I feel stupid for falling for all that "Passion Bucket" crap. I couldn't help from drinking from that bucket after the suffering I went through the Toledo and Dorrell years. I remember when UCLA had All Americans, win Pac 10 titles, go to the Rose Bowl and yes, even have a shot at a National Championship. After witnessing the deterioration of the progam, I was vulnerable, hungry and the perfect person to take advantage of.

CRN comes along in what appeared at the time to be the darkest era of UCLA Football. The former walk-on turned Rose Bowl MVP. Someone whom I believed had the gonads to go head to head with Cheatey Petey across town. Afterall, this is a guy that beat the almighty NCAA. Someone who I believed could maneuver the alternate universe that is UCLA Athletics. Someone who could rally former players, go head to head for the top recruits in cali and return UCLA Football to what I believed was its rightful place among the best programs in the nation.

Boy was I wrong....wrong in so many ways. Ladies and gentlemen, we're in a darker period than we were during the KD years. Besides his clueless coaching, KD didn't the talent to compete which was his own doing. However, CRN has zero excuse for the clusterf**k that is UCLA Football.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. - BN Eds.

Full Disclosure: These aren’t solely my ideas but have been cherry picked from various people/sources.

We’ve heard all off-season and going on almost 4 years now how CRN wanted to increase "competition" to get better. We’ve heard the coaches say that if you "produce", you will play. We’ve heard a lot of other "coach-speak" that I won’t bother you with. Personally, I’ve pretty much tuned them out because I don’t see them backing it up.

Is there really competition? Are the most productive players playing? Does our depth chart reflect innovation & outside of the box thinking or is it the same old conservative/cowardly/vanilla/risk adverse approach that is plaguing UCLA Football?

Competition

There was a lot of talk about the "competition" between Riley and Hilliard for the SS position. The competition was so fierce the coaches can’t seem to make up their mind. The first 3 depth charts has this "or" for the SS position. Unless I’m mistaken, I’ve yet to see Riley start a game. If the competition was so close that the coaches believe a "or" is necessitated on the depth chart and the guy starting continually tries to blow people up instead of making a sure tackle (see Michael Hayes), why not give Riley a shot? Riley made a couple of nice plays breaking up passes in the SJ State game if I recall correctly. So...was/is there really a "competition"?

Production

If you end up with 100 yards receiving but drop a couple of passes, is that being productive? If you end up with 10 tackles but these tackles are made 10 yards downfield because you’re getting pushed around, is that being productive?

There is another component to production. If you never get the opportunity, how can anyone determine if that player can be productive or not?

When you make a mistake at UCLA....buttocks meets bench. When DeAnthony Thomas fumbles twice in his first game, Chip doesn’t sit him on the bench destroying his confidence. Instead, he makes sure he gives Thomas plenty of opportunities to redeem himself and truly determine whether he can be "productive". Meanwhile, James who drew rave reviews for being a "joystick" gets 1 carry against SJ State and Carroll is wasting away. You think Chip could find a way to utilize players like James or Carroll?

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. -BN

I’m in total shock over UCLA's Rocky Horror Football show.

Don’t like his baggage (suc) and his inexperience. Intrigued by his energy and aggressive schemes. Having said that, this is a total cluster f**k by CRN. With your job on the line, how the hell do you hire an inexperienced DC?

As for Shannon, I don’t know the details but he is said to have had a lot of “baggage”. The type that BN would never support.  This along with Shannon’s conservative play calling/scheme was 2 of the main reasons why he was not hired. Shannon is similar to Base D Bullough but his defenses performed better because of the NFL talent on the roster. Hearing this, CRN did additional research to verify this and ultimately found this to be true. Seto is the total opposite of Shannon and is very aggressive in his schemes.

At this point, whether it was Shannon or Seto or Fangio or some other guy, I really don’t give a s**t. This hire did not have to take this long at the detriment of our recruiting class and the hit we took publicly. Well, we’re already the laughing stock of college FB anyways so I guess it really doesn’t matter.

The UCLA Admin and Athletic Dept is a joke. They really don’t give a s**t about sports and don’t understand the value and contributions athletics make to a university. We are the cheapest major university out there and are inefficient.

