Drew Olson - Week 9

Drew and the Amsterdam Admirals took on the Cologne Centurions this week. This was the team that absolutely crushed Amsterdam two weeks ago. Despite jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first half, the result was the same for Drew's crew. They struggled moving the ball and the receivers could not hang with Cologne's secondary.

It was another poor week for Olon's passing game. His receivers couldn't find any separation and pass after pass was knocked away. The game was summed up when Drew was intercepted late in the 4th quarter on a tipped pass that was returned 70 yards by Cologne. I'm not sure of his final numbers but lets just say they weren't any good.

Next week will be Drew's final game for the Admirals for the year. The Admirals are playing against the only team with a worse record, Berlin, so maybe Drew can go out with a bang.

Well that was Quick

It was announced today that Angus McClure was named the new Tight End coach for the Bruins. This news comes just days after the resignation of former Tight End and Special teams coach John Wristen. Brian Dohn mentioned on his blog that Wristen had been looking for a new position since the end of last season. Since this announcement came so quickly after the resignation, Dorrell must have been looking for a new coach for the last few months.

McClure comes from the University of Buffalo. He used to work with offensive coordinator Jay Norvell at Nebraska, so he was probably recommended for the position. Angus was the Offensive line/run game coordinator at Buffalo and the Tackle and Special Teams coach at Nebraska for two years. Before his time with the Corn Huskers, McClure played a major role at Sacramento State University where he served as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. While at Sacramento State from 1997-2003, McClure helped the Hornets set 52 NCAA Division I-AA, Big Sky Conference or school records.

Safeties coach Gary DeLoach will continue to coach the special teams, a role he has had since before spring practice.

(photo credit: University of Buffalo)

Player Profile: Chris Horton

We'll switch to the other side of the ball this time and look at another New Orleans native in Chris Horton.

Horton will be playing in his 5th season with the Bruins, and the red-shirt senior has emerged as a true super star in the secondary. Chris led the defense with 95 tackles last season and added 3 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. He was named to the all PAC-10 second team and is poised to be one of the best strong safeties in the country this year.

Horton is a big and physical and he has all of the skills you like to see in a strong safety. He is a powerful hitter who careens headlong into ball carriers, stopping them in their tracks. Here is a video of Horton forcing a fumble after laying a huge lick on Notre Dame running back Darius Walker.

Its hard to believe that Horton only made his first start at the end of the 2005 season against USC. This last year he looked like a chiseled veteran, starting all 13 games and almost never missing a play. He spent years behind an NFL-caliber safety in Jarrad Page, but Horton has the size and skills to be an even bigger asset to the Bruin secondary.

What might be even harder to believe, given all of the recent accolades, is that Horton was not highly rated coming out of De La Salle High School in New Orleans. He only garnered 3-stars by Scout, and 2-stars by Rivals, but that didn't deter schools like UCLA, Arkansas, and Clemson from pursuing the hard-hitting athlete.

Chris spent the first few years at Westwood playing on the special teams units and as a backup safety. He red-shirted his first season, but came off the bench to make some huge special teams plays in his second year for the blue and gold. The one play I remember vividly is Horton blocking a punt against the Trojans. He also blocked another punt that year against Arizona for a safety.

In 2005, Chris spent the first half of the season recovering from a wrist injury he suffered in the fall camp. To this day, Horton is still bothered by the injury and he admitted in an interview that it sometimes hinders his ability to make interceptions.

"When the doctor tells you your wrist is a career-threatening injury, and I made it past the stage the doctors said I wouldn't make it past because I don't have to wear that cast anymore, I'm happy," Horton said. "As long as I'm out on the field, I'm happy."

In the off season, Horton was named to the Play Boy All American team. Lots of experts are putting him on their All American watch lists and I think he'll have a huge Senior season in the UCLA secondary. With a new offense again this season, the Bruins will rely on their defense to keep them in games. Chris will play a very critical role in helping to craft the Bruins into a team that can compete for the conference crown. Since he just recently finished his classes, he should be 100% focused on football.

(photo credit: viewimages.com)

Late Addition to 2007 Class

Wow, lots of recruiting news in the last few days. It was reported in the Daily News that wide receiver Ben Bruneau, from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, will be playing on the team in 2007. Bruneau will walk-on the team this fall after completing his Senior year at Notre Dame. Ben said he signed with the Bruins in April but wanted to keep it quiet while concentrating on his last high school track and field season.

He reminds me of Matt Willis, who was also a track star that walked onto the football team a few years ago. It is always great to get fast, athletic players at the wide receiver position and Ben looks like a great athlete. He competed in a number of state track meets this year and helped Notre Dame win a team title.

Bruneau wasn't highly recruited out of high school, but I think he kind of slipped under the radar. He moved to California from Florida after his Junior year, and with recruiting services being the way they are, they may have just lost him in the shuffle.

TE Coach Wristen Resigns

Karl Dorrell announced yesterday that UCLA tight ends/special teams coach John Wristen has resigned to pursue an opportunity to become a college head coach.

