward to the game ahead, (we) keep grinding and keep pushing. (We're) very excited about the challenge. I think we're improving. I see signs."

Bruins will look for more signs this weekend taking on an Arizona State defense which plays at a whole different level than our previous two opponents. Jon Gold from the Daily News writes:

The Sun Devils rank 15 th in the country in total defense while surrendering just 301 yards per game and are 29 th in scoring defense at just 21 points per game.

Arizona State has 68 total tackles for loss and 22 sacks, with nine players registering more than five tackles for loss. Leading the way is defensive tackle Saia Falahola with 72.

"This is a very, very good defense, no question about it," Neuheisel said.

"Solid across the board. They've got a great pass rush, great run-stopping. We're going to have to make some plays and be a balanced team this week. It's going to require a great offensive plan."

A great offensive plan this weekend will entail providing some balance to Kevin Prince's recent breakout performances in last few weeks. More on that after the jump.

Arizona State is not going to throw a lot of surprises at our offense. They are going to bring the heat with their defensive front and try to disrupt Kevin Prince from getting into any kind of rhythm. Saturday is going to be a challenge for Prince. I think he will have opportunities to go deep here and there during the game. However, more importantly for him he will have to keep moving the chains by spraying short and medium range passes to make that defense a little more elastic.

Hopefully Prince through some early completions will able to get the Sun Devils front-7 a little off balance and set up the running game for JetSki, Coleman and Knox. Speaking of our running game, the LA Times has the following from CRN:

"We believe we have the makings of a good running game," Neuheisel said. "We just have to keep banging away to find the right combinations."

Franklin leads the team with 532 yards rushing, but his fumbles have been a concern for two weeks.

"He just needs to get his confidence back," Neuheisel said. "Sometimes talking about something so much it becomes like, 'Don't think about the blue elephant over there.' "

Another option is fullback Chane Moline, who the Bruins have been turning to in the red zone the last two weeks.

While Chane is finishing off his senior season in style, we need Jet Ski to get back into it. We need him badly. If we can somehow manage to get him back in the same groove he found himself in before he tweaked his ankle against Cal, it would be a huge boost to our offense.

Meanwhile, on the other end ASU's QB situation remains unclear:

Coach Dennis Erickson said he won't decide on a starter for Saturday's game at UCLA until seeing how healthy senior Danny Sullivan (right biceps) and true freshman Brock Osweiler (left shoulder) are during practice. Also, sophomore Szakacsy's right elbow, an issue since the preseason, could be a factor coming off his most-extensive playing time.

"We've got to see how his elbow is," Erickson said of Szakacsy. "When he throws for a long period of time, it bothers him. His arm is not as strong as it was last spring, but it's getting there. He's got a pretty good chance to get back to full strength by spring (2010). He's very accurate and made some good throws (against Oregon)."

Erickson, like CRN has also been dealing with injury issues:

Players out for the season are offensive linemen Matt Hustad (knee), Zach Schlink (knee) and Mike Marcisz (shoulder); tight ends Dan Knapp (knee), Stanley Malamala (jaw) and Chris Coyle (foot); wide receivers T.J. Simpson (ankle) and Brandon Smith (knee); defensive linemen Corey Adams (back), Otis Jones (knee) and Jonathan English (knee); linebacker Gerald Munns (elbow); and cornerbacks Omar Bolden (knee) and Osahon Irabor (wrist).

Irabor and Coyle are true freshmen who would have played this season but instead are redshirting.

The most-recent losses are Hustad, Knapp and Munns.

Tom Njunge will replace Hustad at right tackle. Jovon Williams, if healthy, or Trevor Kohl will play at tight end, with Steven Figueroa also an option. Travis Goethel, the starting strong-side linebacker, also becomes the backup at middle behind Vontaze Burfict.

Burfict is a handful. I hope Kevin Prince takes some sliding lessons this week because if he gets an opportunity Burfict is going to do to Prince what Maluauga did to Cowan few years ago. This is a game in which Prince will have to play it safe when he finds himself in a collision course.

