SB Nation - Micah Kia

Tobi Umodu, A BNer Blogs About UCLA Football In The New York Times

Nestor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:28:33 -0000

We have known for a while that there are few guys in our football team like to write. We have been tracking ATV's blogs posts through out this summer. We have been following ATV's weekly posts on the official site which started this past summer. We have also blogged a number of times about a weekly column in a local paper entitled "Keeping it Bruin: A Look Into UCLA Athletics," written by ATV's team-mate - Tobi Umodu. Actually Toby himself has fanshotted his column here on BN.

Well it looks like Tobi has made the big time. He is now going to be blogging periodically in the Quad, the college football blog for the New York Times. In his first post Tobi gives us a little taste about the camaraderie that exists among UCLA football team:

My football team at U.C.L.A. is no exception. Our team consists of more than 100 guys from different walks of life and different racial backgrounds, but we have no problem getting along with each other. One good example would be life in our locker room. Some of my teammates set up speakers so they can play music while we get ready for practice or just hang out. Every day, the music being played is by a rap, hip hop, or R&B artist, and everyone enjoys it, dancing along and singing the lyrics. Now I’m sure some of them would rather listen to country or rock than Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy, but no one would ever know.

Another interesting thing: the nicknames. I have a few personal nicknames for some of my teammates who are good friends. First is Alterraun Verner, who I’m sure many of you have heard of. He is on every watch list you can think of and is an all-American candidate at cornerback. Some people like to call him Al, a few broadcasters call him ATV, but to us in the locker room he is fondly known as the Receptionist because of all the attention he receives. He probably won’t like that I wrote that but since we are a family I’m sure he will forgive me.

Next is running back Jonathan Franklin. He is a bit different from everyone else because he has quite a few nicknames. People on the team call him Flaps, Jet Ski, among other names, but I prefer to call him Hollywood Ski because he used to be on the show "Baldwin Hills" on BET. My fellow fullbacks Chane Moline, Trevor Theriot, and Jason Almond all have their own nicknames as well. I like to call Chane, Sugar Chane Moline; everyone refers to Trevor as Moose (I’m still not quite sure why); and Jason Almond is called Almond Joy for obvious reasons.

You can read rest of his post here. You will want to click on it because it's a fantastic read.

All I can say, congrats Tobi. Now it would be even cooler if you come back here and cross post your stuff in our fanposts. We know you are reading.

GO BRUINS.

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: OL

Ryan Rosenblatt — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:00:11 -0000

All eyes are on the big uglies who could take a MASSIVE step forward and be average. Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

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We've taken a look at three positions so far. There was the quarterbacks, the receivers/tight ends and the running backs, but now it's time for the most interesting of the units by far. The offensive line was the worst unit last year, probably has the biggest upgrade in talent this year and is just as inexperienced as the rest of the offense. That inexperienced is then magnified ten fold because experience is paramount on the offensive line. I still believe though that it's always talent over experience, although I wouldn't mind both.

Offensive Line

Our hopes, our dreams, our nightmares. All three three can adequately describe a UCLA fan's thoughts about this offensive line. One thing I will guarantee you is that the line will be much improved. The other thing I can guarantee you is that there is little depth so praying to whatever god, inanimate object or reality TV star you choose wouldn't be the worst idea. I've begun to sense a common theme with this UCLA team and it is never more present than with the offensive line. There is inexperience to go around. Let's consider our starters. At left tackle, we have Xavuer Su'a-Filo, a true freshman. At left guard we have Stanley Hasiak, another true freshman. At least there's some experience at center with Kai Maiva, who's a redshirt sophomore. Uh oh. If redshirt sophomore is experience is experience then we're in trouble. It's okay though because at right guard we have a junior. Sure, it's Eddie Williams, a JC transfer who has never played a down of D-1 football, but this is 2009 UCLA football where we take any "experience" we can get. Plus, next to him we have Jeff Baca who is a sophomore, but did get significant playing time last year.

The best part about this offensive line is that there are really low expectations. I mean, it would take true talent to be worse than last year's offensive line and just in training camp you can already tell that this offensive line is better. I'm not even going to get into physical talent, maturity or potential to get into this offensive line's improvement. This offense line has an attitude that surpasses anything the Bruins had last year. Going against a good defensive line and a monster in Brian Price each day in practice is a solid excuse to struggle, but struggling was not acceptable for this group of offensive linemen. They expected to put a hat on hat and push the defensive line back. They expected Kevin Prince to have a nice pocket each and every time he stepped back to throw. When that didn't happen, there was never an excuse, but rather anger at themselves. This offensive line expects excellence and they expect it this year, even if it virtually unattainable. The fact is that this offensive line is built for the future, but they believe the future is now and that is as good of an attitude as they can have. They're mean, they're tough and they're going to knock you around. Well, maybe not, but they sure believe so.

Now getting into the physical tools and you're amazed at what you see on the left side of the line. Su'a-Filo is an absolute monster of a man, but moves gracefully. He has such quick feet that he isn't even beaten off the edge by blitzing linebackers much. his technique and balance needs to get better as he was beaten by spin moves and twists at times, but that will come with reps. The tools are there in spades and you can see the smile on offensive line coach Bob Palcic's face when he puts it together for a play. He knows he's got something special in Su'a-Filo. For all his skills though, he may not be better than the man next to him, Hasiak. Hasiak is a more astute run blocker who gets good drive and can deal defensive tackles pretty well. His use of leverage is superior to any offensive lineman that UCLA has recruited in at least five years. He also struggled with twists and blitz pick ups, but it will come with reps, just like Su'a-Filo.