I envy the Ohio State’s, the Florida’s, the Texas’s of the world that are serious about winning and understand the value of a top notch athletic department. All 3 are football schools but through the years, they’ve developed their basketball programs into national contenders. UCLA continues to live off of Coach Wooden’s success. I got news for UCLA, kids don’t remember Coach Wooden, Lew Alcindor, Gail Goodrich, Bill Walton, Marques Johnson, etc. S**t, they don’t even remember Michael Jordan.

I’ve spent too much of my time, energy and money on a school that doesn’t give a crap. I’ll always pull for UCLA but I’m emotionally detaching myself from UCLA.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped.  BlueReign makes some great points on this disappointing season (B).


Photo credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

I’m pissed, you’re pissed, we’re all pissed at what transpired tonight and this season.  Most people had reasonable expectations of going anywhere between 8-4 and 6-6.  Yet, we find ourselves completing CRN’s 3rd year at 4-8 and 9th place in the final year of the Pac 10. 

In the larger Bruin Nation, two dominant sentiments will emerge: Fire CRN now and CRN gets 1 more year.  Save yourself the energy because CRN will be back next year, if not longer.  Remember folks, this is UCLA we’re talking about.  The school that allowed KD and the Lizard to destroy once proud programs as long as the Athletic Department was turning in a profit.   If UCLA really cared about fielding competitive teams at championship levels, the university would allow donors to contribute so that we can bring in top notch coaches and assist the 2 major sports in other facets.   This is a complex topic that we can maybe get into another day.

I feel your pain and frustration but CRN deserves to get another year whether you and I like it or not.   Coaches at a minimum should get 4 years so that they can build their program with their players.  Otherwise, no reputable coach in their right mind would come to UCLA knowing that they will be terminated before they have ample time to establish their program.  Once again, let the "Fire CRN Now" demand go. 

CRN has done a great job in celebrating our FB tradition by reconnecting with former players and having them become a part of the program once again.  CRN also has improved the talent level on this team by competing against suc and other programs for top notch talent.  CRN has also been able to bring in some marginal recruits (academically) that KD could not get past admissions as well. I know people are tired of the coach speak but CRN is working his mojo within the Athletic Department in this fashion. Thus, there are positive things that have been accomplished by CRN during his 3 years.  Having said that, we have yet to see CRN translate his accomplishments off the field onto the gridiron. 

CRN gets 1 more year to bring back the pride we have for those 4 letters.  We’ve discussed these issues in the past but I’ll restate them because I believe these are "MUSTS" if our FB program is to return back to relevancy.

Continue reading this post »

-Bumped. BN

Per Bellerophon's request, these are other things CRN must do in addition to what 03rdn9 pointed out in his original post: What Rick Neuheisel Must Do.

• Norm Chow: I will wait for 03rdand9's updated analysis but I respectfully disagree in retaining Chow. I don't doubt that there is a learning curve which Chow is currently immersed in. However, that does not excuse his impotent playcalling. Also, his mismanagement of the QB position was one of the main reasons this season blew up in our faces. Chow gets 1 more year to fix things. Either put up or shut up.
• Rick Neuheisel: I agree with 03rdand9 that he needs to grow some but he also needs to bust out the whip. Unfortunately, I don’t believe this is a quality that is within Neu nor is Neu comfortable coaching this way. There are many ways (style wise) to be a successful (Joe Pa v Saban) program. As long as I can remember, we’ve been the sterotypical Cali laid back surfer boys on the gridiron. Whether that is fair or not is irrelevant to me. You don’t see Miami being stereotyped as being primadonnas from South Beach. UCLA FB lacks toughness, resolve, discipline, killer attitude, etc. that is reflective of the Bama’s, Va Tech’s, Ohio State’s of the college football world. Simply put, CRN needs to build the identity of the FB program that falls in line with the other successful programs around the country.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The season’s not over and I’m still holding out hope that we’ll get bowl eligible. Having said that, what transpires or fails to this offseason will dictate what UCLA FB looks like this decade. As the leader of our FB program, CRN will have some critical decisions to make. Some decisions are obvious while others are quite complex. CRN is not on the hot seat yet but he needs to make decisive decisions before he loses the fans and team.