On our end it looks like Pressley will be out for another weekend. We could also get Jerzy Siewierski and Ryan Taylor back in action this weekend. Their replacements - Jess Ward and Darius Savage (respectively) - did a solid job last weekend. Hopefully the rest of the team can come out this weekend with the same tunnel vision they displayed up in Pullman.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Keeping The Faith

Nestor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:09:19 -0000

We will start with the story of Rahim Moore firing up the team during practices this game week. From the OC Register:

There was a brief moment during Wednesday's practice when some of UCLA's defensive players were standing around.

A play had just been completed and everyone was in the process of regrouping for the next one. They obviously weren't doing it fast enough, or with enough enthusiasm, for one teammate.

"It's too quiet out there," yelled one player from the sideline. "This isn't a funeral."

The player lighting the fire underneath his teammates was sophomore safety Rahim Moore.

Moore is one of the few players on the UCLA squad whose actions on the field have met with positive results. His seven interceptions perhaps give him the right to speak out at practice when he doesn't see something to his liking.

In actuality, Moore is the type of player who will speak up regardless of how many interceptions he has. He's the type of player who will do his best to set something straight no matter how many victories and losses his team has.

If there is anyone in this program right now that reminds me of the kind of energy and passion AA brought during Howland's rebuilding years it's Rahim. We have heard countless about the "it" factor this season (when talking about our QBs). Well Rahim is definitely has "it" and its encouraging to hear him gettin vocal and taking leadership responsibilities of this team. I think next season he will be the clear cut leader of this defense if not the entire football team. It is telling to see him fight so hard to keep the spirits up of a struggling football team because it is going to be that much sweeter when UCLA puts it together in his senior year in Westwood. More after the jump.

We are going to need our defense to feed of Rahim's enthusiasm through tomorrow. Looks like they will have to battle through more injuries as Jerzy is now out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis (same injury that hurt Michael Roll two years ago). Per the Daily News Neuehisel and Bullough will work in a combination of senior Jess Ward, junior David Carter and sophomore Justin Edison to replace Jerzy:

"Jess Ward has got to become a big-time guy in there, as well as Justin Edison and David Carter, obviously," Neuheisel said. "All I know is it's a day-to-day thing for Jerzy, but it can be anywhere from days to weeks."

The loss of Siewierski adds insult to the various nicks and bruises the UCLA defense feels all over the field. Senior cornerback Alterraun Verner dislocated a toe against Arizona last week in a 27-13 loss, senior linebacker Reggie Carter still is limping around with a sprained knee and senior defense end Korey Bosworth is hampered by sore ribs.

Neuheisel said the Bruins have to push all that to the side and lead with their hearts against an Oregon State ffense led by Jacquizz Rodgers at running back and steady Sean Canfield at quarterback.

"They have to be willing to risk," Neuheisel said. "There has to be some risk before you're able to achieve. Risk means you put it all out there that this can happen, rather than get yourself in a cocoon so you don't get hurt emotionally.

"You have to be able to let it all go and go out there and play free."

Well it is going to be interesting to see whether the defense plays "free" against Oregon State tomorrow afternoon at Reser. We all know what we want our guys to do. Play aggressive and play with nothing to lose early on and put pressure on the Oregon passing game. It would mean the coaches (Bullough) will have to let the reigns loose a bit and get out of their base defense to take chances.

We all have to brace for a tough Saturday in Corvallis tomorrow. Last time UCLA lost 5 games in a row was to the end the 2003 season under CTS. It just might be the worst moment in the history of UCLA football in last 50 years as the team will be coming with a 0-5 record and last place in the Pac-10 conference (kind of like what we experienced in Lavin's last season and Howland's first season). Add to those potential gloomy numbers we are heading into Corvallis with an offense that has scored as many TDs (2) as our defense in last 3 games. And at this point no one out there is picking us to sneak out with a victory.

So things are not looking up to say the least. Yet none of us are planning to go anywhere. I know I will be here reading up on my Bruins, writing up game day roundups, and then checking the game threads to read updates from those who will be listening to the radio telecast or be at the game. I have seen enough sports in my life time to observe how sweet victory tastes for those who stay with it through the lowest of lows. Just think back to Howland's first season in Westwood when we ended the season losing 14 out of our last 16 games. If you were following the team back then on a game to game basis you know exactly how you felt inside while watching this:

UCLA Comeback Against Gonzaga From The Band Section (via BBRVideos)

That is exactly how we all are going to feel when we will experience more moments like this.

Keep the faith.

GO BRUINS.

Three Keys to UCLA-Stanford

Ryan Rosenblatt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:00:20 -0000

In past seasons, a game coming off of a bye week would lead to ecstatic claims like, "UCLA was undefeated last weekend!" Well, guess what, even though we're a full three weeks into the season, we can actually still say "UCLA is undefeated this season!" At the same time though, the Bruins have yet to win a game in conference play. While a 3-0 start is outstanding, a tough slate of games lays ahead for the Bruins and UCLA can ill afford to rest upon their laurels. That tough slate begins this weekend with a trip to Palo Alto to take on a surging Stanford team, so what are the three keys to the Bruins' tilt with the Cardinal this Saturday?

1) Defensive Line Depth- Shutting down the Stanford running game is out of the question. You don't shut down Toby Gerhart and Co. You can slow them down, but that's all you're looking for. Even if you slow the run game down though, Stanford is going to have the ball for a solid amount of time and they're going to play a physical style that wears down your defensive front. You also take into that it's a 12:30 start time and the boys will be playing in the heat.

All those factors are going to force UCLA to rotate their defensive lineman regularly and count upon the two's to perform. David Carter, Jess Ward, Damien Holmes and the rest of the backups will get their share of snaps and if they don't come to play, by the time the one's get back on the field, the Stanford offense will have found a rhythm. With a power offense like Stanford's you cannot take snaps off and give the offense anything. That means that in a game where the depth will be called upon, the depth will have to respond.

2) Don't Lose Special Teams- Usually, the goal is to win special teams, but you're usually not going up against a team with special teams as good as Stanford's. Chris Owusu has three kickoffs returned for touchdowns already this season, meanwhile Richard Sherman has a punt return of his own, while averaging 20 yards a return. As you can see, the Cardinal are dangerous in the return game and when you add in the Bruins' lack of excellence in coverage, special teams could win Stanford the game.

The key for UCLA will be to play special teams to a draw. That may be by kicking away from the Stanford returners or some other tactic. The key will be to try and give themselves a chance to win the game elsewhere. The one place the Bruins have a special teams advantage is with their kicker, where Kai Forbath has emerged as one of the nation's top kickers, but Stanford's kicker can get the job done too. He has two misses this year, but both from over 40 yards and he is perfect on extra points, while also having a season long field of 54 yards.

3) Keep Pressure Off The Edge At Bay- The Cardinal aren't overly big at defensive tackle, but they are very good at defensive end. Tom Keiser is the guy to keep an eye on. The sophomore end already had four sacks and seven tackles for a loss so to say he's a playmaker is an understatement. Toss in Erik Lorig and Chase Thomas and you have yourself a dangerous trio of pass rushers off the end.

While much improved, the offensive line will need help to keep the Stanford ends from putting Kevin Craft on his back all game. Logan Paulsen has done a great job blocking, but will need to chip the ends even when he is going out for passes. Jonathan Franklin and the rest of the UCLA running backs will be asked to stay in a pass protect more often than usual too. We spent all of last season watching Craft be knocked to the turf snap after snap. If it happens again on Saturday, which is a definitely possibility because of the Cardinal's pass rushers, we'll also see results similar to those last season and because Stanford is a much improved squad, we won't be able to eek out a win with that type of play this year.

Game Day Roundup: Getting Ready For The Debut Of A Bruin Prince & Other Notes

Nestor — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:23:28 -0000

Here we go guys. I am so fired up today that I feel like I want to put up the game thread and get going right away. It is going to be awesome to take in football games all am/pm before settling down for our kickoff at 4:30 pm PST. I will put up a pre game thread around 12:00 pm PST to get us going. Before we start firing off let's check in a bit with the reports in today's papers.

There aren't any big breaking news heading into kickoff this evening. However, I loved reading about how Kevin Prince became a Bruin. From the Press Enterprise:

Prince grew up on Thursday nights at Pauley Pavilion and Saturday afternoons at the Rose Bowl. A UCLA wall clock and banner adorn the walls of his childhood bedroom, as does an autographed Cade McNown jersey. He even briefly served as a ball boy for the football team.