Williams is far more developed than either freshman. His JC coaches taught him well and while he had some issues dealing with the speed of a D-1 defense, he did better dealing with it as camp went on. For a guy with his type of feet I expected better pass blocking, but he was adequate. He did well run blocking though and was exceptional when asked to pull or get his hat on a linebacker. To his right will be the uber-versatile Baca who has played all over the line despite having not even begun his sophomore year yet. Baca was arguably the sole bright spot on the offensive line last year and he has put on some muscle since his freshman campaign. He has quick feet and does well dealing with ends trying to come off the end, but is not yet as strong as he needs to be so power moves give him trouble, as does getting any drive in the running game.

The Bruins have little depth on the offensive line. Losing Micah Kia for the year is a real killer, not just from a playing perspective, but he has established himself as an emotional leader for the unit. Mike Harris will have to show the ability to play multiple positions to deal with the lack of depth, as will Nick Ekbatani when he gets healthy. While it would be best if Nick Abele could redshirt, the freshman who caught Palcic's eye early on could be forced into action with an early season injury.

Grade: C- There is a serious chance that this unit could be average this year, which would be a remarkable step forward. It's closer to a D+ then it is a C, but I always lean towards talent over experience. The putridity of last year's offensive line cannot be overstated, but the same could be said for the potential of this year's offensive line. The line has serious depth problems though and is ripe with inexperience, but that's the state of UCLA football in 2009. Inexperience reigns so at least we're consistent.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA offensive line?

A

10 votes

B

80 votes

C

207 votes

D

78 votes

F

14 votes

389 votes | Poll has closed

Spaulding Roundup: Youth Movement In Bruin Offense

Nestor — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:32:20 -0000

We will start our roundup today with a little update on our OL. As mentioned in my fanpost yesterday, Stan Hasiak (who is not contemplating a mission) has been sitting out practices last two days with a sore shoulder, allowing coaches to experiment with the starting OL. Per the LAT's report "Jeff Baca, the starting left tackle alternated with Brandon Bennett at right guard with the first team," while "Mike Harris played Baca's tackle spot." Hasiak is supposed to be back today, which will allow coaches to reset to the starting lineup announced after Saturday's scrimmage. Obviously the fate of our season hinges on how these young guys - four of whom were not in UCLA uniform last season - perform this year.

Ted Miller on ESPN's Pac-10 blog made the astute observation that CRN and his staff are going along with a youth movement not because of necessity, but becayse they think "it's the best way to win":

Two things: 1. These guys aren't stiffs; 2. Wonder what these guys will look like in 2011, when quarterback Kevin Prince is a junior?

The two true freshmen on the left side, tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo and guard Stanley Hasiak, certainly pass the sight test and were both among the nation's highest-rated offensive linemen last year. Right guard Eddie Williams is a 331 pound powerhouse from Mt. San Antonio Junior College in Walnut, CA.

Sophomore center Kai Maiava started nine games as a true freshman at Colorado. True sophomore right tackle Jeff Baca started eight games for the Bruins last year.

They are the only two players from the post-spring depth chart who remain No. 1 at their line positions.

While the season-ending knee injury to senior Micah Kia and the sprained knee that will sideline senior Nick Ekbatani four to six weeks certainly aren't good things, neither was a sure-thing to start. Ekbatani was running second-team at center, while Kia was expected to split time with Hasiak.

So starting inexperienced players is not move motivated by necessity. It's a choice.

Now the key will be for the coaches to figure out how they can get some continuity with their key players so they can grow through this season:

"By definition, continuity requires people all being there," Neuheisel said. "You can't have continuity if you don't have everybody learning the steps, learning the dance. You have to spend time with one another, not only so the footwork is choreographed, but the calls and the dummy calls. Those things all take a little while, and we've got to grow with that."

Most importantly, they need to grow together.

There is nothing more frustrating for an offensive line coach than when one lineman lags behind, causing a crack in the wall.

Offensive line coach Bob Palcic must ensure that as freshman Stanley Hasiak improves, so does redshirt sophomore center Kai Maiava. As Maiava improves, so does sophomore Jeff Baca. And so on.

"That's Bob's job," Neuheisel said. "The offensive line coach has to make sure we're all staying on task. If there needs to be extra, there needs to be extra for everybody, so that we're all coming along together. One for all and all for one."

I think the minor setback (well it sounds minor at least according to the reports) of Hasiak's injury could be a silver lining because it is allowing Mike Harris to get familiar with rest of the starting unit. While it is ideal that we can have as much continuity as possible with a new core of starting unit, it doesn't hurt to have the guys behind in the depth chart also gain some familiarity with the starting unit, in case they are called upon during the season.

Speaking of getting called on (and youth movement), the LAT led their report today with a quick profile on Damien Thigpen. Many of you know the story. Thigpen originally committed to Tennessee this past season. However, after they went through their coaching change, he was off their new coaching staff's radar. Here is how Thigpen ended up in Westwood:

"Their plans seemed to be going a different way, so I decide to look around," Thigpen said.

