Bumped from the diaries. GO BRUINS. -N

I don't think I'm alone when I say I've been dying for more positive stories about UCLA football in general, particularly about this upcoming season's staff and players, so I was very happy to come across Andrew Friedman's article about freshmen defensive back Courtney Viney.

Viney is taking care of business:

He arrived in Westwood on June 24th with the rest of his classmates and has had a pretty hectic schedule ever since. "We workout four days a week," Viney explains. "My days starts at five o'clock and I am in the weight room by six. Then at seven I am up on the field running. I do all that and then go to summer school. It has been a lot but I am enjoying it." Not only a hard worker, Viney is also intelligent and comes from an ambitious family: Viney does not take easy courses as he is majoring in Architectural Engineering. His sister is in UCLA's Law school. So, I guess there will be no Ballroom Dancing or cake-walk Spanish classes for him.

Viney says he's impressed with his fellow DBs, as well as fellow freshmen RB Raymond Carter.  The mention of Carter was particularly uplifting, as our offense underachieved last season and was ineffective in the spring game.

And here's money (emphasis mine):

As for his goals this year, Viney does not shy away from what he wants. "I would like to be able to step on the field and contribute. The coaches already told me that I will be a special teams guy and in the fall I am going to compete as a punt and kick returner. I just want to help this team beat 'SC and win a national championship." Good work ethic, intelligence, ambition and attitude; I love this kid already.

Go Bruins!

Bumped. Big ups to txbruin for sharing this in the diaries more than a month ago (a classic example of how to share info instead of whining about content). If you want to read up more on Mr. Knox make sure to check out this post on Bruin Roar. We are excited about this kid. We will keep our fingers crossed that Mr. Knox will get the coaching necessary for a championship contender at UCLA. GO BRUINS. -N

Long time, first time here, and I'm still working out the kinks with HTML.  Anyways...

I tuned into the FSPAC High School Spotlight Show earlier and I was just in time to hear that UCLA has offered Milton Knox Jr. a football scholarship.  Now, usually I don't get too excited about a simple offer, especially when it comes to running backs (since that other school has the market cornered on RBs), but then Sean Farnham said something that sparked my curiosity:  he said he and the UCLA football staff believe that Milton Knox could very well be the next Maurice Jones-Drew.  I had to see this for myself, so I did a little research.

Only two of the schools on his list (Florida State and UCLA) have offered him.  The comparisons to MJD are for obvious reasons:  first, Knox is about the same size as MJD, listed at 5'-7.5''; like MJD, Knox has that strong lower body (though not as freakishly strong as MJD, which is fine for a high school senior); most importantly, like MJD, Knox is a little guy that plays big and he plays strong.  I think I've written just about enough to cover the 200-word minimum, so I'll just let you guys make the comparisons.

I'm honored

I just got back from abroad, got home, logged in to Bruinsnation and there's my post, right on the main page. Thanks for bumping me up to the front page, Nestor. I had to read up on the lates news to figure out that Knox had committed to UCLA while I was away and I am stoked. I'm looking forward to seeing him on the field, wearing that the true blue and pounding those guys 24/7. --txbruin

Maurice Jones-Drew:

Milton Knox Jr.:

And just for kicks: