Rivalry Recession

Remember the good old days? You know, way back in 2008, when cars were still made in Detroit and Rick Neuheisel was the newly minted head coach in Westwood. People were excited back then and, dare I say it, optimistic.

Even though the Bruins had lost eight of their last nine games against the Trojans, there was talk that things would be changing. Some even had the audacity to believe that the days of Pete Carroll's football empire were numbered. The once dead rivalry between UCLA and USC was about to be resurrected and Neuheisel was poised to put the Bruins back on top.

Then the season started.

After watching eight losses, a school-record twenty interceptions, and a parade of overwhelmed offensive lineman, one thing became perfectly clear... Neuheisel and the Bruins were a long way from challenging USC for conference supremacy. A very long way.

The other truth was that Karl Dorrell had left the cupboard bare. UCLA was short on size, speed, and athleticism and even a dream team of assistant coaches wasn't going to turn the ship around in one season.

Not that any of this should surprise anyone who has been paying attention the last few years.

Pete Carroll has been not-so-quietly amassing a collection of all star players over at USC. When you land a top-5 recruiting class year after year, it's kind of hard not to dominate everyone in your path.

During that same time, the football program in Westwood was content to let Carroll pick the creme of the crop from southland high schools, hoping to scoop up the leftovers.

The complete trouncing that the Bruins received this past December at the hands of the Trojans pretty much sums up the state of the rivalry at that point. Outmatched, under sized, and overwhelmed, the boys in blue never really had a chance to win.

If that wasn't bad enough, the exclamation point came a few months later when eleven USC players were taken in the NFL draft. Not a single UCLA player was chosen... not even the punter.

Amidst all of this doom and gloom, there are some signs of recovery. The Bruins last two recruiting classes have been head-and-shoulders above their predecessors.

Last year's freshman and the new arrivals this fall should inject some much needed talent into the program. Impact players like Rahim Moore, Derrick Coleman, and Jeff Baca have already claimed starting roles. Redshirt freshman Kevin Prince has been named the starting quarterback and some very talented offensive lineman will be arriving this August.

In fact, I expect over half of UCLA's starters on offense to be underclassman this year.

Neuheisel has finally brought a little competition back to the recruiting trail as well. He managed to steal some of Carroll's thunder this past February when he convinced two highly regarded USC recruits to switch their allegiance to UCLA.

Wide receiver Randall Carroll and H-back Morrell Presley were much needed additions to the latest Bruins class. Presley has already impressed the coaches this spring with his intensity and Carroll is one of the fastest high school seniors in the state. Both have the potential to be big time play makers.

The Bruins will continue to rebuild this season while the Trojans reload with another round of Parade All Americans. The results on the gridiron may not be markedly different from last year but give it some time. Like declining global economies, football programs take a while to turn around.

If anyone is going to bring life back to this rivalry it is Rick Neuheisel and all he needs is a few more stocked recruiting classes. Well, that or an NFL program with lots of money, no head coach, and Pete Carroll's cell phone number. Whichever comes first.

Year of the Freshman

There was a lot of hype around UCLA's last two recruiting classes. Both the '07 and '08 classes were chalked full of four and sometimes five star talent. This season, we should see many of those players, both red-shirt freshman and true freshman, taking the field. The early reports out of the fall camp point to this being the year of the freshman.

When Aundre Dean and Rahim Moore committed to UCLA, they were considered the crown jewels in an already rich recruiting class. Coach Neuheisel obviously saw their talent early on and he has both players taking lots of reps in practice. In particular, Moore looks like he could have the inside track on the strong safety position. According to Brian Dohn:

Moore said he was not having trouble picking up the basic defenses UCLA is running. "I'm not lost,'' Moore said. "I'm actually coming along pretty good. I'm in my learning process right now where every day I'm still learning. I've been running with the 1s, and the pace has been fast, but I'm used to it since the summer.''

Dean likely won't unseat Kalil Bell as the starting tail back, but he'll probably see a lot of playing time anyways. Dean has the physical stature well beyond his years and he doesn't look like a true freshman. The guy is big and strong and he'll be a powerful running back. The sooner Dean learns the offense, the better, and I can see him developing into a significant contributer for the Bruins this year.

Behind Dean is a whole host of other new backs. Raymond Carter, Derrick Coleman, Johnathan Franklin, and Milton Knox will also put on pads for the first time and fight for minutes as well. I don't see Franklin or Knox playing a whole lot this year, barring injuries ahead of them in the depth chart, but having them red shirt will be good for the program in the long run.

The other new recruits are showing some sparks on offense as well. Receiver Nelson Rosario made a spectacular finger tip catch at the end of Thursday's practice. He beat out fellow freshman Anthony Dye who has been working a lot with the two sets of practices coach Neuheisel was running the first few days of camp.

On the defensive line, Dantone Jones impressed PE beat writer Kevin Pearson with his size and strength:

Among the more physically impressive freshmen is defensive end Datone Jones, who checks in at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. Jones, a Compton High grad, looks like he has tree trunks for legs and just looks different than most freshmen tend to look.

"He has an NFL body," defensive tackle Brigham Harwell said. "He'll be a great Bruin here. I look forward to watching him and seeing what he can do."

Jones is currently listed as a defensive end, but he could morph into a tackle as he continues to grow and develop. I can easily see him getting into the two deep at end this season and pushing Bosworth. Senior corner back Michael Norris is also going to get a lot of pressure from red-shirt freshman Courtney Viney, who was impressive in the spring game, and true freshman Aaron Hester. The secondary is pretty thin to begin with so the more guys we can get into the mix the better.

It's easy to get excited about the new faces, but we also have to take some of these reports with a grain of salt. With the lack of success over the last few seasons, it is natural for us fans to latch onto any new player who is full of talent and promise. All of these kids could turn out to be outstanding players for UCLA, but each one has a long way to go in their careers. They'll make mistakes, drop balls, get burned in coverage, and miss a tackle or two, or ten. They are still young and they still need to develop both physically and mentally. The college game is much faster paced than in high school and the PAC-10 if chocked full of future NFL talent. It won't be an easy season for them, but it does give you a warm fuzzy feeling that the future of UCLA football looks bright.

Army All American Game

One of UCLA's star recruits, Rahim Moore, will be playing in the Army All American Bowl this year. This is an annual event that pits the best high school seniors in the country against each other. The game will be held at the Alamo Dome and televised on NBC this Saturday, January 5th, at 10 AM West Coast time.

Last year Brian Price was selected to play in the game and in 2006 both Terrance Austin and Kai Forbath represented UCLA. If these players are any indication of the caliber of player that attends the AAA Bowl, then the Bruins are getting a special kid in Moore. If you're itching to watch some more football, and you'd like to get a sneak peek at this future UCLA safety, then make sure you tune in this Weekend.

From his bio,

Moore has excellent instincts and closes on the ball-carrier or receiver quickly and with force. He has excellent hands, as evidenced by his 14 picks in two years.

An all-state underclass first team pick in 2006 and an all-City Section selection, Moore had 122 tackles as a junior and seven interceptions for Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey. He also had 90 tackles (56 solo), and seven interceptions during his sophomore season at Dorsey High in Los Angeles, being named an all-City Section second-team selection in 2005.