Eldridge Armstrong, the uncle of UCLA linebacker Isaiah Bowens, called Neuheisel and asked whether the Bruins were interested. Armstrong and Doug Thigpen, Damien's father, are secret service agents.

Neuheisel was interested, and now he has a freshman running back who lately has taken turns with the first-team offense.

He certainly has gotten Neuheisel and Chow's attention:

"He has too much lighting in his bottle not to use him," Coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Thigpen's performance in Saturday's scrimmage put him on the fast track for playing time. He returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown and had a kickoff return of 61 yards. He also had 31 yards in seven carries.

"We have to have a plan for him," offensive coordinator Norm Chow said.

I can't wait to see him. However, here is my one thought about burning his redshirt season. I hope if the coaches burn his redshirt situation, they will use him more than just sparingly in special teams situation. It would be awesome if Chow can use his speed to create mismatches around the field. When I read about this kid I have visions of Dexter Carter (not as a FAIL in Niners uniform but the way he lit up Bobby Bowden's Seminoles offense back in the day).

It sounds like Thigpen is relishing his early experience as a Bruin and eagerly "learning the assigments." Another team-mate of his, who has embraced a new role with the team is Chane Moline. Balderas from the OC Register blogged yesterday about how the former TB is fired up to play FB (and hit LBs) this season:

"It’s a beating. It’s a lot different," Moline said of the fullback position. "As a tailback, you’re running the ball, so you’re obviously going to try to put a beating on the guy that’s trying to tackle you, or avoid him. I’m not a running back that’s going to be juking and jiving. I’m going to put my shoulder down and hit you."

He’ll hit if it means picking up an extra yard or two. He’ll hit to protect his quarterback. He’ll hit to give his teammates some running room. He’ll hit because that’s what fullbacks do.

"As a fullback, you’re hitting linebackers every play you’re in," he said. "That’s the biggest difference. I learned that last year."

Moline got a chance to reacquaint himself with the fullback position when Trevor Theriot hurt his knee prior to the Fresno State game last season. Moline was moved out of the tailback position and back to fullback.

With the depth that the Bruins have at the tailback position this season, it was clear that Moline would not be returning to his previous spot.

"Going into this year, I knew what I was going for," he said. "I bulked up over the offseason."

Moline sat out practice yesterday with a hip-flexor but he should be back today. I have always enjoyed watching this kid play. Again I will bring up a Niners reference (can't help it). But I do have visions of Rathman-Craig with Moline-Coleman/Franklin/Knox in the backfield. Mix in all the speed element with Carroll and Thigpen, and the experiences of Austin, Paulsen, and Moya, well my mouth is watering for some Bruin offense.

It will be up the coaches to mix in the noticable youth movement all over our offense with the veteran experiences of Moline, Austin and Paulsen. If those guys can develop the right chemisrty around a new quarterback and young but talented OL through the season getting us to a bowl game, it will set us up perfectly heading into CRN's third season.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Scrimmage Storylines

Nestor — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:06:42 -0000

It's scrimmage Saturday. As mentioned in my previous post normally this type of scrimmage is lot more about the festivities leading up to it and after it than the actual plays during the scrimmage. I think it is reasonable to expect that the coaching staff will keep everything fairly basic on both sides of the ball. However, it will be exciting for those who haven't been able to make it down for practices because they will get to see a number of talented kids for the first time in a Bruin uniform. As captainqtp noted Randall Carroll - Number 1 - is going to get the start on offense as Austin is away for a wedding reception (who scheduled it this weekend?!). It should be fun to watch our two number 1s - ATV and Carroll - going right at each other.

There will be an interesting subplot in today's scrimmage thought. It will be around our RBs. Christian Ramirez, who has been nicked up a little this fall camp (and he also sat out a big part of spring camp) will be in the spotlight. Per the LA Times, CRN is expecting Ramirez to step up today:

"He’s got to play tomorrow," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "He has to play and play a significant amount." That means "with four backs, if we get 80-90 plays, I hope he can get somewhere around 10 carries." [...]

"Johnathan Franklin has had an unbelievable camp, and Milton Knox has been unbelievable," Neuheisel said. "What’s the pecking order? Everyone deserves a chance to show something."

Ramirez's chance needs to be Saturday.

"We can’t stir around and put a blind eye the way the other kids are running," Neuheisel said. "I think he is eager to get going and hopefully Chris gets rolling tomorrow night."

One of the advantages Ramirez has is coaches know he can provide pass protection. It’s the main area of concern about Franklin and Knox.

"They’re improving, but it is still work in progress," Neuheisel said. "Until they do it without coaches standing right behind them, not against a blocking bag but a thing that is actually moving, we won’t be sure."

Well Christian has been facing a lot of heat on the message boards. Lot of people are anxious to see what Coleman, Frankling and Knox can do on a regular basis without caring too much about the coachs's concerns about their blocking abilities (which they might have improved upon since this past spring). Christian for his part realizes that at this point he does need to prove himself on the field:

"It's one thing to know what you're doing, it's another thing to do it," Ramirez said.

Those are very mature comments on the part of Christian. I am hoping he will be able to step up and validate coach's belief that he was the top RB coming out of spring camp. If not I am sure coaches will end up going with backs who have been productive during practices. More practice related notes after the jump.