What kept Prince from snapping up UCLA's initial scholarship offer the summer before his senior year was that he never believed the coaching staff considered him its quarterback of the future. Then-coach Karl Dorrell already had secured a commitment from fellow senior Nick Crissman of Huntington Beach Edison, and Prince's scholarship offer was contingent on him taking a two-year religious mission and not enrolling until 2010.

With contact from Dorrell's staff waning as it became clear UCLA would make a coaching change, Prince accepted a scholarship from Washington in December 2007. The only reason Neuheisel was even aware of Prince when he visited Crespi two months later was that his teenage son had raved about Prince's performance at a recent camp.

As Neuheisel sat in the Crespi football office waiting to speak with linebacker E.J. Woods after class, he asked Coach Jeremiah Ross to show him film of Prince.

He learned that Prince had an arm so strong that his father had to buy receiver's gloves to catch him. He learned that Prince was the hardest worker Ross has ever coached. And he learned that Prince suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening game of his senior season, but served as a quarterbacks coach for the next three months, offering the advice and encouragement sophomore Bryan Bennett needed to pilot Crespi to an 11-3 record.

"A big reason we were able to do that was because of Kevin's leadership," Ross said. "There have been other kids who get injured and fade off. He was like, 'Anything I can do to help this team off the field, I'm going to do.' "

Neuheisel was so impressed by Prince that he put on an immediate full-court press, calling his parents, putting him in touch with Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow and inviting him to visit campus. Less than a week later, Prince was a Bruin.

I can't get enough of stories like that. Obviously we are all anxious to see Kevin's debut in the best looking home uniforms in college football. However, as we have discussed over and over again this off-season the key tonight is going to our completely revamped OL. If they can stay patient and focused against the chaotic Aztec's 3-3-5 defense, and get our running game going early on, it will be a huge assist to Kevin Prince. More after the jump.

Getting the running game going will be key for both teams (not just Bruins):

Defensive coordinator Rocky Long thinks both teams will try to establish the run "because neither team did it all that well last season." The left side of SDSU's offensive line has zero career starts and is facing a physical defensive line, anchored by defensive tackle Brian Price and defensive end Korey Bosworth (7.5 sacks last year) . Offensively, the Bruins have a young backfield with redshirt freshman Kevin Prince at quarterback and redshirt freshman Johnathan Franklin at tailback. UCLA's front five averages about 6-3, 316 pounds. SDSU coach Brady Hoke said he plans to substitute liberally on defense, and as many as 22 players could see action today. The Aztecs were winless on the road last year; their last win away from Qualcomm was Nov. 10, 2007 against UNLV.

Well Brady Hoke's team is going to be a mystery since they have been locked up and away from the press during the preseason camp. From Kevin Gimmell in the San Diego Union Tribune:

Today, we'll see.

We'll see what the man behind the curtain — new San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke — has been doing since coming over from Ball State.

He's kept his Aztecs closely guarded since the start of training camp. He's shaping the message at Montezuma Mesa his way and dishing out a heavy volume of coaching buzzwords.

He's created a buzz by being buzz-less.

Well he has also created a lot of buzz because he is bringing in two fairly accomplished coordinators in Al Borges and Rocky Long. We have talked about them all week but if you need to still catch up on them you can do so reading rest of Gimmell's game preview here.

On the local front today Jon Golden has a profile of Taylor Embree in the Daily News and LAT's Chris Foster has a generic overview (which doesn't really tell us anything new). For those who haven't been keeping track here are the latest injury notes:

UCLA will be without tailback Christian Ramirez (ankle), wide receiver Gavin Ketchum (hamstring), offensive lineman Micah Kia (knee surgery), offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani (sprained knee) and defensive end Reginald Stokes (knee surgery). Defensive tackle Jess Ward (sprained knee) is expected to play.

Beside Henderson, San Diego State will be without safety Romeo Horn (foot), and tight end Tony DeMartinis (retired, knee). Cornerback Davion Maudlin (knee) is expected to play.

While we are all wishing speedy and healthy recovery to the guys, let's hope there any more additions to that list from either side after tonight.

As mentioned above, we will have a pre-game thread up around 12:00 pm PST and then the game thread will go up around 4:00 PST. See you then.

