Blast From the Past

I came across a link to these digital images while reading Scott Wolf's Trojan blog of all things. The UCLA library has made available a ton of images from the 1920's - 1990's. There are some great pictures in there of UCLA football games. Here are some of the best. If you click the image you'll see it in it's full size.

Stanford vs UCLA football game, 1986

UCLA quarterback John Sciarra during Cal game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, 1975

Eric Ball during Iowa Hawkeyes football game, 1986

Drew Olson - Week 5

Here is how you know you're having a bad day as a quarterback. Your first five passes are incomplete and your 6th attempt is tipped, intercepted, and returned 30 yards for a touchdown. Just to add injury to insult, you suffer a bruise to your calf and have to sit out the rest of the game while your understudy almost leads your team to a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

That about sums up the day Drew Olson had against the Hamburg Sea Devils this past Sunday. Drew finished the day with a dismal 2 of 7 with 1 INT. We'll have to wait and see if his leg injury is bad enough for him to miss any more games. He injured the other leg, not the one he broke while at UCLA, so hopefully it isn't something serious.

In one of those weird cosmic twists-of-fate, Drew's backup for the game was Corey Bramlet. Bramlet was the quarterback for the Wyoming Cowboys when Drew broke his leg back in 2004 in that gawd awful Las Vegas Bowl. Just to make things even weirder, Corey faced off against his older brother Casey who was the starting QB for Hamburg.

2008 Recruiting off to a Fast Start

The recruiting season has been in full swing for the last 3 months and the Bruins have been racking up an impressive list of commitments. UCLA's 14 commitments are the most in the conference at this point. In fact, the other nine PAC-10 teams have a combined 20 recruits, so the Bruins have been gaining commitments at a blistering pace. Of course, how you finish the recruiting season is more important than how you start; but it is great to see Dorrell and company landing some good recruits early in the year.

“I’d say this is by far the fastest start Dorrell’s got at UCLA,” said Brandon Huffman, the West regional analyst for Scout.com. “This is one of the best starts UCLA’s had in probably a decade.”

This class is very pivotal to the future of UCLA football. Every year recruiting is important, but more so for this group of players. The 2008 season represents a changing of the guard for the program as 30 Seniors ( 18 of whom are starters) will be leaving the program after this year. The Bruins will have openings at almost every position and recruits from this class will probably be asked to fill many of them. Usually very few true freshman see significant minutes, but I think we'll see a lot of these guys in the two-deep if not the starting lineup by the end of next season.

Offense

Eric Scott, the new wide receiver coach, has been drawing in some great players for 2008. Scott has a lot of connections to inner-city L.A. schools and he is using his influence to bring in some great players on both sides of the ball. New offensive coordinator and QB coach Jay Norvell has also landed his first recruit for the Bruins and the first quarterback for a PAC-10 team.

Aundre Dean (RB) leads the list on the offensive side of the ball. Landing Dean was a bit of a surprise to many Bruin fans. He lives in Katy Texas which is outside of UCLA's primary recruiting area. At first Dean had given an oral commitment to the Texas A&M Aggies, but an unofficial visit to Westwood changed his mind. Dean is now committed to playing for the Bruins.

Dean is tall and slim as a junior, but he will probably pack on another 15-20 lbs of muscle before stepping onto Spalding field. He reminds me of DeShaun Foster as he runs with a lot of power. He will have Carter and Bell ahead of him his Freshman year, but he could play his way into some minutes each week.

Kemonte Bateman (WR) is the latest star player from UCLA's Crenshaw pipeline. He has been tearing it up at the combines this summer and putting up some very impressive numbers. With a mass exodus of receivers after this season, Bateman could definitely find his way into the starting rotation. He has a few academic issues he needs to clear-up, but if he takes care of business he should be in the blue and gold next year.

Nick Crissman (QB) is the only quarterback so far to commit to a PAC-10 school. The coaching staff took a long time in deciding which south land quarterbacks to offer and Crissman got the nod. He is a pro-style QB, who is very smart and an accurate passer. Those are definitely two skills crucial for UCLA's complex west-coast offense. Crissman doesn't strike me as a player who will start for a few years. He will have Ben/Pat ahead of him in 2008 and Chris Forcier as a red-shirt freshman waiting in the wings.

Rounding out the other offensive commitments are Antwon Moutra (WR) and Jerry Johnson (WR). Both look like solid players but neither has really stood out as future impact players at this point. We'll see what they can do during their Senior seasons.

Defense

It is not a coincidence that the best players to commit this year are on defense and in the secondary. Dewayne Walker has been hard at work on the recruiting path; it turns out Walker is not only a great defensive coordinator and secondary coach, but also a very good recruiter as well. Many considered him a key reason why the Bruins landed Brian Price last season and why Carter and Price stuck with UCLA even when they were getting a lot of pressure from Pete Carroll.

Rahim Moore (S), a Dorsey safety, is definitely the highlight of the recruiting class so far. Moore has been ranked as one of the top-10 players in the west for 2008 and he will likely be a 5-star recruit when the final rankings come out this fall.

He continues to get offers from BCS schools including Auburn, USC, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, and Nebraska. There have been reports that Pete Carroll is still aggressively pursuing Moore. I'm sure one of Walker's primary goals this recruiting season is to make sure the Bruins stay on top of Rahim's list. Moore said that the hiring of receivers coach Eric Scott sold him on UCLA. Moore's Dorsey team played against Scott, who used to be the offensive coordinator at Crenshaw.

E.J. Woods (S) of Crespi Carmelite is another standout player who will join Moore in the secondary in 2008. He is also being pursued by some big schools like Michigan and California. He committed on the same day as Rahim and the two will be a deadly duo in the UCLA defense for years to come. With the departure of Keyes and Horton after this season, Brett Locket will be the only experienced safety available. I think either Woods or Moore could start early for the Bruins.

Damien Holmes (DE) and Datone Jones (DE) are two stellar defensive lineman that committed early in March. I'm sure the success of Davis and Hickman this last season under Walker's tutelage was a key reason these two decided to commit to UCLA. Holmes is a lot like Davis, a bit small but very fast and athletic with great pass rushing instincts. Jones is a highly recruited end from Compton High School. He has received offers from USC, Notre Dame, Nebraska and a number of PAC-10 schools. Jones is also small for the end position, but he has a large frame and will undoubtedly add some weight and muscle before coming to Westwood.

Uona Kaveinga (LB) has been pursued aggressively by BYU, but the standout linebacker from Arizona has not wavered from his desire to be a Bruin. He is a bruising linebacker who is extremely aggressive and loves to take off the ball carrier's head. Uona has great size already as a Junior and he should come in and compete for playing time right away.

Patrick Larimore (LB) is a an unheralded linebacker from Hart high school. He racked up a ton of tackles last season and he has a great instinct for finding the ball. He has good size and good speed. Since the Bruins have been undersized at the linebacker spot for years, I think Patrick will stand out early. He should have a great Senior year at Hart and I expect his stock to rise a lot this year.

Aaron Hester (CB) and Anthony Dye (CB) are two quality defensive backs to add to the star-studded secondary. Hester is a bit undersized but he has some good speed and could even play wide receiver. Dye is also a bit small for a corner, but he is very tough. He played a lot of hockey growing up and even participated in some youth hockey tournaments. You got to love a guy who brings the mental toughness and agility of a hockey player to the gridiron.

Johnathan Franklin (S) is fellow teammate of Rahim Moore at Dorsey. While not as talented as Moore, Franklin is a solid recruit that will help add depth to a secondary that will be full of new faces and inexperienced players in 2008.

Will Bushgate Ever End?

The short answer is no.

At least that's the impression I got from reading Michael Silver's latest article on Sports Illustrated. Silver offers up a hypothetical change in policy that the NCAA can use to force Bush into testifying on the case. While an interesting proposition, there is no chance it will be adopted. What I found more interesting were some comments he received from one of the investigators.

Silver interviewed Pac-10 associate commissioner Ron Barker for his article. What few people remember is that there are actually two investigations underway. Besides the NCAA, the conference is also investigating the Bush family antics, and Barker is leading that investigation. When asked about the status of things, Barker had this to say:

"This case is a long, long way from being over. There is a lot of information being gathered that I can't speak about. We've had some interesting things happen in the last two weeks that have put some new life into this."

It has been over 7 months since the release of the original Yahoo Article that started the entire controversy. If Baker is saying that they are still a long, long way from finishing their investigation then what time frame are we walking about? One year? Two years? More!?! Yahoo took 8 months to collect a mountain of evidence. If even half of that evidence holds up then that should be more than enough to find that Bush and family violated NCAA rules concearning illegal benefits. I'm not sure what evidence the Pac-10 has collected to date, but if that isn't enough to come to a conclusion then I wonder what will.

The second part of Baker's comments seem to shed some hope that the investigation is still moving forward. That's what I thought the first time I read them, but when I read them again, it made me even more skeptical that the investigation will end anytime soon. I'm not sure what events have sparked new life into the investigation, but two weeks ago the Pac-10 investigation was all but dead. I'm sure two weeks from now it will be dead again. Maybe that is because of a lack of cooperation from the parties but I also think it comes from a lack of will. I don't think the conference or the NCAA is really pursuing this case with much vigor.

When asked what is delaying the investigation, Baker said it was because he couldn't get anyone to speak to him.

"This is the first time I've encountered anything like this, where all parties -- even those who've turned against each other -- have not cooperated with an investigation," Barker said. "I've never had a problem getting the information in the past."

Even if the parties won't talk to Barker directly, there are these alleged audio tapes that Bush's wannabe agent Michaels said he recorded. Who knows if those tapes even exist or if they will surface sometime in the future but they might be enough to convince the investigators of foul play. But with Michaels settling his lawsuit with Bush and part of that settlement being a non-disclosure clause, I think that is pretty much a dead-end. Ultimately, Bush has bought Michaels' silence and there isn't anything the NCAA can do about it.

At the end of the day, there doesn't seem to be much hope that anything will come from this investigation. Since nobody is talking and the conference and the NCAA don't seem highly motivated to push it forward, I think we'll never see a satisfying resolution. It is sad too, because Bush is basically making a mockery of the NCAA. What we've learned from this is that a player can receive illegal benefits and as long as nobody finds out about it until after he leaves school then he can get away with it.

Bruin Rewind of Spring Game

There is a Bruin Rewind on tonight of the spring game. It should play as a defensive highlight reel. It's great that FSN puts together replays of scrimmages. If you weren't able to attend the game then this is your opportunity to check it out.

Focus on Football

So my blog is almost 3 weeks old! I'm still working on the format and the look and feel of the site. My goal is to have the title graphics and everything finished before the month is over. I'm also spending some time on a computer program that generates some very interesting football statistics. I'll be posting more about that this summer.

Today I decided that I would keep this site primarily focused on UCLA football. I still love basketball, but my heart and passion have always been on the gridiron. I'll occasionally post on basketball topics but I think keeping this a UCLA football blog will mean much better content for the readers. Besides, there are already a lot of great Bruin Basketball blogs.

Drew Olson - Week 4

Another week and another up-and-down game for Drew. He just can't seem to put together an entire game and this week against Frankfurt was no exception. He's going to have to perform for four quarters if he wants to see playing time on Sundays back in the States.

Drew looked masterful in the first half. He connected on most of his passes, including a long bombs to his favorite target Skyler Fulton. Olson also rattled off a 12-yard scramble on a 3rd-and-10 that kept a crucial drive alive. His team was rolling and Drew hit two TD passes to give the Admirals a 19 - 0 lead (they missed 2 extra-points). The running game for Amsterdam was much better this week and that relieved some of the pressure on Drew and gave him a legitimate play-action pass in that first half.

It looked like Drew might get a 3rd TD pass in the 2nd quarter but he got picked with a few minutes left. It was a very similar situation to the first game Amsterdam played against Frankfurt. Drew just under threw a pass near the end zone and it ended up in a Galaxy player's hands.

The 2nd half continued where the first left off. Drew was struggling and the Admirals had a number of 3-and-outs. Olson also threw another interception deep in his own territory that could have cost Amsterdam the game. His team managed to hold on to the lead (just barely) and squeaked out the win. Not a great way to finish the game, considering the very hot start. Olson finished 16-32, 2 TD, and 2 INT.

In my opinion Drew needs to work on getting rid of the ball more. It seems like he is trying to force the ball on every play and that is accounting for the high number of interceptions he has for the season. His arm strength just isn't there as he almost always under throws players on longer routes and he has a hard time with placing the ball on passes over 20 yards. He's putting up decent numbers considering he doesn't have a lot of help around him, but consistency is definitely a big issue right now.