Kevin Prince sat out yesterday's practice because of a sore arm. From the Daily News:

Neuheisel shut down redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince's workload in Friday's morning practice, and Prince didn't do much in the afternoon practice because of a sore right arm. Prince is expected to play in today's scrimmage.

"I'm not worried at all," Prince said.

Said Neuheisel: "That's to be expected on Day 13 of camp, and you're throwing as much as he's been throwing, you're arm gets a little dead. We've got to monitor that and keep him on a pitch count."

That makes sense to me. Also, speaking of bumps and bruises, the LAT has an update on the OL shuffle following Kia's injury:

Mike Harris worked at right tackle Friday morning.

"Mike is my third tackle, so he has to know both spots," offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. That was part of the fallout after senior offensive lineman Micah Kia suffered a season-ending knee injury Wednesday.

UCLA's current starting line -- tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo, guard Stanley Hasiak, center Kai Maiava, guard Eddie Williams and tackle Jeff Baca -- is close to being set in stone. Coaches will also explore other options at guard in case Hasiak struggles.

One move available to them is putting Maiava at guard, where he started nine games for Colorado in 2007, and play community college transfer Ryan Taylor at center.

If folks are wondering, whether coaches will bring Sheller or Chandler back to OL, think again. From the OC Register:

"Sheller will stay over with the defense," Palcic said. "They really need some depth over there and I’m comfortable with the guys I have left."

From that comment I am going to assume Chandler will be stay at TE as well. Also, think it's noteworthy how Palcic sounds "comfortable" with the group he has at OL. Don't recall hearing that kind of comment from him last season. I can see why that kind of comment will make many of us hopefuly to the point of delusional. :-)

BTW big ups to Sheller for being a team player (much like Chandler from last season) and accomdating the coach's needs even if it the position shift might be a little bewildering:

Neuheisel attributed Sheller’s demotion to the influx of new players on the offensive line, which includes two true freshmen and a JC transfer. They then seem to beat out Sheller, seeing that Neuheisel approached him at the beginning of this week and asked him to switch to defensive tackle.

"He’s a total team player," Neuheisel said. "From fighting back from the injuries he’s sustained to now being of use on the defense. If need be he’d come back over and have the right attitude."

Sheller, who has not played on defense since 2005, struggled while working with the second string Thursday. He is still very much learning his new position but has welcomed the move thus far.

"I’m pretty excited about it," he said. "I really wasn’t doing much with the offense. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m here for the team. I’m not disappointed at all."

That kind of story makes us root for kids like Sheller even harder. It will be hell of a story if he ends up contributing from that position this season.

Lastly, before heading out to Drake, note some players will be sitting out due to minor bumps and bruises. Kai Forbath (sore right leg), Jerzy Siewierski (back) and Gavin Ketchum (hamstring) are going to sit out today. I rather have those guys healthy than aggravate minor injuries at a Fall scrimmage.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Dealing With Adversity

Nestor — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:14:24 -0000

Freshman Anchors: Hasiak (74) and XSF (56), Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

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If you have been coming to this (online) bar since the first day it opened you would the know the kind of energy and excitement we have been experiencing around fall practice this year is unprecedented. We just haven't been this excited about football since we started blogging about UCLA football. However, we always knew we had to keep our excitement in check given the state of our football program which is in the middle of long rebuilding process after years of neglect under incompetent and mediocre football coaches. We knew the depth in our program is a big question since the depth chart is filled with youngsters who simply don't have the experience or enough of it to give us tangible datapoints on what to really expect from this coming season. That is why over and over again during this off season we talked about the realistic expectations around this team would be to hope for a +2 season (improvement from last year by getting 2 more victories) in 2009.

Well we got a jarring sense of reality after the bumps and bruises piled up during the second week of practice. Actually in Kia's case (as two of you have noted already in the fanshots) the injury is more than a mere bump as he will be will out for the entire season. From the LA Times:

Senior guard Micah Kia was lost for the season, after an MRI exam revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Center Kai Maiava, meanwhile, was a spectator, sitting out contact drills, said to be precautionary because of a sore shoulder.

On the other side of the ball, Jerzy Siewierski, a starting defensive tackle, was missing because of a back injury. Korey Bosworth, a starting defensive end, watched contact drills because of a "few bumps and bruises," he said.

"No question our depth is an issue," Neuheisel said, adding, "but it is what it is," which was followed by an optimistic moment, "we have to play with our hair on fire . . . "

That is a tough break for a kid who was coming in, all fired up, ready to have a great senior season. Kyle Bosworth can relate since he went through the same ordeal coming into his senior season last year:

"The more you heal now, the less it hurts and the less it bothers you later," said Kyle Bosworth, who missed most of last season with a knee injury suffered in Week 2. "When I got hurt, it was really hard to sit there and know I wouldn't be playing. At the beginning I thought, `I've been practicing so hard, it'll be nice to have a couple days off.' Those couple days turned into a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months.

"Man, it really sucks."

What hurts the most, Bosworth said - and Kia agreed - was the extra hard work that went into what was supposed to be the final college season.