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: DL

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:38:15 -0000

The entire offense has been graded and it doesn't look so bad. The results won't lead you to believe that we'll have an explosive offense and that's because we won't, but you can see mediocrity across the board for the most part and after last season, I'll take mediocrity. The quarterbacks got a C+, the receivers and tight ends an A, the running backs and fullbacks a B+ and the offensive line a C-. Not so bad. Now we go to to the defensive side where there is elite talent at the top in some spots, but little to no depth in just as many spots.

Defensive Line

Any defensive line that has Brian Price in the middle is going to make its fair share of plays, but one player alone cannot make every play and its the play of the other three along the defensive line that brings a shred of doubt into the mind of UCLA fans. You know what you're going to get from Price. The massive, agile, strong and tough junior defensive tackle from Crenshaw High School will be double teamed, but hold at the point of contact, shed his man and get on the ball carrier against the run. Against the pass, he will command double teams, but will be able to create a push up the middle to create an uncomfortable situation for the opposing quarterback as his pocket collapses. If they're double teaming Price though, opposing teams clearly respect him enough to avoid running at him regularly and will assign as many necessary to block him in the passing game. That means the other three guys along the front four will have to make plays because the opportunities will be there.

As we head into the season, the other starting defensive tackle position is held by Jerzy Siewierski, a senior who has played better than expected this camp and has given the coaching staff some comfort in the level of play next to Price. Siewierski has shown improved strength that has allowed him to hold the point much better and create problems for the offense. In the passing game, he hasn't quite gotten to the level where he's bringing down the quarterback, but he's moving the pocket and causing confusion in the backfield so the opposing quarterbacks are often moving into the path of other defensive players. The top two of the UCLA defensive tackles looks strong, but behind them there are serious questions.

Jess Ward was having a good camp, but his knee injury leaves his play in doubt for 2009. Whether he can regain the form he showed in camp before his injury will be one of UCLA's biggest questions heading into the season. Reggie Stokes is another guy who was having a good camp, especially with his intensity and motor before falling victim to injury. His injury is more serious than Ward and he may be back by midseason, but only in a best-case scneario. If Ward and Stokes are still injured or does not regain his form, the even more responsibility will fall to David Carter, who had a sensational camp to go from near afterthought to trust member of the defensive tackle rotation. Carter showed a better motor than he had before and was able to establish leverage on a more regular basis despite being 6'5''. Carter should be a force in the running game with his size and improved handwork that allows him to shed blocks well, but the next step for him will be to pressure the quarterback.

The depth at defensive tackle is so poor right now that a pair of offensive linemen, Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford were moved to the position to give the Bruins some depth in camp. Andy Keane and Justin Mann are ahead of the two converted offensive linemen on the depth chart, but are closer to those two converts than they are to the rest of the tackles. Both really struggled in camp and will be called upon this season so they have limited time to make vast improvements.

The end position is another position that is rather strong at the top, although not as strong as at tackle, but with little depth, although a little better than tackle. Starting at ends is one guy with plenty of experience and another with plenty of talent. The one with plenty of experience, Korey Bosworth, is a redshirt senior and does have some talent to go with that experience. He led the Bruins in sacks last year and was second in tackles for loss so much is expected of him in his final year at UCLA. He will provide the Bruins an outstanding end and after a strong camp in which he was often on the quarterback off the edge, the only concern is when teams choose to run right at him. The super talented end is Datone Jones. What he lacks in experience (he's a sophomore), he makes up for in athletic ability, which he has in spades.The question for Jones is how he handles himself not in one-on-one situations, but when he's asked to twist or stunt. In one-on-one situations in camp, Jones was a terror as he used his speed to get off the edge and while he wasn't great against the run, he was able to get into the backfield with some regularity. When asked to work more within the team structure, he often got lost and dominated. When backs picked him out of the backfield, he was often slow to react and taken out. When tight ends rubbed him on the line, he was knocked backwards. He'll need to deal with those if he's to be a trusted every down end, but that could come with experience.