QB Nick Crissman commits

Nick Crissman received an offer from Karl Dorrell on Friday and the Edison quarterback wasted no time in making a verbal commitment to the Bruins. Bruin Blitz reported that offensive coordinator Jay Norvell went out and visited the high schools' of several of the area's top quarterbacks this week. The coaches spent weeks researching which local quarterbacks to offer and Crissman was high on the list

Earlier this year, Karl Dorrell said he would like to take just one quarterback each recruiting season. With such a large class in 2008, we'll have to wait and see if he sticks with that plan. Crissman, who is a 6'3" 200 lbs pro-style QB, looks to be a solid pickup for Norvell and Dorrell.

Nick had a breakout season as a Junior and it earned him a spot on the All-Orange County 2nd team as well as Offensive Back of the Year honors in the Sunset Leaue. His OCVarsity profile records Crissman racking up some great numbers last year. 3015 yards, 27 TD, 11 INT, 231-367 (63%). Crissman also made Rivals 250 to watch list for next season.

Here is a video of the Edison and Servite game last year. You can watch Nick in action.

Eight in a Row

Ahhh... the 90's. Interns were still working in the White House, rock was grungy, and Al Gore was busy inventing the internet. The Bruins were also compiling a series-record eight consecutive victories over their cross-town rivals. Thanks to the awesomeness that is YouTube, you can re-live those glorious years in nice little 10 minute intervals.

1992. One of the great stories in the rivalry was that of walk-on quarterback John Barnes. He spent the beginning of his career bouncing around between colleges and finally ended up at UCSB, only to have the football program canceled after one season. For his senior year, he transfered to Westwood and walked onto the football team. He was buried deep in the depth chart but through injury and opportunity, he was named the starting quarterback for the SC game. He lead the Bruins to a thrilling 38-37 victory that started the streak.

1993. Sorry, there I can't seem to find a video for this one.

1994. The Bruin's swarming defense was all over Johnson sacking him 6 times as they hold the Trojans to only 19 points. JJ Stokes makes some spectacular catches in this one and the Bruins roll 31 - 19.

1995. Cade McNown makes his freshman debut at the Coliseum. The Bruins take an early lead but the Trojan make it a close finish.

1996. Probably one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the series. The Trojans jump out to a quick 17-point lead. McNown and the Bruins trail the entire game and face a 17-point deficit when they get the ball in the 4th quarter. After two drives resulting in 10 points, the Bruin defense gets a fortunate fumble with a few minutes left. They charge down the field and tie the game with only 40 seconds left. Two overtimes later, the Bruins pull out the come-from-behind victory much to the delight of the Rose Bowl crowd.

1997. The Bruins find themselves in the middle of another streak in '97. After losing the first two games of the season, the Bruin were riding an 8 game winning streak when they paid a visit to the Coliseum. They take out the Trojans 31 to 24.

1998. DeShaun Foster joins in on the fun as Cade and Company took the nation's longest winning streak and a #3 ranking into the game. Foster knocked off two TD runs and the Bruins cap off the 8th consecutive win in the series.

The next 7 games would go Troy's way, but they couldn't match the 8 game streak the Bruins compiled in the 90's. It was truly a great time to be a UCLA fan.

NFL Draft

I didn't watch much of the NFL draft this year. The experts thought that only two Bruins had a chance at going during the two day event. So there wasn't a whole lot of motivation for me to sit through the hours and hours of TV coverage.

In the end, only Justin Medlock got drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 5th round. That sounds late but specialists tend to go late in the draft. Justin was actually the first kicker selected this year. I watched him at this all-star challenge a few months back. Medlock was definitely the best field-goal kicker there. He was the most accurate and also boomed in a 50-yarder.

There was talk that Justin Hickman might have been drafted in the 6th or 7th round, but he slipped through undrafted. Even though he lead the Bruins (and the PAC-10) in sacks last year, Justin is a bit undersized for the NFL. He'll probably end up playing outside linebacker in the pros.

When the draft is over, all the free agents sign. Willis signed with the Baltimore Ravens and Hickman has a contract with the Redskins. Brian Dohn reported on his blog that Junior Taylor was close to a deal with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.

Taylor has been trying to overcome another knee injury he suffered at an all-star game this January. The worst part is that he actually got hurt during the practice and never even played in the game. Dohn has a great article about Taylor's desire to make the NFL and how he has been fighting depression from being stuck in a bed for months. I sure hope Junior gets another chance to play football; he deserves it.