SB Nation User Blog: BruinJD

UCLA Getting Some Respect From ESPN

BruinJD — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:09:12 -0000

UCLA got some real respect this week in Ted Miller's ESPN Pac-10 blog and the ESPN weekly power ranking. First from Ted Miller, who has us ranked as the #3 team in the Pac-10:

3. UCLA: So the Bruins handled a Tennessee team out for revenge in workmanlike fashion, and Tennessee pushed a homestanding No. 1 Florida squad that was hungry to embarrass the Vols so hard that most folks are calling it a moral victory. Why isn't anyone saying, "Perhaps we should re-evaluate UCLA?" Or, "Why is a 3-0 UCLA squad that has physically dominated two BCS conference foes still not ranked?" (And who voted for 2-1 Nebraska, which has wins over Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State?)

And over on the ESPN weekly Power Ranking we come in at #26 nationally, with several of the voters having us quite a bit higher with Ted Miller putting us at #21 and Ivan Maisel putting us at #18. I think #18 might be a little high at the moment, but its nice to see us getting some national attention. Also, if Saturday was any indication, that already big win over Tennessee might start looking better and better in the coming weeks. Go Bruins!

Prince Was Not Wearing His Mouthpiece

BruinJD — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:12:37 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

I know that it was discussed in another thread that Prince has a tendency to not always have his mouthpiece in, here is confirmation that that was the case when he got hit on the safety on Saturday. From ESPN:

Neuheisel said Prince apparently wasn't wearing his mouthpiece, which appeared to be lodged in his facemask, where many players keep the plastic guard between plays. Prince, who was recovering from surgery Monday, might have removed the mouthpiece to yell out the snap count deep in the Neyland Stadium end zone surrounded by screaming Tennessee fans.

Hopefully this will serve as a very painful lesson to the kid that there is a reason why they have that protective gear and he'll be sure to always have it in in the future.

Thank You

BruinJD — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:37:27 -0000

Just wanted to pop by and thank you all for an amazing weekend. I was lucky enough to make it out to Knoxville this weekend with my brother for the game and it was an experience that I will never forget. Aside from the results of the game (which I was obviously very pleased with) I have never met a a group of more passionate yet welcoming and friendly fans. We were blown away by the number of Vols' fans that were stopping us (both before and after the game) to wish us luck, ask questions about our team, welcoming us to Knoxville, and offering to share some beers with us. Plus, the experience of seeing a game at Neyland was truly like none other. So thank you very much for the hospitality, I truly wish there was a way that both of our teams could have come away with a win from that one. I will certainly be rooting for you guys going forward into the future (as long as you're not playing my Bruins of course!) Best of luck with the rest of the season and beyond!

Blount suspended for the rest of the season

BruinJD — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:53:22 -0000

Blount suspended for the rest of the season

It is good to see that Oregon took the appropriate action. A lot of other universities may have gone lighter, especially with one of their star players.

Kia Requires Surgery

BruinJD — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:16:15 -0000

Kia Requires Surgery

The silver lining here might be that if Kia is out for the year he still can redshirt making him available next year to step in if Hasiak does indeed take his Mormon mission. But this really hurts for this year

New Mexico State Asking for Snacks

BruinJD — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:51:51 -0000

New Mexico State Asking for Snacks

Walker is having to get used to a bit of a different situation than what he had here at UCLA...

Notes From UCLA Football's Fall Practice #1

BruinJD — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:59:43 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Yesterday I was fortunately able to sneak away from the office for about an hour to swing over and catch some of our first practice. Just had a couple of quick impressions that I thought I would share:

1 - Crissman was taking a few snaps with the 1st team and almost all of the snaps with the 2nd team and looked pretty solid. It was also nice to see that he has put on some weight. Last year at this time he looked incredibly scrawny to me, now he actually looks like a college football player. Prince was taking the rest of the snaps with the 1st/2nd team and his arm looked good, though he made a couple of bad throws (one of which ATV was able to pick off). Craft and Brehaut were only watching from the sidelines while I was there.

2 - Hasiak and Su'a Filo are as big as advertised and looked perfectly comfortable out there on day one. Hasiak in particular was blocking Brian Price on his own for one set and handled him (and while admittedly they weren't in pads and hence not going full boar, the fact that one of our true freshman was even able to handle one of the best DT in the country on day one is encouraging.) There were a number of plays were Hasiak and Su'a Filo were manning the left side with Kai Maiava in the middle and all three looked strong, were getting some push and worked well together as a unit. I would not be at all surprised if that was 3/5 of our starting line against SDSU.

3 - Morrell Pressly is going to be near impossible to cover. The match-up problems that he is going to create have already been discussed around here this summer, but its worth noting again. When he was lining up as a TE he was flat out running by the LBs and when split out the DBs don't have the size to cover him. He made a couple of great catches where Prince or Crissman just threw the ball up and between his height and his leaping ability the defenders never had a chance at the ball.

4 - Thigpen is really fast. He was practising as a gunner on punt coverage and was fying down the field. I didn't get to see Carroll sprinting on any plays, but would love to see a foot race between these two guys. If they get much playing time this year they should be really exciting to watch.

5 - Lastly, a bunch of us in the stands were having a good laugh at seeing little Papadakis, the ultimate $C homer's younger brother, out there in Bruin blue. He was getting some work on the punt coverage team. Should make for some interesting family dinners for the Papadakis clan this fall.

[Apparently Demetrius Papadakis had a rough start carrying the ball. - BN Ed. Photo Credit: E. Corpuz]

I am hoping to get back out to the field this afternoon and have my camera with me this time, will certainly post any pics that I take. I am so stoked that football has finally arrived! Go Bruins!

Cheatey Petey at it again!

BruinJD — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:48:24 -0000

Cheatey Petey at it again!

How much longer can the NCAA actually sit around and do nothing?

2 Bruins Named to Mackey Watch List

BruinJD — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:32:10 -0000

Ryan Moya and Logan Paulson have both been named to the watch list for the 2009 John Mackey award (Best TE). Only 30 players are named to the list nationally, and it is awesome that both were honored. Three other Pac-10 TEs were named, Ed Dickson from Orgeon, Gronkowski from Arizona, and Anthony McCoy from USC. We are the only school with two players named to the list. Now here is hoping that Prince is able to get the ball to them! The full list can be found here.

ESPN's NBA Rookie Watch Following Summer League

BruinJD — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:20:19 -0000

You can catch the whole article here, but a couple of our Bruin rookies got some mention in David Thorpe's Rookie Watch ranking the NBA rookie class with summer league now being completed.

13. Darren Collison, Hornets
He'd be a top-10 guy for me if he were playing on almost any other team. His ability to handle the point guard duties for the Hornets will be evident from day one. Of course, playing behind the world's best point guard will make it hard for Collison to play more than 10 minutes a game. Maybe New Orleans coach Byron Scott will develop him earlier and get CP3 more rest during the season.

and listed under "The Project List"

Jrue Holiday, 76ers
Holiday had the double misfortune of not playing the point for an entire season at UCLA (though after watching Collison's talent it's easy to understand why), then getting to do it for the hybrid Nets-Sixers team that never jelled at all. The bad news is that every part of his offensive game seemed below par, but the good news is that his talent was obvious. He's a solid prospect to be sure, and the best news is that he defended the ball better than any guard we saw in either summer league.

Seems about on par with the discussions around here, Collison being more polished but not expecting a whole lot of playing time this year and Holiday having a lot of potential but needing a lot of work.