SB Nation - Reginald Stokes

Spaulding Roundup: Bye Week Practice Notes

Nestor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:14:46 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Jet Ski working on holding on to the rock

Bruins continue to use the bye week to work on fundamentals and slowly work in players who went down with injuries during late summer camp. I am assuming coaches are quietly putting together their scouting report (if they haven't done it already) for Stanford but they are not talking about the Cards to reporters yet. Moreover, they are probably not going to work on installing that specific game plan until next week because they will want to make sure that it stays fresh in our players' minds, and might throw in wrinkles after what they see in the Stanford-Washington matchup.

So going back to working on basics Johnathan Franklin has been focusing on holding on to the rock. Jet Ski despite his great start has had some issues with fumbling. He almost gave the game away in Tennessee when he fumbled near our own goal-line (but was lucky enough to recover it). He then fumbled again during the fourth quarter against KSU this past week (but by that time UCLA was up by 14 points against a mediocre KSU offense). He is not going to be able to get away with making those mistakes in brutal Pac-10 matchups. Foster from the LAT reports on how Jet Ski is "working on keeping a firm grip":

"He knows the consequences of putting the ball on the ground," running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "You can't do that to your teammates, he knows that."

Franklin, who had 119 yards rushing against Kansas State, said he has to "be more aware as far as putting two hands on the ball and holding it high and tight."

Both fumbles came on runs through the line.

"It's a wake-up call," Moses said. "Once you get into traffic, you have to cover up. Once they get you and start ripping and stripping, if you don't have two hands on the ball, you're not going to hold on to it."

Again it also helps that he is being pushed by a deep stable of tailbacks as 4 guys are fighting for playing time. Hopefully his focus on this aspect of the game will pay off in the coming weeks. This is all part of the development of a first year (red-shirt freshman) running back. Well our running backs have been finding some holes to run through this season thanks to a revamped OL. Looks like the OL might be getting another boost in the near future. Find out how after the jump.

Mentioned yesterday how Coach Palcic was excited about getting Ekbatani back in his rotation. Jon Gold froom the Daily News expands on that story today:

Well, Ekbatani is back, and along with him, some of that depth.

"To get him back means more competition, more rotating, and it is killer," said sophomore left guard Jeff Baca. "He's a senior, a returning starter, the only guy who started 12 games last year, and he's a special player."

With his versatility, no position is safe.

While Ekbatani primarily rotated at guard Wednesday, Ekbatani is what Palcic truly values: an offensive lineman who can play everywhere.

"I'll fit in wherever they need me; I've played every position since I've been here, and whoever's lagging I can fit in for," said Ekbatani, who started the first six games of 2008 at right tackle before switching to starting right guard for the final half year. "It will create some good competition, get guys going."

And speaking of getting guys going, Reginald Stokes, who tore his right knee cartilage back in August and expected to miss at least half the season, is apparently making "fast recovery." He has been practicing with the team this week and took part in full-contact drills yesterday. From the LA Times:

"I’m close," said Stokes, a 6-foot-3, 266-pound junior. "I’m starting to do a little bit here and there and ease myself back."

But asked if he could play against Stanford next week, Stokes said, "As of today, yes."

While that is pretty amazing, CRN is being cautious:

Coach Rick Neuheisel said Stokes was way ahead of schedule, but was more cautious about an immediate return. Stokes was ticketed for a key role off the bench, but the Bruins have received solid play from redshirt freshman Damien Holmes.

"The trainers earlier this week were less than optimistic that he would play," Neuheisel said. "But it is in Reggie’s heart to make sure he makes it all the way back. I’m encouraged that he did well [Tuesday]. I’d be pleasantly surprised if he is at full speed and ready next week."

Either way this is great news. I personally thought after an injury like that he would just sit out this season with a medical redshirt and come back next year. I am sure CRN will do the right thing by taking the cautious approach under counsel of some of the best doctors in the country.

However, given the excitement from this past few weeks and seeing how the team is so fired up, excited behind Neuheisel, can't blame the kid for doing everything he can to get himself back in action. Who doesn't want to be part of something like this?