"Coming into this, I know he was so focused," Bosworth said. "Last year, this is everything, all the apples in the baskets. It's just like all that hard work is for nothing. It makes you hungrier. I remember coming back in for spring ball, and I played my (behind) off.

Well it's not fun but the world is not coming to an end in Westwood.

We discussed yesterday that this kind of injuries to linemen during training camp is not unusual. This happens and its the kind of adversity that is often just part of the game. This is why schools work so hard to stock pile their depth charts with bodies. To their credit coaches have been focusing on doing just that at OL since the time they stepped into Westwood. That is why coming into this year they had about 18 kids competing for the 5 starting spot at OL. Now this injury means a youngster will get definite chances to show his staff. This is exactly why kids like Hasiak and XSF came to Westwood, shocking the world during recruiting season this past year. They are going to be able to compete and develop themselves by jumping right into the fire. More after the jump.

Kai Maiava, who also sat out practice with a sore shoulder (as precaution) is excited about Hasiak getting his opportunity right away in Westwood:

"He has to realize that when these opportunities come around - and they don't come around very often - you've just got to rise to the occasion," Maiava said. "When the time comes and it's game time, I'll let him know, `You've got to step up because it's your turn."'

Hasiak will not be the only first year Bruin getting his shot to prove himself at the OL. From the LA Times:

The Bruins first offensive line unit included freshman offensive lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo and guard Stanley Hasiak and two community college transfers, guard Eddie Williams and center Ryan Taylor.

Maiava's condition was said not to be serious and he was expected to return to practice today. But Kia's injury all but guarantees that quarterback Kevin Prince's blind side will be protected by freshmen.

"That was a big loss," offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. "Micah was having a great camp. This was going to be his fourth year playing. He's an experienced guy."

So sit back and think for a minute about our starting unit in the first game of the season. Our offensive line will most likely have at least 2 true freshman, 1 transfer (Maiava). We will have starting QB who hasn't taken a single snap at the college level. Our RBs will either be extremely young or inexperienced. Among the WR corps, Austin and Ketchum will be only upper classmen, while Paulsen will be the only other senior besides Austin anchoring the offense. Do you get now why we have been relentless in being practical about our season expectations for this year? I think getting 7 wins with this unit would be an amazing accomplishment (akin to getting into second round of the NCAA tournament during Howland's second year). I will gladly take 6 wins and an appearance in a bowl game.

FWIW, CRN wanted the kids to play with the "hair on fire." Well look what happened out at Spaulding:

1) A spirited goal-line session was interrupted by players running onto the field after consecutive touchdowns to start the drill. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was not pleased, as he shouted to the sideline, "Cut it out!"
Take one: If I'm a head coach, I love the enthusiasm, somewhat misguided as it was. Good for Neuheisel for maintaining order, but good for the players for making him need to.

Seems like they are getting his message. Seems like they are dealing with adversity just fine and responding to the leadership of their head coach. Leadership, again something that has been missing from UCLA football at least from the head coaching position, for decades. I am glad to see signs of it.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Slugging Through Two A Days (With Energy)

Nestor — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:20:35 -0000

Bruins are hitting the time of the preseason camp when bumps and bruises start taking toll over football teams. Not too surprisingly we are starting to see more reports of players getting injured at practices or coming back from injuries. On Wednesday another lineman - Micah Kia - went down with a knee injury. From the OC Register:

Kia hurt his right knee with about 10 minutes remaining in Wednesday's practice at Spaulding Field.

"Right now it's a right knee sprain," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

By today it could be something worse.

Kia was scheduled to undergo an MRI – either Wednesday night or this morning – to determine the severity of the injury.

"I think Kia will be back," Neuheisel said. "He's that kind of guy. He's worked hard for this."

Kia is the second senior OL to go down with a knee injury during this camp:

"It's sad to see two seniors, Ekbatani and Kia, fall to injury but this game does that," Neuheisel said. "It gives an opportunity to somebody else and whoever it is has to pick up the flag and carry on."

Ekbatani is going to be out 4-6 weeks. Kia's injury means Hasiak will probably get an opportunity to step up right away. Honestly, I don't see any reason to freak out over these injuries. I don't have specific data available to me in terms of ratio of players who go down with these injuries to the entire team every practice. However, the amount of bumps and bruises we are seeing at Spaulding, seems to me fairly normal occurrence at least for this time of the year.

We have to keep in mind what a violent sport this really is. You have 280-310 lb athletes exploding out of their three point stances and gong right at each other in warp speed in down after downs, often leaving them vulnerable. When you put it in perspective, these kinds of injuries shouldn't be all that surprising. That is why it is so incredibly important to have depth in the team and that plays a direct role in whether a team can contend for championships. We don't have that depth yet and it will take another year or two build it up. But then again we knew that as we were going through various positions (well we still have the DB position to go through). If you had that perspective, then you wouldn't freak out over these injuries. Anyway, let's hope CRN is right and Kia gets to come back soon. More after the jump.

In addition to Kia, Maiava was also banged up. Per the LA Times he "sat out the end of practice with a sore left shoulder." It was a preautionary step:

Neuheisel was less concerned about Maiava, who watched from the sideline the last part of practice. Ryan Taylor took over center on the first team and Jake Dean was center on the second team.

"It was precautionary," Neuheisel said. "He just has a sore shoulder, which is the nature of the beast when you're in the trenches."

