2008 UCLA Bruins Preview

Look no further than to new coach Rick Neuheisel’s coaching staff for evidence of his powers of persuasion with offensive coordinator Norm Chow and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. Both interviewed for the job Neuheisel eventually received, and both now serve on his staff.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Bruins

New offensive coordinator Norm Chow is considered a quarterback guru, and that reputation will be put to the test immediately because of a lack of proven talent and lots of inexperience at the most crucial position on the field. And it didn’t help when starting quarterback Patrick Cowan tore his ACL in the spring, knocking him out for 2008. It leaves Ben Olson, who has been injured in all three of his seasons at UCLA, as the starter, but that could change if one of the younger quarterbacks — Kevin Craft, Chris Forcier or Nick Crissman — has a strong training camp. Of course, no matter who is calling the signals, keeping him upright could be an issue since UCLA has three new starters on the offensive line, and only two linemen who played a snap on the offensive side last season. Spring ball gave the Bruins a starting offensive line — Sean Sheller, Scott Glicksberg, Micah Reed, Darius Savage and Micah Kia — but also showed its woeful depth as the second-team line struggled mightily. The strength of the defense is through the middle of the front seven with tackles Brigham Harwell and Brian Price and middle linebacker Reggie Carter, but three-fourths of the secondary is new, and there appears to be no replacement for All-America defensive end Bruce Davis.

“The three of us are going to be partners, partners on a start-up company that has a huge, huge upside,” Neuheisel says. “We’re going to share and commiserate equally, and together.”

But the coaching Dream Team would be better served if the program had players to give UCLA some type of Dream Team on the field. A rebuilding job is needed for a program that was 13–13 in former coach Karl Dorrell’s last two seasons, and it begins with a serious upgrade in talent.

Neuheisel, largely with the assistance of Walker, was able to keep UCLA’s best recruiting class in years together. As many as a dozen freshmen could play significant roles on UCLA’s two-deep. However, a suspect and inexperienced offensive line, injury concerns at quarterback, the need to replace several starters on defense and a challenging schedule could make it difficult for the Bruins to be bowl-eligible.

And then there are the injuries.

Quarterbacks 

For the third straight season Ben Olson is poised to start the season-opener, but stay tuned, because this could change as quickly as you can say “non-contact drill.” Fifth-year senior Patrick Cowan was awarded the starting job a week into spring practice because he made quicker decisions in the passing game, but he tore the ACL in his left knee in the next-to-last spring practice and is out for the year. Olson had surgery to place a screw in his right foot after he broke it the same day Cowan was injured, and the recovery time is two months. Both were injured in non-contact drills. If Olson cannot come back, or has a poor training camp, junior college transfer Kevin Craft (the son of former San Diego State coach Tom Craft) will get a shot. He lacks arm strength and experience but is more mobile than Olson. “We’re going to play that position well,” Neuheisel says.

Running backs 

Senior Kahlil Bell and redshirt freshman Raymond Carter are the leading candidates in the backfield, but both are coming off reconstructive knee surgeries. The speedy Carter injured his knee last August and should be ready. Bell, a straight-ahead runner, had his surgery in December but maintains he will be ready for the start of training camp. He was on pace to rush for more than 1,000 yards before injuring his knee in late October. However, UCLA’s strong recruiting class was heavy with running backs, and Aundre Dean will be counted on to play from the beginning. Dean, a 6'1", 210-pounder, ran for 2,498 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior, playing at the Class 5A level.

Receivers 

This unit should offer the most quality competition because of a few returning faces and an influx of freshmen. Marcus Everett is back for a fifth year after missing most of 2007 with an ankle injury. Dominique Johnson emerged as a receiving option as a redshirt freshman with 25 catches, including four touchdowns, and juniors Terrence Austin and Gavin Ketchum should add depth. But the unknown is how a talented trio of freshmen will adjust to the college game. The most intriguing is Nelson Rosario, who averaged 18.8 yards on his 53 receptions at El Camino (Calif.) High. Long-time followers of the program compare Rosario with former Bruin J.J. Stokes. Size among the receivers was a theme of the recruiting class, and 6'3" Jerry Johnson of Venice (Calif.) High and 6'3" Antwon Moutra of Culver City (Calif.) High should also compete for playing time.

Offensive linemen 

Yikes, yikes and yikes. Bob Palcic, UCLA’s offensive line coach who came from Wisconsin, will earn his money, because the Bruins have only two offensive linemen — center Micah Reed and left tackle Micah Kia — who played a snap on the offensive line last season. And Reed, who was a walk-on until the fall, played guard a year ago. It didn’t help when starting right tackle Aleksey Lanis retired because of chronic knee problems, giving sophomore Sean Sheller the starting spot. What is the depth like? Starting left guard Darius Savage was a defensive tackle until midway through 2007, and starting senior right guard Scott Glicksberg is on his third position — going from defensive line to tight end before making the switch to guard. As for the second-team offensive line? No member played a snap of college football last season. Not even on special teams.

Defensive linemen 

The strength of UCLA’s defense begins here, in the middle, with what should be one of the best defensive tackle tandems in the nation. Brigham Harwell, who missed much of last season with a knee injury, is back for a fifth year and teams with sophomore Brian Price, a first-day NFL Draft-type of talent. Price had clearinghouse issues and missed the first three games of the season but started five times and was still a freshman All-American. Seven of his 14 tackles were behind the line of scrimmage, and he was the most dominant player during the spring. This is also one of the few units where depth is not an issue because of Jerzy Siewierski, Chase Moline and Jess Ward, if he can get back from offseason knee surgery. Walker is comfortable with Korey Bosworth and Tom Blake at defensive end, but neither will make up for the loss of former All-American Bruce Davis, who had 24.5 sacks the last two seasons.

Linebackers 

After playing somewhat out of position on the weak side the last two seasons, junior Reggie Carter moves back to middle linebacker and defensive signal-caller for Walker’s unit in place of the departed Christian Taylor. Carter is UCLA’s hardest hitter, and its toughest, most rigorous competitor. He played last season less than two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Steady senior Kyle Bosworth mans the strong-side linebacker spot, but weak-side linebacker could become a rotation among senior Joshua Edwards, redshirt freshman Akeem Ayers and senior John Hale, who manned the starting spot in the spring but underwent knee surgery immediately following the spring game. Edwards sat out the spring because of a fractured cheek bone, and depth is a problem since backups Steve Sloan (middle) and Mike Schmitt (strong side) have no playing experience.

Defensive backs 

UCLA lost two three-year starters in cornerback Trey Brown and safety Dennis Keyes and a two-year starter in safety Chris Horton, so teams early in the season may be licking their chops. Senior Michael Norris gets the first shot across from junior Alterraun Verner at the corner spot, and senior Bret Lockett fills in for the hard-hitting Horton at strong safety. Aaron Ware is the penciled-in starting free safety, but UCLA’s recruiting class has loads of secondary talent, and each player figures to get a chance because of depth issues. And don’t be surprised if one of three freshmen — Rahim Moore, Anthony Dye or Aaron Hester — winds up starting in the secondary, at either corner or safety.

Specialists 

This could be UCLA’s strongest unit, and it may need to be with limited firepower on offense and a defense that could get worn down. Sophomore kicker Kai Forbath was 25-of-30 on field-goal attempts last season and has an accurate leg on long-distance kicks. He was 5-of-5 on kicks of at least 50 yards, which leaves him one field goal shy of tying the school record for 50-yarders. Punter Aaron Perez matched a school record with 91 punts last season, but he averaged 42.3 yards per attempt, and had 35 of them downed inside the 20-yard line. Austin is the odds-on favorite to return punts, but the coaching staff will iron out the returners in training camp.

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