1) Coaching staff
Chucky needs to be shown the door. Setting aside his incompetence, I don’t want him to mess up the Owa/Marsh/Zum/Dietrch/Olaniyan/Jefferson/Epenesa/Willis/Hillard/Graham’s on our team. As you can see, these guys have talent and with the right coaching, they will become a menace to deal with. Moore is the other obvious coach that needs to go. I’m dumbfounded by the inability of our WR’s to get separation, get off the line, run precise routes, track the ball, attack the ball, quit the drops, etc. Besides the glimpses we saw from Rosario at the end of last season, I don’t see improvement. I like Lea for what he provides in the recruiting game but Love’s failure to get on the field is very concerning. We can all see that Westgate is overwhelmed yet we have a 6-4, 220 lb LB who can run sitting on the bench. Is it because Love doesn’t have the defense down (this is Lea’s job) or is it another perceived favortism/seniority thing? Hundley shouldn’t feel so comfortable too considering the disappointing performance by our secondary this season. I’ll get to CNC a bit later.

2) Pick a QB
It’s obvious to me that RB should have been our starter against KState and Cal. You can tell the ball has that extra zip and he is definitely more accurate. Give him the time that KP had and I’m confident that this kid will develop into a more than capable QB. Unfortunately, I don’t think the fanbase will be as patient with RB as we’ve been with KP. Patience is something that we don’t have much of.

I have nothing but great things to say about KP but as a program, we cannot afford to rely on a QB that is injury prone. We witnessed the havoc it causes to an offense when we try to execute with a QB that hasn’t practiced. The timing is off and there is no repore with the receivers.

Flipping back and forth is not helping either of our QB’s. It is stunting their development IMO. CRN needs to pick one guy to lead this team and build the offense around the QB’s talent. To me, the choice is obvious and it’s Brehaut.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Rankings are important to a certain extent. We’ve recruited very well for many, many years. The talent that has been brought into the program strictly from a rankings perspective has been very good.

IMO, the current issues we’re facing are due to:
1) Failure to develop the talent once in the program
2) Failure in the identification/evaluation of talent
3) As Ty mentioned, although the classes may have been well ranked, they were unbalanced classes and/or did not address pressing needs within our program.
4) The CTS Effect (This is a disease that we’re still suffering from)

Also, I agree with bruinbunz: Good Lines + Capable QB = Success. IMO, you cannot fail in this department but that’s exactly what we as a program have done. We’ve had our tough breaks but that doesn’t excuse the length of time it is taking to rectify this. Our glaring recruiting failures are in 3 areas (QB, OL & DL):

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

There is nothing like watching UCLA Football during the evening at the Rose Bowl.  There was a much larger crowd than I anticipated and the crowd was eager to see what this Revolver was all about.  Personally, I was a bit disappointed that the offense did not look as sharp as I'd hoped for.  Having said that, the offense was definitley hamstrung by the Touch Rule CRN incorporated.  Prince was running the ball very well and the offense would have been able to sustain drives had the rule not been in place.  On one particular play, the play was designed for a run left which duped the entire defense.  Prince faked the handoff running off RT and if this was a game, Prince would have been in the end zone with his 4.5 speed. 

As I fan, I wanted to see some fireworks but CRN made the correct & prudent choice in ensuring that we did not sustain any major injuries.  Also keep in mind that the D has the advantage of knowing what our O will be running since they've been practicing against this all Spring.  In addition, television has made Spring Scrimmages into a spectacle of sorts but the coaches are more concerned with seeing guys in the right positions and will be evaluating this performance from a different perspective. 

POSITIVES

• Our running game looked better with Coleman running hard AND with physicality.  Prince and Brehaut also looked like they are going to be viable threats as a runner in the Revolver.  We aren't there yet but I'm optimistic that the run game will provide our offense the results it needs to succeed.

Lot more after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Bruin LBs (from left): Steve Sloan (43), Glenn Love (20), Isaiah Bowen (58) and Mike Schmitt, Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

Meant to post this sooner but ran into technical difficulties.  It was a gorgeous day with a surprisingly good crowd on hand at Spaulding.  However, a bit of somber news which others have already posted regarding Brandon Sermons.  I didn't see what happened but I could tell his injury was serious since he never got back up.  Hoping for a speedy recovery for Sermons. 

JDub, Petros (yes he is a sucster but he's alright in my book considering he is objective in his assessments of Bush and Leinert) and Dietrich were in attendance.  A handful of recruits were there but I couldn't tell who was who.  Chatted with a guy who said that Jalen Grimble (cousin of Xavier Grimble) and Junior Pomee were at practice on Friday. 