Damien Holmes will also be used off the end and while he doesn't have great physical tools, he has a never ending motor. Time and time again, Holmes would be originally outplayed by an offensive lineman, but would eventually make his way downfield, across field or into the backfield late in a play to make a tackle. Against the run, Holmes was often outmatched in the strength department, but used great handwork to shed blocks and get in position to make a tackle. He's a crafty guy with a great attitude that allows him to play above his tools. With so little depth, Stokes could slide over to end when he returns from injury and little talked about Ian Davis could get time, Davis doesn't quite have the strength to play on the defensive lins o he would be vulnerable against the run, but he has some wheels so if he were to be used only in passing downs, the Bruins might be able to get away with it. Otherwise Iuta Tepa, a freshman who would probably be best served redshirting, may be forced into action.

Grade: B- The starters on this defensive line would be worthy of a B+ or even A- with the quality all the way across and player who can dominate a game like Brian Price, but the depth is a major concern. If the defensive line can all stay healthy, this unit can be close to an A, but this is D-1 football, no unit stays healthy for an entire year and the depth on this unit will be tested, unfortunately.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA defensive line?

A

94 votes

B

148 votes

C

24 votes

D

5 votes

F

2 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

Defensive Line Reset: Coaches Dealing With Depth Concerns

Nestor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:06:09 -0000

Now that we have gone through the LBing position let’s shift our attention to the defensive frontline. Before we even get through the depth chart we have got some brand new shift in personnel in light of injuries to back up tackles Reggie Stokes and Jess Ward. If you didn't read through the injury post, Reggie Stokes is out indefinitely because of a torn cartilage while Jess Ward is probably going to be out 2-3 weeks with a sprained MCL. As a result coaches made some immediate changes yesterday moving OL Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford to defense. Here is the reset from the LA Times:

"Part of it was in the event of an emergency, and part of it was we have the luxury of time to take a look," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said about the Sheller and Bradford moves.

Ward, who has played in 24 games, was expected to be the team's No. 3 defensive tackle. Sheller will play defensive tackle.

"Hopefully, we can bring him up to speed so he can play 15, 20 snaps for us," defensive line coach Todd Howard said.

Will be interested from hearing from the practice goers in the coming days how Sheller and Bradford are performing with their new unit. So basically, just like the situation at LB the same themes are also in play on the defensive frontline where we have solid talent at the starting positions, but have depth related concerns that will stretch beyond this season.

Obviously, the guy who will be anchoring this unit will be superstar Junior Brian Price (6-2, 300). We don’t need to go through what Brian can do over here at BN. He is on pretty much every pre season award watch list. If the kid can stay healthy (knocking on wood) through his junior year and continue to develop the way he has first two years, he would have a strong shot at that award along with having the opportunity to be a first round NFL pick next season. Yeah, I know. We would all like for him to come back for one more year after this season. But I am not going to hold my breath and instead am planning to enjoy watching number 92’s every snap his junior year in Westwood. As Reggie Carter noted to the LA Times there are not many OLs in the country, who has the ability to block Brian:

"I would like to see someone block Brian Price for a while," Carter said at the Pacific 10 Conference’s media day. "I have never seen that."

Ted Miller from ESPN's Pac-10 blog wrote how Brian is on a mission in 2009:

"Every player thinks about one day playing there (NFL) but I'm just thinking about this season," he said.

In a revelation that will surprise no one, Price said he and his teammates are not big fans of last season, when the Bruins went 4-8. The defense was generally good, but the numbers were hardly spectacular because the woeful offense provided little help.

"That's all we talked about this summer -- 4-8," he said. "We've got to get UCLA back."

Now Brian should be able to wreak havoc in the opponent’s backfield if he gets some help from his team-mates on the frontline. And right now the way that line is shaping up, it has the look of emerging as a solid one at least among the starting group. More on them after the jump.

Last year Brian had a great partner in senior Brigham Harwell who had a solid career at UCLA. Now that Harwell is gone it will be Jerzy Siewierski’s - 6-2/296 monster’s – turn to step up. Jerzy has all the potential in the world. Both Foster in his writeup and captainqtp in his upgrade-downgrade series mentioned Coach Howard’s reference to his athletic prowess of having the ability to dunk a basketball. That seems like a fairly scary proposition. If he can exert his own version of pressure down in the trenches, it will be incredibly helpful to Brian Price, who I am sure might be drawing double teams if he develops along his projected potential. So Jerzy’s contribution this year will be key. More on Brian and Jerzy’s team-mates on the defensive frontline after the jump.