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Freshmen - Price/Brehaut - Getting Ready For Kansas State

Nestor — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:25:57 -0000

Let's pick up this morning with the story about four Bruins - Viney, Knox, Carroll and Presley - getting suspended for the KSU game. So far Viney has offered up a public statement about the suspension (spotted by Insomniac) in which the sophomore (presumably speaking on behalf of all four) took full responsibility for their actions:

"We violated a team rule and it’s a fair decision," Viney said. "You’ve just got to take it and move forward from here."

Viney then added the following wrt to preparation for KSU:

"The team is well prepared, regardless, for Kansas State this week," Viney said. "They’ll go out and be on top of their game."

At this point I don't really have anything else to add beyond what I wrote last night and will shift back into the game prep mode. Looks like it might be true freshman Sheldon Price (who already got some action against San Diego State) who could take up Viney's spot at practice:

"I got guys falling left and right," said Carnell Lake, who coaches the cornerbacks. "I got to get Sheldon Price as many reps as I can. I got to throw him to the fire in practice."

Sheldon got majority of the reps yesterday, however coaches gave Abbott some practice time yesterday as well as Coach Bullough wants to see who picks up his scheme the best:

"We're going to play the guy who knows what he's doing the most," UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. "More than matching the guys, we're trying to get a guy out there who knows what he's doing. They've got great coaches who teach them if they're shorter against a big guy what to do, if they're taller against a short guy what to do."

Price looked unsure at times against seasoned wide receivers Terrence Austin, a senior, and sophomore Taylor Embree. However, lined up across Verner, one of the top cornerbacks in the country, he expects to settle into the role.

"He meets with the guys during the week, and when we're game planning, he's like an extra coach," Bullough said of Verner. "He knows everything, knows the defense inside out. He talks guys through stuff, just a calming presence out there."

If there is a silver lining here, it is that our CB corps should be well seasoned by the time we get into the Pac-10 schedule. Also, I am sure ATV will remind Sheldon (and Ty) about how he also got his start as a true freshman at UCLA (and did some memorable things in his first game (Utah) and throughout rest of that year). Sheldon is going to be all right.

Speaking of freshman let's talk about Richard Brehaut (Jill Painter tells us it's pronounced "Bree-ho") after the jump.

So no official decision yet on who will be starting at the QB spot on Saturday. However, here were the breakdown on number of snaps taken with the first team in yesterday's practice:

Brehaut was with the first team during practice most of Tuesday. He spent 45 plays with the first team in 11-on-11 drills, including the last 12 against the first-team defense. Craft, who threw a school record 20 interceptions in 2008, had 18 plays with the first team.

"I came in early so I could get this opportunity," said Brehaut, who enrolled at UCLA last April to participate in spring practice. "I'm prepared to go out and have some fun."

We have followed Brehaut's progression (via news reports) pretty closely here on BN. The article linked above is a profile from Chris Foster of the LAT, detailing Brehaut's thorough preparation to be the Bruin QB at UCLA:

Brehaut was a talented catcher whose focus was baseball, but that changed his junior year in high school. After losing a baseball playoff game, Brehaut and his father drove straight to Berkeley so he could participate in a Nike camp the next day. He won the Elite 11 competition despite being one of the few sophomores in attendance.

"We walked in there with nothing but the shirts on our back and Richard won the whole thing," Daniel Brehaut said. "I knew then that baseball might take a back seat."

Brehaut polished his skills working with noted quarterback coaching guru Steve Clarkson, one of the pioneers in tutoring young quarterbacks.

"These kids are playing quarterback year-round," said Coach Rick Neuheisel, who played quarterback at UCLA. "They are learning all sorts of different things and talking schemes. They are clearly further along than we were in my day."

Painter also writes how Brehaut is ready for his moment:

Brehaut left high school early and enrolled at UCLA to participate in spring practices, which makes starting him Saturday all the more easier.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow shouldn't have to close the playbook.