“It looks like John has the chance to be in the mix for the head coaching position at Colorado State University/Pueblo, which is his alma mater,” said Dorrell.

“John wants to put all of his efforts into trying to land that job. We agreed that in order for him to focus all of his energies in that direction, it would be best for him to resign so he can be in Colorado to pursue that position.”

“I would like to thank Coach Dorrell and the UCLA family for my opportunity here at UCLA,” said Wristen. “It has been a wonderful experience but the chance to pursue the head coaching position at my alma mater is an opportunity I can not pass up.”

Wristen was only at UCLA for one year, but he helped coach place kicker Justin Medlock to an All American season. Before coming to Westwood Coach Wristen spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado. During that time, the Buffaloes won four Big 12 North championships and the 2001 Big 12 title

This means that Dorrell is going to have to go out and quickly get a tight ends coach before the fall. Safeties coach Gary DeLoach had been sharing the special teams duties with Wristen since before Spring Practice, so that aspect is covered.

We wish the best of luck to coach Wristen!

(photo credit: fansonly.com)

Bruins land first Lineman for 2008

It was a big day in recruiting for the Bruins. Not only did Rivals gush over the current UCLA commits, naming 12 of them in their top-250, but the coaches received their first commitment from an offensive lineman.

Jonathan Martin, from Harvard-Westlake, verbally committed to being a Bruin today. Martin who is 6'7" and weighed in at 270 lbs as a Junior, will be a huge body on the Bruins line. He most likely projects to offensive tackle, which will be a position of need (like most positions) in 2008.

Jonathan has been aggressively recruited over the last few weeks and he has seen his stock rise considerably this spring. Along with an offer from UCLA, Martin had offers from Utah, Ole Miss, and Utah State. There was talk that California was also prepared to offer him a scholarship.

Martin was offered by the Bruins two weeks ago and it made a big impact on him.

"Coach (Bob) Connelly from UCLA came by and watched our practice. Afterwards he offered me,” said Martin. “I went to one of their practices and talked with him and Coach Dorrell. They are all really cool. They’re definitely my number one choice right now."

Martin mentioned that is was UCLA's early interest in him, and the steady dialog he has had with the coaches, that made the Bruins his favorite. Kudos to coaches Connelly and Dorrell for discovering this giant lineman before everyone else jumped on the band wagon.

This brings the total number of commitments for the year to 15.

(photo credit: Scout)

Rivals 250

Last Tuesday, the Rivals network released their top 100 players for the class of 2008. A number of players, who are committed to UCLA, made it into those rankings. This week, they have expanded their criteria to include the top 250 players in the nation. Almost every recruit that has committed to the Bruins for 2008 is on that list! This is definitely shaping up to be a huge recruiting class for coach Dorrell and probably one of the best Bruin classes in almost a decade.

We already knew that two UCLA bound safeties, and a talented receiver, were already on the list. Moore (ranked the #1 safety in the nation), Woods (#3 safety), and Bateman (#17 receiver) were already in the top-100.

#43 Rahim Moore (S)
#90 EJ Woods (S)
#93 Kemonte Bateman (WR)

These other UCLA committed players found their way into the top 250:

Uona Kavienga (LB)
Aundre Dean (RB)
Anthony Dye (DB)
Aaron Hester (DB)
Damien Holmes (DE)
Datone Jones (DE)
Jerry Johnson (WR)
Antwon Moutra (WR)
Nick Crissman (QB)

A very impressive group of players you must admit. It is definitely heavy on defensive positions and we can thank coach Walker, and his amazing transformation of the defense, as a key reason these players are choosing the Bruins. It is great to know that the coaches are building a solid foundation on defense that will last for years to come.

There are also some great skill players on offense including Texas running back Aundre Dean and Huntington Beach quarterback Nick Crissman. Let's just hope that they can keep the momentum going and continue to build on this already impressive recruiting class.

White is Back in Blue

Brian Dohn recently reported that former Bruin linebacker, Tony White, has been added to the staff as a graduate assistant. He will be working in football operations. I'm not exactly sure what his duties will entail, but it is always fun to see a former player back in the program.

White played for the Bruins from 1997 to 2000. He bumped around between middle and outside linebacker and even played a little special teams. He started his final 3 seasons and was a key leader of the defense during his time in Westwood. Tony played on the last Bruin squad to make a Rose Bowl back in 1998.

Tony went to the Canadian Football League after he graduated from UCLA. He played for both the Calgary Stampede and the Ottawa Renegades during a 4-year tenure in the CFL. After being released in 2005, He spent a little bit of time teaching and coaching at St. Genevieve High in Panorama City, California. In 2006, Tony was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Brigade of the Area Football League. He never played in the AFL and was placed on the refused to report list earlier this year.

Welcome back Tony!

(photo credit: fansonly.com)

Drew Olson - Week 8

Before this season, I didn't normally watch NFL Europa games. I'm not a big fan of the professional leagues and usually only watch the pros to see former Bruins in action. I have to admit, though, I've gained an affinity for the Amsterdam Admirals since Drew has been their starting quarterback. Usually, I don't care much if the team wins, just as long as Olson looks good; but this week I found myself getting excited as they raced down the field to try and score in the final seconds. It was a thrilling week full of crazy plays, bundles of points, and a wild finish.