Now the good news is accorting to practice observers the offense continues to look decent. According to Jeff_is_smiling who has been posting detailed practice reports on BruinGold and other UCLA boards for years, there was a lot of "positive energy" by the offense throughout the practice:

On the good side, and it was VERY good (at least to me) was the swagger the offense seems to have at this point. There was a very good, positive energy by the offense throughout the practice. The defense played well, so they didn't make every play, but the offense definitely made plays. between this morning and this afternoons practices, I saw more athletic plays out of the offense than I saw all last year in all the practices I saw. Throws made to the only spot where the defender cannot get to. Routes run well and excellent grabs made to snag the rock. More time given to the QB to get the throw off.

In past years, I always felt that ANY success by the offense against the defense was noteworthy. Now, even successful plays are not good enough for the offensive coaches. We have come a LONG way in a short period of time.

You can read more specifics from Jeff over here. No doubt the energy level is up due the infusion of new talent. And we can see that in the WR spot. Jill Painter reports how Ketchum, Rosario, Carroll and Marvray are in the thick of competing for three of top five recivers post (Austin and Embree has the other two locked up):

Gavin Ketchum and Rosario Nelson have the inside track on two of the others, although Ketchum is out with a tight hamstring.

Freshmen Randall Carroll and Ricky Marvray have been impressive and taken a lot of reps in practice.

"I don't want to say we were lacking last year, but we're more complete now, if that makes sense," Austin said.

"I think both Ricky and Carroll complete us. Carroll adds a deep aspect, and we can stretch the field on one side.

Ricky runs pretty good routes for him to be a freshman. He can help out with the stuff underneath and the intermediate routes."

These guys are getting everything they can handle from their defensive team-mates. To get a sense of how charged up our DBs are read the following comment from walkon CB Andrew Abbott in the LAT (emphasis added):

Andrew Abbott, a walk-on cornerback, reestablished himself quickly in full-contact drills after returning from a concussion Wednesday.

He spent most of both practices on the first team as the nickel back.

"Working with the first team as the nickel is a good way for me to get on the field right now," Abbott said. "I'll do special teams, I'll do anything. I just want to play."

No wonder there is a sense of energy in practices we haven't felt in years. The fun gets started again today at 3:00 pm PST. There is only an afternoon practice today. Coaches will have two practices tomorrow before putting together the scrimmage at Drake (5:00 pm) on Saturday. I know I would get out there to check out these guys if I lived near LA. Hope many of you can do the same and can share the stories with rest of us.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: ATV Aces It & More Notes On Our Frontlines

Nestor — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:20:22 -0000

Well it's kind of tough to pivot back to football after my previous post. But I have in pretty good authority is that is exactly what EZ would do (and I know he was reading this blog religiously every am especially during those brutal Dorrell years). We will start with someone who has reminded all of us what Bruin student athletes are all about: ATV. I guess I thought ATV was done with blogging this past week since school was winding down but I was wrong. He has one more update from his 2009 summer with the following note on how did in that Romanian class he took. He aced it:

Today I found out I received an A in the class. That means all the five hour days every day for six weeks paid off. I am done with my foreign language requirement now and have just nine more classes until I have earned my BA from UCLA

What else did you expect right? Well while his chances of success on the football field is pretty good as well this year, there is one game in which he has been coming out on the losing end. Apparently his girlfiend has been running laps around him in pool. You will have to read the full details here.

Moving on let's talk about ATV's team-mates on both sides of the line. More after the jump.

We will pick up where we left off yesterday: the OL. Al Balderas from the OC Register posted few interesting comments from our OL about why they are expecting a better season this year:

"We were pretty light up front last year as a whole, so that created mismatches for us," lineman Nick Ekbatani said in an e-mail. "I don’t believe that will be a problem for us this season. Guys have worked hard and coach Linn has done a tremendous job helping us get stronger.

"It was as if there was a new culture created this offseason in the weight room and on the field. I know these gains will allow us to create some mismatches this year, as opposed to being mismatched."

That’s not all.

Sophomore Jeff Baca and senior Micah Kia gained experience from last season, and redshirt sophomore (and transfer from Colorado) Kai Maiava should compete for a starting spot on the O-line.

"I thought guys like (redshirt juniors) Jake Dean and Brandon Bennett showed some noticeable improvement (at spring camp), Ekbatani added.

Well I know everyone is feeling optimistic. So am I. When the new depth chart comes out we will have to match up the weights from this past spring with August. We will probably see some gains. However, I am still going to remain a bit skeptical because I feel like I have read this kind of feel good off-season story every year. My biggest question right now around this unit is toughness and it will be interesting to see how they come out in the first few games.

It seems like Coach Todd Howard is striking the same note with regards to cautious optimis while talking about his students - linemen from other side of the ball. He gave a very interesting interview to Robert Kuwada from Bruin Report Online (formerly the UCLA beat writer for the OC Register) sounding off about this year's DL. Since the article is not behind a subscription firewall here is an excerpt on Howard's cautious optimism:

"I’m always optimistic and I always think the new group is going to do better than the group previously, though that remains to be seen."

That does remain to be seen, but, for the record, Howard believes this defensive line can be very good, the ends just as productive as Bruce Davis and Justin Hickman were in his first year in Westwood when they tied for fourth in the nation in sacks and earned All-American honors.