Take my observations with a grain of salt considering I'm an Armchair QB and we've only been through 3 practices thus far.  Was able to take a few photos but I'm still having technical difficulties. 

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The 2010 National Signing Day for College Football is 02/03/10.  Like in the past 2 Signing Days, CRN and UCLA will be signing a recruiting class ranked in the Top 25 by the major recruiting services:

• 2010 Rank (Current): Scout Ranking (23rd), Rivals Ranking (18th) and ESPN.com (17th)
• 2009 Rank: Scout Ranking (5th), Rivals Ranking (14th) and ESPN.com (17th)
• 2008 Rank: Scout Ranking (10th), Rivals Ranking (13th) and ESPN.com (14th)

You can look at our class ranking and each recruit at the following: Scout.com and Rivals.com.  Note: ESPN requires an Insiders subscription.

CRN was able to keep intact the 2008 recruting class built by the prior regime and showed Bruins Nation his recruiting prowess last year in exciting fashion.  The talent level at UCLA dropped considerably during KD's time at UCLA.  All you have to do is take a peek at NFL rosters and see the lack of impact players from UCLA.  Instead of conceding without a fight, CRN has challenged and beat Cheaty in bringing talented Student Athletes to UCLA. With each recruiting class, CRN is building the foundation for UCLA Football to once again be amongst the top programs in the nation. 

We currently have 65 rides spoken for leaving 20 for this recruiting class.  This includes the early departure of BP, the return of Kia, the additions of Greyshirts Koster & Maka and the exclusion of Hasiak.  We currently  have 16 verbal commits but there will likely be some additional rides that become available. 

Arm Chair QB opinions on our roster and predictions after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. - N

Photo Credit: Francis Specker (AP)

Its been a rough week for all that bleed Blue & Gold.  But, I don't think we should forget the young men that laid it on the line on behalf of Bruins Nation, bringing us joy watching them take the field on Saturdays.  I'd like to say THANK YOU for representing UCLA with honor and class to our Senior class:

Chinoso Anyanwu, Terrence Austin, Korey Bosworth, Kyle Bosworth, Reggie Carter, Kevin Craft, Nick Ekbatani, Gavin Ketchum, Chane "The Train" Moline, Ryan Moya, Logan Paulsen, Jerzy Siewierski, Trevor "Moose" Theriot, Alterraun "ATV/Old Man" Verner, Jess Ward, Aaron Ware. 

Although he is not a Senior, Brian Price must be included. 

Honarable Mention: Jake Dean, Brandon Bennett, Jeff Miller and Garrett Rubio. 

Post whatever comes to mind whether it be a play they've made, an impression upon meeting them, a story read about them, etc. 

Continue reading this post »

Per ESPN: 

Five-star athlete Tony Jefferson (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake) decommitted from UCLA following an official visit to USC and will now decide for either the Trojans or the Oklahoma Sooners, ESPN's Greg Biggins reports.

"The UCLA players really disrespected me before the game," Jefferson said. "When they saw me, they were all cussing at me, telling me to never come around Westwood again and things like that. These were guys that I had hung out with before and it was a lot of the team. I guess I kind of see it since I was committed there and was wearing USC gear before their big game but I still didn't appreciate it."

If true, I don't condone the cussing that Jefferson had to endure but WTF?  I know its an official and all but why the hell is he wearing suc gear in the most heated and biggest game of the year.  Did Jefferson expect our guys to show him love wearing their garbage? 

I hope this kid picks suc so we beat him his entire career down at Fig Tech.  Not losing any sleep over this.  Our class will be fine and just like suc, the recruits all saw what a lowlife scum bag Cheaty is and how the gap between the programs got a whole lot closer.  

This is not meant to take BN's focus off of the game in Pullman as our boys continue their fight for Bowl eligibility nor our Ben Ball Warriors and the upcoming season.  

We received BIG news tonight with the verbal from Jordon James.  I agree with others that Coleman will likely be switched to FB (as he was initially recruited for) and I expect Thigpen to be utilized like Trindon Holliday down in the Bayou.  The competition to be the primary back and for carries should be quite entertaining and spark some interesting debates.  

What really has me puzzled is mainly the number of recruits we are pursuing.  CRN is not just pursuing multiple recruits at a position of need (DT) but across the board.  As we currently stand right now, we will have 16 total scholarships (assuming Kia returns using his RS) to hand out to the 2010 recruiting class.  BP is the only candidate that I see leaving early. If so, 17 total rides.  