"He's athletic. He can throw," Chow said. "He's capable of making plays. He has to do it within the framework of our offense."

And added how Breuhaut is probably the right choice to start on Saturday:

The Bruins already know what Craft can do. We know the kid is resilient. He always got up when knocked down, even when he threw four first-half interceptions last year against Tennessee. But he wasn't the answer.

We don't know how Brehaut will do in a game situation, as he has thrown only two passes - completing both - for 39 yards late in a season-opening blowout of San Diego State.

But it's a great time to find out.

Generally agree with that take. I think he still has to prove himself to the coaches during practices this week and earn it though. Plus CRN and Chow will have the final say on this matter and given their experience with QBs, we are not going to be questioning their decision on this topic whatever it turns out to be.

The key for Richard again is going to stay as composed as possible feeling without any kind of pressure. Lucky for him he has some decent talent to work around him and the offensive line this season looks little more capable from the one from last year. He needs to trust his team-mates ability to do their part and then just focus on his responsibility to execute. Here is a former Bruin QB who knows a little something about starting as a true freshman:

"You don't have the responsibility squarely on your shoulders, and it's up to the coaches to make sure the quarterback, whether he's a senior or true freshman, doesn't have everything squarely on his shoulders," McNown said. "It needs to be spread out throughout the team. They'll want to go in with a game plan he can execute. Keep it simple and go from there."

I expect the coaches to design a pretty conservative game plan (no matter who is at the QB), which will require the OL to really exert themselves on the KSU defensive frontline. If the OL can open up some running lanes early for DC and Franklin to bust throug, give Brehaut (or Craft) enough time to complete short, safe passes to our backs/TEs or receivers to catch and then run some YACs, we are going to be ok.

Lastly, I am going to end this round up with some great news. From the LA Times:

Defensive end Reginald Stokes, who had knee surgery last month, returned to individual drills. The Bruins hope to have him ready for the Stanford game on Oct. 3.

That is simply fantastic news. If Stokes actually fully recovers and makes it back for Stanford game, that would be a huge boost for our defense (considering many of us thought he might be out for the entire season).

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.

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.

Roundup From BN Walk: Aikman's Weekend, Stokes Interview, Umodu's Writeup & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:00:29 -0000

More photos » by JOE RAYMOND - AP

Browse more photos »

Let's start the week with one last shout to Troy Aikman was officially enshrinement at the College Football HOF in South Bend, Indiana this past weekend. That's a picture of Aikman hanging out on his float at the Enshrinement Parade. In case you missed it probably the biggest story from all the festivities (at least for our purposes here on BN) was Aikman's comments about standards for success for a UCLA quarterback (beat U$C & get into the Rose Bowl) in Westwood.

While Aikman's legacy at UCLA by his own account was "incomplete" he still achieved immortality at the next level and given the way he has been making an effort to stay in touch with his alma mater, that "incomplete" resume is not going to stay in the way of him being remembered as a football legend from UCLA.

Moving on to the present, kids like Reginald Stokes - another out of state Bruin football player like Aikman - are now working hard to reestablish UCLA football program in Westwood. Why I am talking about Stokes? Because he sat down for a pretty cool interview with the official site. Stokes who is a redshirt Junior from football player from Montgomery, AL, had somewhat of a breakout season in 2008, seeing action in 11 games and making five starts. He shined in his first career start against Oregon, when he was credited with five tackles and also blocked a field goal attempt. More on the interview after the jump.

Stokes specifically talked about his huge breakout performance against Oregon and what the last regular season game means to the UCLA program (also referenced by Aikman this past weekend)

Q: Last season, you had a breakthrough game against Oregon. How did it feel to have such success in your first start?
A: It felt great to have my first start in college football against a good team like Oregon. Throughout the week at practice I just wanted to make sure I knew the game plan for the week and concentrate on my responsibilities. I also wanted my teammates to feel comfortable with me being out on the field with them for a full game instead of having to come in as a substitute. I got great advice from a former teammate, defensive end Justin Hickman, who told me what he did and how to get ready for a game. He also told me what I needed to work on. I also talked to fellow teammate and roommate Alterraun Verner, who also gave me some helpful tips on how to prepare for a game. Blocking the field goal was a big relief after having missed an assignment on the previous series that gave Oregon a big play. I knew I had to do something big to make up for it.