"The guys that I have this year I think have a chance to be as good as those two guys," Howard said, of Bosworth and sophomore Datone Jones.

"I think both of them will have a shot at double-digit sacks. If they can stay healthy throughout the 12 games and hopefully a bowl game, they will get double-digit sacks. You’ve got Datone, who is bigger than Hickman and faster the Hickman. He’s a sophomore, so that’s the only thing – you have to see if it clicks for him, but he’s working hard.

"Then you have Korey Boz, who is every bit as fast as Bruce Davis was. He’s stronger than Bruce Davis. He might not be as flexible as Bruce Davis, but that was something I told him at the end of the spring that he needed to work on. I felt like had he not had a few misses here and there, he would have had double-digit sacks last year …as it was, he had 7 ½.

"I think a guy like Brian Price should get seven or eight inside. And Jerzy (Siewierski) has a better finesse game than Brigham Harwell, and he might be the best athlete of all them."

You can read rest of the interview with Howard here.

It is going to be a treat to see these guys go up against each other for few weeks starting next Monday. While I am going to wait for now to get completely optimistic about this coming soon, I am looking forward to reading about the competiton that is going to take place in Spaulding. It is going to be fierce for the first time in a very long time in Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

Right Direction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well that certainly gives support to CRN's decision.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The kid runs with aggression:

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

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

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

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

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

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

GO BRUINS.

Bright Spots (In A World Of Reality)

Nestor — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:08:05 -0000

We are now three games into Rick Neuheisel’s first season at UCLA, and I think it is starting to become clear to everyone in BN, precisely what we were foreshadowing when we were writing all those posts with taglines “dose of reality” during this off season. There is no escaping from it. We find ourselves at this position not by accident. This is a result of total mismanagement and lack of competent leadership this program has endured for more than a decade (note we are not just pinning this on the previous HC, even though he hastened the downward spiral this program has been going since December 5, 1998).

Right now, I am not sure if there is any use for UCLA fans to get upset every loss this season and probably the next one. I agree with Telemachus that more than ever we need to stand behind our team and with Class of 66 that we need to circle the wagon by getting behind the kids we have in our program, while we wait for the recruits CRN, Chow and Walker bring in next few years. However, at the same time, I think it is important for us to make honest observations about our week to week performance that will enable us to maintain perspective and appreciate the week to week progress that might not be showing up in the final scoreboard.

With that in mind, I will start with the offense. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise flagged the obvious positive marker from yesterday:

An offense that had gained a mere 38 yards rushing in two games, 29 inches for each of the 47 carries against Tennessee and BYU, had just picked up 115 yards and averaged 4.1 yards against the Wildcats.

Those totals beat Arizona's 111 net yards and 3.2-yard-per-carry average.

And how about the somewhat unlikely pair that put up those numbers. First was 232-pound Chane Moline, with a mere 23 yards in 13 attempts coming into this game, who ran for 72 on 11 carries (a 6.5 average).

Moline's first carry of 9 yards eclipsed the Bruins' previous season high of 7 by Ray Carter, one of three UCLA running backs to miss this game. Carter was out with a knee injury. Kahlil Bell and Aundre Dean were out with ankle problems.

So there was Moline, a junior from Mission Viejo, twisting and turning for 40 yards at the end of the first half and eclipsing UCLA's two-game team total in one run.

"I thought we rushed the ball all right," Moline said. "But we gotta stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a good week of practice. We focused on running the ball. And we had a chance today. But we've got to be perfect. And we have to build on it.

"We have to improve even more running the ball this week to get ready for Fresno State."

We also have to give our beleaguered OL some credit. They showed improvement yesterday and they started to get it going starting with the last drive at the end of the first half. Note how the coaches put in freshman Jeff Baca at LT to replace Kia to start the second half. I think that was a clear message sent to the entire OL that no one’s starting assignment is safe. Sure, the production of OL is not close to where we want it to be. But we still have to appreciate the obvious progress that took place yesterday. (UPDATE: It looks like Baca was inserted due to Kia's backpain (HT Bald Eagle). However, as noted the OL played much better once Baca got it).

Speaking of bright spots, Derrick Coleman made a nice debut at the Rose Bowl as he rushed for 24 yards in 7 carries. In the limited carries he got, it was clear DC hits the holes with authority and aggression. I liked the term Papadakis used to describe him as someone who runs with “violence and fight.”

That said, we can’t escape the fact about what went wrong with the offense. Tele already noted the bad and ugly below. I think we have to discuss the QB situation. There is no doubt the kid is giving a valiant effort and we will never forget his second half performance against Tennessee (who BTW is turning out to be a very over-rated, mediocre team which might be firing its head coach at the end of this season). However, based on what we have seen last two weeks, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for coaches to ponder about what other options they might have to jump start the offense. Here is Rick Neuheisel in Jill Painter’s DN report:

Craft's not getting the job done, and it's unclear if UCLA will turn to someone else - be it Kevin Prince or Ben Olson when he returns from injury. Everyone's position is tenuous, according to Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel.

"We're going to evaluate all the positions," Neuheisel said. "It's easy in these situations to hide behind the team. When you're the quarterback, you don't get to hide. It's easy to say he must be the reason you're unsuccessful.