Per Scout.com we currently have 13 verbals.  This does not include the pending enrollment of Koster and Maka (did he qualify?).  Another 3 rides are spoken for by Smith, Fauria and Mobley (if he qualifies, we all need to cross our fingers he gets to Westwood).  That brings the total to 18.  

Yet, CRN is still out there pursuing a lot of highly touted recruits.  The logical explanation is the normal attrition programs have every offseason.  However, the numbers to me dictate that there could be a lot of guys that will not be on the roster come next fall.  Without singling anyone out, it isn't a secret that the JR class has not panned out the way many envisioned.  

So my question to BN is: If UCLA was to politely nudge some guys out, would you be ok with it in order to bring in better talent or is this something UCLA should not engage in?  

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Was able to finally get out to the Rose Bowl for the Cal game.  I was hoping to see improvement from the Defense after reading about the "Players Only Meeting" but what I saw was the same concerns we've raised here on BN.  

Here are some stats courtesy of: CFBStats.com                                                                                        

Total Defense Rank: 33

Scoring Defense Rank: 45 (21.6 pts per game)

Passing Defense: 20 (168.3 yds per game)

Rushing Defense: 79 (151.71 yds per game)

Here are the stats for the 1st Quarter:

Passing Defense: 91 (390 yds, 60.5% completion rate)

Rushing Defense: 95 (291 yds, 4.48 avg per carry)

Analysis after the jump.

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Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

I can't believe how my perception of the FB program has turned a 180 in a matter of 4 weeks.  There is no excuse for what has happened or has not happened with this team and program. 

I don't know if this is CRN or CNC's doing but our Offense is as vanilla as KD was as a HC.  The conservative/limit mistakes offense was appropriate in a hostile environment with a RS FR QB but it's as if we've been playing in Knoxville every week thereafter. They keep on talking about stretching the field vertically but I'm not seeing this done on a consistent basis.  Perfect example was the KP pick 6.  Yes, KP should not have stared down the receiver and not thrown the ball but IMO, the coaches did not help the situation.  All game long, we've been running short routes without threatening the field vertically.  Everyone on that play was running a hitch.  That CB was just waiting to pounce on that route.  Oregon was starting a 3rd string CB yet we could not take advantage of this matchup?!? Just boggles my mind. 

The staff is not utilizing the talent on this team appropriately, specifically the WR position.  At this point, I cannot tell if Austin and Embree are just not that good or if their lack of production is a product of the playcalling.  Either way, Rosario/Pressley/Carroll need more opportunities.  These guys have advantages physically and can pose matchup problems.  People have mentioned if we have a Fade Route in our playbook.  Wouldn't it have been nice to see us use Rosario and Pressley down in the Red Zone instead of trying 2 QB sneaks in a row?  Why assist the opposition by not utilizing their size but instead turn them into 5-10 WR's?

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. Good primer from BlueReign. GO BRUINS. -N

This game will be our first challenge of the season and a more accurate barometer of how much we really have improved.  Nobody on our team has experienced an atmosphere quite like Knoxville.  The last time UCLA entered such hostile territory was in 2003 when we went to Norman, OK.  Tenn is in a similar situation as ours but the 100K orange clad fans make this a very challenging game.  

When Cal went over to Tenn and got blitzed, their True FR CB, Thompson (SR now) made mention of how stunned he was by the atmosphere.  He then showed it when Stallworth left him in the dust for a TD.  The bulk of our roster lacks extensive game experience so I fully expect the youngsters to have the deer in the headlights look to them.

We've talked about our team's strength being the defense.  Our defense must help us weather the initial storm because I expect our offense to have problems initially.  They cannot start out slow against Tenn as we did against SD St. 

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Finally got around to finishing this.  Hopefully, it isn't redundant as there are a lot of good write-ups in the web analyzing the team as a whole and by position breakdowns.  I know it is waaay too early but my look into the fooball program will be more recruiting based.  Based on the numbers, we are looking at a total of 19 rides.  9 rides (2 transfers & 7 verbals) have already been spoken for.  There will likely be 2-3 more rides that become available due to varying reasons. 