Q: You earned a starting position against USC this past season. Talk about the deep rivalry between UCLA and USC and how it felt to be out on the field for that game.
A: Well, me being from Alabama, I didn't really know much about the rivalry until my freshman year when I experienced it firsthand. Seeing the fire and intensity in my teammates' and coaches' eyes the week of the game really showed me what the rivalry was all about. It made me want to be that much better so I could help UCLA win that game in the years to come. Even before entering this game, I knew it was going to be a war from all of the publicity. What made me play harder was knowing that I was out there with friends who were raised watching this rivalry, and I wanted to help them feel the same way the previous Bruins felt after winning the game a couple of years before. When running on the field, you can feel the passion and the pride that take place during this game. The crowd has so much energy that you can feed off. But once the game starts, I really don't notice the crowd because I will be in that mindset that nothing around me matters but the calls and signals that I have to know for that particular play.

You can read rest of the interview here.

Stokes talked about his game day rituals which includes riding the same bus with Darius Savage, Terrence T.A Austin, Al Verner, Christian Ramirez and Tobi Umodu, who he came into UCLA with. Well speaking of coming into UCLA Tobi had some interesting takes in his weekly editon of "Keeping it Bruin." Tobi wrote about unique expereinces UCLA athletes go through as freshmen when they arrive in Westwood:

WESTWOOD—Freshman year of college is always a bittersweet time for any student because they have to leave everything they know behind, but on the other hand they are excited about all the new experiences they will encounter.

For athletes it’s a bit of the same except they not only have to deal with the pressure of coming from a high school to a college academic field, they must deal with a transition in the athletic field also.

In high school every athlete was the biggest thing on campus. Everyone knew their name, the teachers gave them breaks in class, and the future wasn’t in question because a scholarship already let people know your destination. Coming into college a lot of athletes experience uncertainty for the first time and start to worry about whether things will pan out just like they did in high school.

"My freshman year was definitely a learning experience. Athletically I had to adjust to new coaches, a new training environment, decreased training hours, and a new team oriented aspect of competing. Academically I entered college after having taken a year of school off to focus on my athletic goals. Classes were definitely challenging and provided a much different learning environment," said junior gymnast Marcy Burnholtz.

Now as interesting as Tobi's take is, I wonder how the experience for students who often come into UCLA, somehow end up rooming with super star athletes from high school. I know most of times football, basketball players usually end up rooming together, however, there are times students have to room with student-athletes. While I was at UCLA few of couple of my friends ended up staying with football players up in Saxon suites and it worked out ok for them because the guys they were staying with were really cool.

Still there are interesting stories around the country when regular students have to room with huge student atheletes. For example, read through the series of posts entitled "Livin Large" on the blog Basketbawful. They are a hilarious series of posts (you need to start at Part I) of some kid from Purdue who somehow ended up rooming with a seven foot dude from the Boilerplayers basketball team. The experienes are so awkward, yet ridiculously funny.

For some reason, the story made me think of Johnathan Ogden, while he would come into Puzzles for dinners (yes Puzzles was our makeshift cafetaria when Sunset Village first opened in Fall of 1991). FWIW Ogden was always incredibly gracious and would usually come in with Sharmon Shah, who eventually changed his name to Karim Abdul-Jabbar. Karim was a great kid too. Good memories.

Speaking of good memories, let's end the walk with another video from New Orleans Hornets featuring DC and their other rookie Marcus Thornton:

Marcus thornton and Darren Collison Tour (via dadadrizzeee)

Apparently DC rolled his ankle in his last summer game but to date has been performing as one of the best rookies during summer ball. As we will keep mentioning over and over, we never get tired of watching and reading about one of our all time favorite UCLA Bruins (not just Ben Ball warriors) here on Bruins Nation.