"Kevin wants to (be successful). He works hard, and I hope he can continue to work hard and continue to improve. Just like all positions on the team, we're going to evaluate them and keep working to find answers."

And Norm Chow:

Asked if he was concerned Craft might be taking the brunt of the criticism, UCLA offensive coordinator Chow said: "He should. He's the leader of this group, and he needs to take responsibility. The other 10 guys need to take responsibility as well."

I think Craft is doing the best he can in terms of managing the game. To his credit he hasn’t thrown a pick since the first half of the Tennessee game. But at the same time the coaches need a little bit more at the QB position to keep the offense moving.

From what we have seen to date, it looks like KC doesn’t have the arm strength to look off the D and complete a medium range pass over 10 yards. That’s a problem because it is allowing the opposing D to cheat and bring up their LBs to completely stuff the short passes. Those short passes are effective when the defense has to be wary about the QB being able to go downfield. Right now from what we have seen it looks like KC doesn’t have the physical tools to keep the opposing D honest and off balance.

Also there were couple of plays yesterday that really pointed to the glaring talent issue (I know it’s not a fun topic to discuss, but it has to be pointed out to keep things in perspective) in this offense. There were two potential situations that could have been game changing moments in Bruins favor. First, there was that Moline rumble for 40 yards. Moline was able to get himself in a nice space and then bust into the open field. All he had to do is just break away from one takler. But he didn’t have the speed to break away. Again, big ups to Chane for giving the effort he did yesterday. However, you would have to think that if the Bruins had an elite back with true breakaway speed, the game could have turned. Similarly Dominique had a chance to catch a Craft slant pass and house it. I think that’s the kind of opportunity we have to take advantage of. As I pointed out during the game thread Arizona had three dependable game breakers in Gronkowski, Thomas and Grigsby (along with Tuitama). To date we have no one has emerged as a game breaker in our team.

I think Chane is getting lot of reps because he looks like he is the best blocker among our backs. And given the tenuous situation with our OL, it is understandable why coaches would give him large chunk of our reps. Hopefully Bell will get healthy soon because if he comes back in top form, our offense could become serviceable if the OL continues to show same the improvement it did on Saturday.

Shifting our focus to defense, Walker’s unit made a decent showing yesterday. The run defense was much better as Harwell and Price sealed up the middle. We are still having issues with tackling though. Perhaps as our young secondary gets more experience, they will become better at it.

Also, speaking of our secondary, our pass coverage is still an issue. I think Walker has been solid in terms of scheming against pro-set base offense. However, I think for him to emerge as truly one of the best five defensive coordinators in the country, he will need to improve his schemes against spread offense formations. I don’t think I was the only one holding my breath when Tuitama was airing it out deep at the Rose Bowl. Well, I think the silver lining here is that I think if Walker brings in few more good recruits this season and next, he will have that opportunity to improve on that aspect of coaching and emerge as one of the best in the game.

Moving over the special teams, it was an ugly performance for Gansz’s crew. Let’s start with the return coverage. Arizona piled up more than 200 yards in return yardage at the Rose Bowl. Seems like they are couple of issues FG needs to correct. First, let’s start with Perez. He had two booming kicks. However, he also had few line drives with not much hang time not allowing our guys much time to get up field. Second, our gunners were atrocious. We are hoping this is something coaches can correct in the short term because the horrific coverage led to short field, putting our defense in bad spots.

Also, speaking of special teams, I wonder if the coaches can look at other options for punt returning. Austin is a talented athlete but he needs to work on getting up the field, instead of dancing around too much to avoid tackles. There was another situation where he let the ball go even though he had room to catch and go. Again, just like coaches are making sure no positions are safe (as they showed by starting Baca over Kia and putting Craft on notice), I am assuming they will take a close look at punt returning position in the coming week.

Well despite the above reference concerns about our current personnel, I trust these coaches to make the right decision. I don’t think there is a better combination than Chow and Neuheisel to address quarterback issues. I think they will make the right decision when it comes to trying out Prince or Olson (whenever he is 100 percent healthy).

It’s not a fun situation that we are in right now. There is a long road ahead, as CRN mustered up the following remarks to stay with his relentlessly positive mantra following yesterday’s game:

"There is not, I don't think, a quick-fix solution to this," he said. "It's about everybody getting focused, and really getting involved with individual improvement, that will then show collectively. I am optimistic. I'm always optimistic. I do believe there will be brighter days ahead."

UCLA's anemic showing was so mesmerizingly inept, Neuheisel showed gratitude to those of the 65,434 in attendance who endured all 60 minutes, of all things, not booing.

"I appreciate our fans for staying," Neuheisel said. "It must have been hard to watch as we were trying to climb back into the game, and yet there was very little in the way of booing. It showed a lot of class."

Losing should never be acceptable and we deplore moral victories. However, as mentioned above the situation we are in right now didn’t happen overnight, and our coaches no matter how good they are, cannot resolve it over night. This is going to take a lot of time and patience on our part collectively as member of the larger Bruin athletic community.

We will need our coaches to recruit speed and athleticism at all the skill positions (on both offense and defense) so that we can emerge as an above average BCS conference team in next three seasons. Meantime, we have to ride this out and appreciate the progress we are making on a week to week basis.

GO BRUINS.