NOTE #1: Projected Starters in bold per Spring Media Guide

NOTE #2: Out of state recruits noted by state 

QB: Craft (RS SR), Prince (RS FR), Crissman (RS FR) & Brehaut (FR)

Verbals: Nottingham

Offers: Tyler Bray (No Offer)

-There is talk that we might throw our names in the hat.  He grew up a Bruin fan and his name has exploded onto the national scene after one of the Elite 11 camps.  It's getting crowded at the position but Crissman's shoulder is a concern.                                                                                                

-Prince has the strongest arm, Brehaut has some jiggle while Nottingham's strength is his accuracy.   The talent level at this position is returning to the days of Aikman/Bono/Maddox/McNown/etc.  Prince has the tools but lacks the experience.  If the OL can give him time, he should be able to manage the game and mature as the season progresses.

RB: Ramirez (RS JR), Coleman (Soph), Franklin (RS FR), Knox (RS FR), Thigpen (FR) & Hilliard (FR)

FB: Moline (SR), Theriot (RS SR), Umodu (RS JR), Allmond (FR)

Verbals: None

Offers: Jordon James, Malcolm Jones and Anthony Barr

-Barr looks to be headed to ND.  We are in the thick of things for both James and Jones.  Either one works but if they both want to come, we take talent.  Only concern is our RB position is looking like sucs with lack of spacing.  

-Read how Chow really likes Ramirez's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and this is the likely reason he sat at #1 even when injured in the spring.  A bit upright when he runs a la Dickerson but he has had some big games before.  Coleman should have gotten more carries last year.  Eager to see what Franklin/Thigpen can do with their speed and we'll see if Knox indeed has a lil' MoDrew in him.  There probably won't be enough carries for all but I'm anticipating someone to emerge to be the man.  Franklin/Thigpen/Knox can definitely be contributors in the field position game. 

-Just so the FB's don't feel unappreciated.....the Moline/Theriot combo should be a source of strength for the offense and comfort for Prince.  Umodu and Allmond provide depth with Allmond (Hope he gets cleared) possibly outgrowing the position. More after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

No matter what the results are, all Bruin fans should be ecstatic about the relentless effort put forth by the entire coaching staff.  Our staff has been racking up the mileage heading towards Signing Day.  CRN was also at the game last night where there was a contingent of 2010 recruits.  In addition, we are going toe to toe for talent against suc.  Something that did not happen under the prior regime.  There has been a definite transformation of the UCLA FB culture. 

Bruin report Online has a free link on the status of the remaining UCLA targets. 

Bruins are in still in serious contention for many recruits including Hasek and Te'o. I'm thrilled that we are no longer a Speed Bump but a Road Block to suc.  We have yet to prove it on the field, but we should all feel confident that it is only a matter of time.  The combination of top notch coaching and increased talent will result in lots of W's for the Blue & Gold. 

Bumped. Great discussion starting post by BlueReign re. stretch run. Would love to get feedback on this from others who are closely following recruiting as well. GO BRUINS. - N

Our staff is looking at roughly a month till Signing Day on February 4th.  The class thus far is looking solid and could possibly round out into a very good class with a few additions.  With the assistance of varying sources out in the www, I thought a snapshot with some predictions would be interesting.

Verbal Commits (18)

• QB: Brehaut 
-Don't take too much from the UA game.  He needs development but has the skill set to be a good one.
• WR: Marvay & Toma
-Marvay reminds me of TA in that he is shifty.  Toma has been called "Welker".  Solid additions.
• TE: Presley
-Already on campus but needs to bulk up.  Oozes potential.
• OL: Hasiak, Capella, Taylor & Johnson
-Priority #1, gotta keep Hasiak.  Good mix of HS talent and JC infusion.
• DL: Warner & Graham
-Both big gets.  Warner is critical IMO.  Our future depth at the DT position is not looking good.  Need another DT or 2 in this class IMO.  Graham is on the lighter side but has the frame to get bigger.  Good upside and has that speed we've been lacking off the edge.
• LB: Golper & Bowens
-Solid gets.  Bowens I think can be a real good one. 
• DB: Mascarenes, Price and Sermons
-Turned a Sermon away from the Dark Side.  Much needed depth at the CB positions and they have the ability to be flexed to safety if needed.
• ATH: Allmond, Hillard & Williams
-Hilliard is listed as a RB but I think he ends up in the secondary as other sources have noted.  Allmond is a FB but there is talk about him moving to the DL.  Williams is a OL but some talk of him playing DT.  I hope he can because bodies are needed.