Price and Jerzy will be flanked by two solid athletes in Korey Bosworth and Datone Jones. Coach Howard in his pre camp interview with Bruin Report Online (BRO) sounded excited about both of these youngsters:

On what he saw in Bosworth that translated to the d-line, to end:

"He just could run, and he was flexible. When you get guys like that, that’s your recipe. How do you not play guys like that? How do you not play guys like that? You don’t want guys that you look at on film who aren’t hustling, don’t look like they love football, they aren’t hustling, they’re walking. And then you’ve got a guy like Boz? This is all you need. You don’t talk about what he can’t do. This is all you need to do. If he can run, and his aggression and his attitude are like this on the football field, you let those guys play. They’re going to win more than they lose. I just like guys that like to fly around. You may not know what to do, but you can at least chase the ball like it’s a piece of meat and you haven’t had anything to eat."

On Jones and his future at UCLA:

"He’s hungry. He does what you ask him to do. If I were to tell Datone, ‘Hey, man, when you get up in the morning do 10 jumping jacks,’ he would get up and do 10 jumping jacks. That’s the kind of guy that he is. He’s a hungry player and I think he has a chance to be better than any end I’ve coached since I’ve been here. That kind of lets you know what I think of him."

On what Jones has to do to become that dominant player:

"Just get the experience. We’ll see this year what he’s going to be. I mean, you can talk about potential all you want. Until we see this year how he approaches the games and how he produces, that’s going to tell you. Damien Holmes is not far behind. He might not be as gifted as Datone is, but he listens. He studies. He understands what’s going on."

So after the starting lineup up Bosworth, Price, Siewierski, and Jones, depth becomes a question mark for the Bruins. Few weeks ago the LA Times noted how the coaches were going to look to Jess Ward and little used David Carter for depth. Obviously now David Carter is going to be a key figure in this depth chart. From the LA Times:

[T]he weight of the defensive tackle depth falls mainly on David Carter, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound junior.

Carter was converted from defensive end during the off-season with UCLA needing more bodies inside. That concern was heightened when Brandon Warner, a transfer from Compton College, didn't get into UCLA because of transcript issues. The move required Carter to gain 30 pounds.

"When you're on edge, a lot time you're the contain guy, you have to be athletic," Howard said. "Inside, you're going against more beef."

Carter was more than willing and began to rework his game.

"It definitely involves different techniques," Carter said. "You have to move your feet differently and learn how to play with the big boys."

Bradford will play defensive end, which is also down in numbers.

Per Coach Howard few weeks ago Holmes "made big strides since last fall." So he is going to be counted on to back up the DE position.

Coach Howard in his BRO interview also indicated he was going to closely monitor how incoming freshman Keenan Graham (who ran a 4.56) performs in the special teams. His plan was also to keep an eye on Iuta Tepa.

Our main hope right now is for these kids to stay healthy because we don’t have a lot of depth. If they can stay healthy, I feel good about these guys feeding off the drive and hunger of Brian Price, who has certainly proved himself both on and off the field in his total dedication of being a Bruin.

I also think the first game of the season is going to be telling (I am not going to look ahead to the Tennessee game … no way). We will have to see how this unit comes out and sets the tone on against the Aztec rushing attack and the pressure they are able to generate on the QB from the get go. If they come out and make a statement in that very first game, I think it will serve as a building block for rest of the season.

These guys will have their hands full all year long going up against lightning quick, game breakers in a number of Pac-10 squads. While the line has been steady last few years under Walker, they have had rough times against teams with quick backs and receivers. Moreover, they haven’t been able to generate the kind of pressure on QBs Davis and Hickman were able to do couple of years ago. So it will be up to Jerzy, Bosworth and Jones and rest of the guys in the depth chart to rise to Price’s level at least in terms of effort and determination, so that we can see the kind of intensity we experienced during 13-9, not just for big games but for every game through the coming season. We are going to need that if the team wants to take the next step by going bowling this season

We will wrap our look through the defense by going over the defensive backs rosters in the next few days.

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.