GO BRUINS.

2009 Expectations: The NY Times Joins The Emerging Consensus Re. Upcoming UCLA Season

Nestor — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:32:25 -0000

Looks like there is not going to be much of a debate concerning the expectations for the upcoming UCLA football season. So far this season we have seen the following expectations/predictions (we have debated and discussed the nuances of those points endlessly over last few years) for the 2009 UCLA football season:

Adam Maya from the OC Register predicted UCLA's "best/worst-case scenario" ranged from"5-7 to 7-5." He concluded UCLA will finish "finish .500 (6-6) and earn a bowl bid."
Ted Miller of WWL also thinks UCLA could be the "surprise" team of the Pac. However, he is being lot more realistic listing UCLA as the 7th best team in the conference. Miller also went on to project a 6-6 regular season.
As noted previously, Lindy's has UCLA ranked No. 48 nationally and No. 6 in the Pac-10. Athlon has the Bruins No. 51 overall and No. 6 in the Pac-10.

In terms of upside, WWL's Bruce Feldman is bullish on the Bruins pegging UCLA as one of the potential most improved teams of 2009. Similarly, Phill Steele has an optmisitic projection of UCLA as one of the potential "most improved team" of 2009 that could "return to the post season." Still the consenseus right now is that realistically UCLA should be looking at 6-6/bowl season for this upcoming year, which would be a step up from this past season.

It looks the New York Times agrees with that emerging consensus expectations of a 6 win regular season:

Season breakdown & prediction: I believe U.C.L.A. will reach bowl eligibility, but I don’t think this team has any chance of cracking the top half of the Pac-10. Not that the Bruins won’t get there eventually, but this team would have to make a radical improvement on offense to be taken as a serious contender in the conference, and all signs entering the summer pointed towards U.C.L.A. still needing some work on this side of the ball. One fact in the team’s favor: the roster is positively littered with young talent. This is especially the case on offense, where a plethora of underclassmen will have ample opportunity to make their presence felt at the skill positions. Still, the offense has me concerned. Will the defense be good enough to propel U.C.L.A. to, say, eight wins? It’ll be good, but not that good. Neuheisel is building a program here, and if the past two recruiting classes are any indication, help is on the way. But I’m crazy about this team’s chances at cracking the top four in the Pac-10. Instead, I’ve got the Bruins just about tied with Arizona and Stanford for fifth in the conference: 6-6, 4-5.

That was from Paul Meyerberg on the New York Times's blog - "the Quad" - where he has UCLA checking in at number 52 (which is consistent with the discussions we have seen above). For more on the preview come along after the jump.

Paul's UCLA breakdown is fairly detailed as he has the following on players to watch for this upcoming season:

Players to watch: The Bruins will have a new starting quarterback in 2009, as the redshirt freshman Kevin Prince beat out the incumbent starter, the senior Kevin Craft, with a solid, though unspectacular spring. Craft will likely be the backup, though he’ll battle the true freshman Richard Brehaut for that position. Craft struggled last fall, throwing a school-record 20 interceptions against seven touchdowns; six of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns. I gained a lot of respect for the way Craft dealt with his ineffectiveness, but for U.C.L.A. to become a capable offensive unit, the team must get much better play from its quarterback. The Bruins have a nice mix of experience and young talent on its receiving corps, a group led by the senior Terrance Austin. His breakout junior campaign included a team-best 53 receptions for 460 yards, as well as a school-record 1,878 all-purpose yards. Most of this yardage came on kick returns (1,109 yards), but Austin also added 90 yards rushing on only 13 attempts for a team-leading 9.0 yards per carry. Joining him at receiver are the sophomores Tyler Embree, who set school freshman records for receptions (40) and receiving yards (531, best on the team) and Nelson Rosario, the junior Dominique Johnson (34 for 373 yards) and the senior Gavin Ketchum. The Bruins also go two-deep at tight end, as the 2008 second-team all-conference senior Ryan Moya (38 receptions for 364 yards and 3 scores) will be joined by Logan Paulsen, the 2006-7 starter who missed all but one game last fall. The offensive line is due for an improvement, if only because the wide majority of the group returns with a year’s experience in the system. The senior right guard Nick Ekbaktani, the only lineman to start all 12 games last fall, leads the way. The unit also receives a nice boost from the sophomore center Kai Maiava, a transfer from Colorado who earned freshman all-American honors in 2007. He sat out last fall and will compete with the junior Jake Dean (seven starts in 2008) for the starting spot in the middle. The sophomore Jeff Baca will move inside to guard after making seven starts at left tackle as a rookie, likely leaving the left tackle job in the hands of the junior Sean Sheller, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury.