My Predictions:

1. Kennard (DE): No shot.  Unless he is 1 of the silent commits?  Wishful thinking on my part.  I think he goes to suc like Everson Griffin. 
2. Te'o (LB): Had some hope with the Punahou connections but  this is a BYU and suc battle IMO.  The pull from the Mormon faith will be too much at the end.  I hope I'm wrong and he joins Toma/Hilliard and alumnus, Norm Chow.
3. Su'a-Filo (OL): We had a better shot with Martinez IMO.  We could have had a better shot if Martinez verballed to us but now....think he ends up at BYU ultimately.  There was talk of wanting to play with Martinez but with suc already having a lot of OL in the class and LSU being so far away, logic says local school wins out.
4. Phillip (OL): We were supposedly leading but now it's a toss up.  Really hope we get this kid and I think ultimately CRN & NC will seal the deal. 
5. Abele (OL): We lead and I think he is a silent commit.  Has a good frame and potential.  Some talk of him being a DT which Utah is recruiting him for.  Utah coming on strong but UCLA bound IMO.
6. Carroll (WR): As previoulsy noted, we have a shot but CAL (childhood fav) bound IMO. 
7. Flourney (WR):  I know N doesn’t agree but I think he comes to Westwood.  Whether we like it or not, UCLA has been seen as soft.  Local recruits have always viewed suc as the place to go for top notch football.  In addition, UCLA didn’t have the "street cred" because we didn’t recruit the City Section hard.  Times have changed and continue to.  We had a huge contingent of City guys last year and I’m sure Knox & D. Carter are using their influence to lure Flourney.  
8. Wheaton (WR/DB): Has Oregon written all over him.  Cousin Kenny (no not that Kenny) played for the Ducks.  
9. Sanders (TE/DE): Think he is one of the silent commits.  Gotta help that Dye picked the U at the UA game.  UCLA bound IMO.
10. Tepa (DE): Hawaii verbal but he may be one of the silent commits.  CRN has been recruiting him pretty damn hard and we really need some help on the DE position.  Tepa realizes the potential for early PT and the job CRN is doing and is UCLA bound.  
11. Van Noy (LB): Has made it well known that it is BYU.  Coming for a visit but highly unlikely he comes to UCLA.
12. Maka (LB): Zona verbal but his parents want him to go to UCLA.  Parents ALWAYS win out. 
13. White (S): If qualified, UCLA bound.  
14. Tonga (S): Sticking with Hawaii
15. McKay (S): UCLA is his dream school but has concerns about depth.  It’ll be White or McKay.  One or the other IMO.  
16. Pollard (CB):  Unfortunately, I see him sticking with ND.  If DW was still here, then we had a decent shot in swaying him back.  
17. Eguae (DT): Don’t know anything about him.  Undersized for a DT but I doubt that he comes to Westwood.  Big 12 bound somewhere. 
18. Hubbard (OL): Elsewhere.  I think he is standing in line behind the other O linemen.  

I’m not sure if my figures are accurate but we will have 66 guys on scholarship next year.  That leaves us with 19 rides.  Only 25 per class unless you mix in some early enrollments (Presley, Brehaut & Taylor thus far) and Gray Shirts.  Seeing that we already have 18 verbals, how the math works I have no clue as CRN is actively recruiting these kids.  Dohn mentioned that there would be no attrition but we’ll see how this plays out.   Juco’s Williams, Johnson and Warner may not qualify.  Warner is a MUST get IMO or the DT position will be dire should Price leave early to the NFL.  Need the scour the area for some DT’s but it may not materialize in this recruiting class (NOTE: George Uko of Chino is said to like UCLA a lot but he is a 2010 recruit).  There are other kids waiting on offers from UCLA but it’ll likely be determined based on what happens with the remainder of the class.

I’m optimistic that the staff can keep the current verbals (especially Hasiak) together and supplement this solid class with some additional names.  Hopefully my predictions on the bigger names are off and we see a few surprises come signing day.

Note to Cheatey: You will never transcend beyond being nothing but a coach. PERIOD. Your PR stunts in the inner city are not genuine in my eyes and stop trying to be Coach Wooden because you ain’t and you’ll never be.