This wasn't a particularly good week for Drew. He connected on 25 of 47 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers sound pretty good, except when you also note that he threw two other touchdown passes... to the wrong team. In both halves, Olson threw passes that were intercepted and returned for touchdowns.

It was ultimately a difference maker in the game as Drew and the Admirals came up just short of winning this week: 38-41. He almost got them back into it by leading his team on a scoring drive in the final seconds of the 2nd half. He even managed to connect on this miraculous 2-point conversion where he somehow found a receiver, throwing back across his body, as he was knocked out of bounds. All of it was for naught, though, as the Admirals couldn't recover the ensuing on-side kick

Drew had a weird week where good passes would get dropped by his receivers and some bad passes would get bailed out by pass-interference calls. He struggled again with accuracy on long passes and that slowed down the Admirals effort to get back into the game. Consistency has been a problem all year and this game was almost like a microcosm of the season. You just never know what type of play you'll get from him each week or even each possession.

Player Profile: Chris Markey

I thought I would spend a little time during the summer and write a series of articles about some of the marque players who will be wearing the blue and gold this year. What better way to kick off the series then by starting with a guy who has marque built right into his name... Chris Markey!

Chris will be a true senior this year and this is his second season as the starting tailback for the Bruins. Markey started all 13 games last season and he has a been a very durable and dependable player in the backfield. He lead the team in rushing yards and receptions last season and the running back was named UCLA's co-MVP along with an All-Pac-10 honorable mention. He will likely be a key component in the offense for 2007.

I would call Markey a meat-and-potatoes kind of running back. He isn't going to blind you with his speed or knock you over with his size, but he is a durable, consistent, blue-collar kind of player. He has good hands and is a solid and dependable receiver coming out of the backfield.

I was surprised, at the end of last season, to see that Markey had racked up over 1,100 yards with an average of 4.9 yards a carry. Those numbers were good enough to rank him 4th in the PAC-10. It didn't seem like he was always an impact player each game, but he consistently contributed to the offense and he compiled a pretty impressive set of stats along the way.

One number that wasn't so hot, was the number of touchdowns Chris scored. He had an anemic two touchdowns for the whole season. That's an almost unbelievably low number considering that he had 227 carries and 35 receptions. The Bruins definitely missed the big play making ability that Maurice Drew brought to the position in 2005. This year Markey is going to have to step up his game and find a way to take the ball to the house if UCLA is going to compete for the conference title.

Chris came to Westwood from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was not a highly rated recruit after his Senior season at Jesuit (both Rivals and Scout gave him 3-stars), but he was named the Louisiana Class 5A State offensive MVP and the New Orleans City Player of the Year. Chris was a star athlete in high school and he competed in Track and Basketball ,earning all district honors in both of those sports.

Markey had his first breakout game during his freshman year when the Bruins faced the Ducks up at Eugene, Oregon. Chris was the 3rd string tailback at the time, behind Maurice Drew and Manuel White Jr. When Drew injured an ankle the prior week against Washington State, Markey had a chance to prove he could be a star on offense. He racked up 131 yards on the ground, and also lead the team in receptions with 84 yards, and his stellar performance propelled the Bruins to an upset victory.

His sophomore season would also provide an opportunity to get into the spot light, this time in the Sun Bowl against the Northwestern Wildcats. Maurice Drew was injured again, this time early in the game. Chris, and 3rd string running back Kahlil Bell, picked up the running responsibilities and both ran for over 100 yards that day. Markey averaged almost 7 yards a touch, and he was named co-MVP for the game. Here's a great highlight video of the 2005 Sun Bowl, which includes Markey putting together a 50 yard scramble.

In his first two years at Westwood, Markey was responsible for kick returns. Against San Diego State, his sophomore year, he had a spectacular return. He caught the ball on the 5 yard line and he juked and jived his way through a swarm of defenders. The greatest part was the two stiff arms he threw at the end of the drive that absolutely planted the Aztec players to the ground.

His Junior year, he put on a running clinic against the Rice Owls. The prior week, the Bruins hadn't run the ball very well, and Markey was challenged by coach Dorrell to prove he could step-up as the starting tailback for the Bruins. He amassed a career high of 208 rushing yards and he averaged almost a first down (9.0 yards) every time he touched the ball.

At the start of this year's spring practice, Chris injured his foot and he missed almost the entire camp. The injury wasn't serious and Markey was kept out of practice as a precautionary measure. He should be back and ready to go for the fall camp and the start of the season.

This should be a big year for the Louisiana native. With a new offense and a rusty quarterback at the helm, the Bruins are going to depend on their experienced senior tail back to help carry the team at the start of the season. He's been a consistent and dependable back in his time at UCLA, but now Chris needs to show that he can be a big play maker as well.

(photo credit: Seattle PI)