If there is any optimism regarding U.C.L.A.’s chances at reaching a solid bowl game in 2009, it is because of a talented defense. This group will do a lot of the heavy lifting for the Bruins, especially in the early going. It’s a good thing, therefore, that U.C.L.A. has talent at every level of the defense, from the line through the secondary. The front four will feature one of the nation’s best interior linemen in the junior tackle Brian Price, a first-team all-conference selection last fall after notching 35 tackles (a team-leading 14 for loss) and 4.5 sacks. Price has been a stalwart in the middle since early in his freshman season, and will be even better as a junior. He’s terrific. Lining up next to Price, and replacing Harwell, is the junior Reginald Stokes, who started five of the last seven games down the stretch last fall. Also competing for the starting role, though certainly at worst a part of the tackle rotation, is the sophomore Datone Jones. At end, the senior Korey Bosworth’s first season as a full-time starter saw him lead the team with seven sacks; he finished second to Price with 11 tackles for loss. The team will welcome back his twin brother, the senior weakside linebacker Kyle Bosworth, back to full health after missing all but two games a season ago. In 2007, Bosworth finished fifth on the team with 74 tackles. (Quick aside: My favorite movie featuring their uncle Brian Bosworth is "Stone Cold," where he plays a loose-cannon police officer who infiltrates a biker gang.) The leader of the linebacker corps is the senior Reggie Carter, who paced the team with 83 stops a season ago. Twenty of those tackles came against B.Y.U., the most by a Bruin in a single game since 1989. Rounding out the starting group is the sophomore Akeem Ayers, who had 40 tackles and 4 sacks as a freshman. One area where Neuheisel and his staff have done a very good job in recruiting is in the secondary. U.C.L.A. has surrounded the senior cornerback Alterraun Verner — one of the nation’s best — with a number of athletic freshmen and sophomores, giving this unit the potential to be the second-best in the Pac-10. Any group that has a player of Verner’s caliber is bound to be pretty good. As a junior, he ranked second on the team in tackles with 73 and led the nation with 18 pass breakups. Much like Price, Verner will challenge for all-American honors in 2009. The other returning starter in the secondary is the sophomore free safety Rahim Moore, who last fall became the first true freshman to start every game on defense for the Bruins since 2001. On the season, Moore tied Norris for the team lead with three interceptions. The second starting corner spot will come down to the redshirt freshman Aaron Hester and the sophomore Courtney Viney. As mentioned, this group is very talented, thanks largely to the solid job U.C.L.A. has done in bringing in young playmakers over the past two recruiting cycles.

He lists RB as the "position battle to watch" which is right. However, as we have said over and over again the difference this year between a 4-8/5-7 season and a bowl one will be how much improved our OL is from the disastrous effort of this past season. You can read the whole preview over here.

Reading the season previews this year, I think this is probably as close to consensus narrative I have seen around UCLA football pre-season expectations as the one we saw heading into Dorrell's (mercifully) final season when after four years of excuse making we were all expecting a Pac-10 championship season.

As we have said over and over again, this year in many ways will be like Howland's second season at UCLA when we all considering just getting into the NCAA dance a positive marker for the program, after it completely tanked under the previous regime. Similarly this year, if we can somehow scrap and claw into a bowl game, we will see it as a turnaround after the cratering the program experience last year from the listless leadership from previous regime(s).

GO BRUINS.