This makes things so much more clearer. It’s all about RECRUITING, RECRUITING, RECRUITING. Everything I’ve said about Kenny stands. He’s always been 6 feet underground for all I care. Lets put everything that has transpired since CRN’s arrival into context.

suc has been dominant, no question about it. They not only owned the city but the Pac 10 and was a juggernaut on the national stage. Their dominance began with the deteriorating Toledo’s years and through the KD years. Cheatey never had any competition nor was there such a credible threat such as CRN. It’s like Auburn (6 consecutive Iron Bowl wins) before Saban got to town. Tubberville was dominating the series and in state recruiting. Now that Bama has a name coach, the script has been flipped. We’re not as psycho (unreasonable) as the southerners who fired Tubberville, but the Auburn boosters who spearheaded the ouster were feeling the “heat” from Bama’s rise. I don’t agree with their decision and I question Chizik but that is a different topic.

Now comes CRN who is a proven winner and who also spanked Cheatey while he was at UDUB. A coach who is intelligent, charismatic, PR saavy, has local ties, way better looking :P, etc. A coach that doesn’t have that deer in the headlights look but can make the necessary adjustments in the heat of battle. Add to this CRN’s ability to convince DW to stay on as DC although DW wanted the HC position. DW is not perfect but he has made our defense relevant and he has been a very good recruiter as well. Kids like to play for him. If this wasn’t enough, CRN reels in NC who has tutored a laundry list of Hesiman QB’s who continued off to the NFL. Not to mention somebody whom Chetey knows wants to kick his arse and who was the true reason for their success. All this adds up to “Instant Credibility” for CRN and the UCLA Football Program. Cheatey is scum but he isn’t stupid. He saw the writing on the wall. He now knew that recruiting would no longer be a walk in the park but a battle in the Octagon. Then we come out with the ad that the “Dynasty is over” (I personally loved it). This was something that we would have never done in the past. Something this confident and fearless that you’re time is slowly coming to an end. Cheatey and scums laughed it off. Rightfully so because we have yet to prove anything nor provide the type of results to justify such. But……..

So Cheatey is feeling safe because scum was still getting the top guys while we were struggling to establish the foundation of our program. But the face of recruiting started to changed and in less than a year since CRN has arrived. Pressley who I believe orally committed during the summer before his jr year saw the light and switched. Carroll and Flourney are openly looking at us as well as other schools. We’re in a dogfight for Manti, Martinez, etc. All guys that scum targeted and I’m sure they believed they were going to get. CRN is making inroads at programs that have tranditionally been strongholds for scum (Mater Dei, LB Poly, Oaks Christian, etc.). Players at scum are telling recruits on their official vists that they regret going there because they are sitting on the bench. In the past, if recruits wanted to stay local, they really had no choice but to go to scum. Even with full depth charts, nobody in their right mind was going to put their future in the hands of KD. But not anymore. Recruits now have a legitimate and viable option at UCLA. Playing time is available, top notch coaching is available, top notch education, a campus where you’re not going to get mugged, etc. Especially if you’re an offensive recruit, who would you rather be coached by? CRN (Rose Bowl MVP/coached College & NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman/NFL experience) & NC (Too many Heismans/QB friendly offenses/NFL experience) or some guy named John Morton. The answer is easy and the recruits are beginning to see this IMO.

During a time where their sole focus should be on a very good Penn St. team, they’re wasting their time & energy on something so fickle and unsubstantiated as this? For real? It’s the Dead Period so maybe this is scum’s way of letting the recruits know that their staff is intact since Kenny’s main responsibility is the LA area. Oh, they’re definitely feeling the heat and tide turning. The logical thing for them to do was to contact CRN and then hash this out. But of course, that would mean that they had class or integrity. Remember, this is the guy that unilaterally decided that scum was going to wear ketchup jerseys although both coaches were discussing this. Cheatey really loves the spotlight. If indeed recruits were being told things about Kenny (no way this happened), something so trivial like this should have been left up to Kenny to address privately. Cheatey will never say it, but reading his comments, he may not be shaking in his boots but he definitely feels the threat that CRN & UCLA Football has become already.

I’m lovin every single minute of this because not only do we feel the momentum, but so does the Humanitarian at Fig Tech. CRN will get the job done. I’m ABSOLUTELY sure about this. Why? For CRN, this is a labor of love. For Cheatey, this is for his own personal glory. People achieve much more when they believe and enjoy what they are doing. The Dynasty is not over but you can be damn sure that it will be over sooner rather than later.