Recruiting Snapshot

I had some problems with my free file hosting service this last week, but it looks like they have been resolved now. Here is the latest recruiting snapshot ( PDF ) that includes Nelson Rosario. The 2008 recruiting class is ranked #2 on Rivals (we slipped below Notre Dame) and #3 on Scout (behind Texas and ND).

Who is Chris Meadows?

The Bruins have been participating in 7-on-7 practices for about a week and one player in particular has been generating some buzz. His name is Chris Meadows and he's been turning some heads this summer. If you're scratching your head and wondering, "Who is Chris Meadows?", well you aren't alone. I did the same thing. So who is this guy and what can he bring to the team this season? Here's the low down...

First some numbers. Chris measures in at 5'11" with a forty time of 4.5 sec. Apparently the kid has some hops with a 40" vertical and a natural athletic ability. He was listed on the official UCLA roster as a defensive back, but it looks like Mr. Meadows will be playing some wide receiver this season.

Meadows played his prep ball in Redondo Beach where he spent time at pretty much every position (QB, RB, DB, and WR). He was the Ocean League MVP as a junior and an all conference guy his senior season. He's been blessed with a ton of natural talent and he has superior body control. Here's a video of Chris making an amazing, 360-degree, leaping interception in the pouring rain. Meadows had 1,500 all-purpose yards of offense and 80 tackles and 4 interceptions on defense his senior season for Redondo.

He visited UCLA but an offer never came from the coaching staff. He eventually picked Idaho over scholarship offers from Montana and Sacramento State. It looks like Chris really wanted to play for the Bruins, so he transfered from Idaho and spent the 2005 season at West Los Angeles Junior College. He played wide out for the Hustling Oilers where he had 36 receptions for 680 yards and 6 touchdowns. After one year at the juco level, he walked on to the team and he'll be looking to make a similar impact for the Bruin receiving crops this year.

DEJA (aka DeaconBlue) stated in his practice report that Meadows has been juking defensive backs and making circus catches in the 7-on-7 games. If he can bring that kind of play making ability to the team during the season then he'll definitely find a spot in the regular rotation. The UCLA receivers were criticized last year for not having anyone step up and make the big plays last season. Maybe Meadows can give this team the spark they have been missing. So keep an eye out for #30 in the blue and gold this year.

2007 Preview: Stanford Cardinal

First-year coach Jim Harbaugh makes a big jump from I-AA San Diego to the PAC-10 and it appears he's injected a least a little enthusiasm and hope into a program that has hit the skids over the last few years. Harbaugh has an almost herculean effort ahead of him as the Cardinal finished last season 1-11 and dead last in the conference in almost every statistical category. UCLA blanked Stanford last year in Pasadena and the Bruins will be looking for a repeat performance to open up the 2007 season.

Offense

Fifth-year senior T.C. Ostrander will take over the signal calling from NFL-bound Trent Edwards. He's seen plenty of action during his career in large part because Edwards was often used as a tackling dummy by opposing defenses. Ostrander did manage to lead the Cardinal to their only win last season, though that was against a Stanbeck-less Washington team.

Ostrander hasn't been particularly impressive when he's played, but new coach Jim Harbaugh has said he's pleased with him. He was 72 of 158 (46%) with 3 TDs, 5 INTs, and QB rating of 94.3 last season. Not particularly good numbers, but Ostrander does have 3 more months to prepare for his season debut.

Since Edwards couldn't stay healthy behind an awful offensive line, it makes you wonder who is behind Ostrander on the depth chart. If he goes down, it will either be junior Tavita Pritchard or redshirt freshman Alex Loukas. Neither was terribly impressive this spring and both are very inexperienced and raw. Injuries probably won't be a big factor for the game against the Bruins, as long as Ostrander stays healthy in the fall camp.

Coach Harbaugh will be very active on the sidelines this season. The former NFL quarterback will play a primary role in developing the game plan and will call the plays on Saturday. I'm sure he'll also spend plenty of time with Ostrander, trying to coach up the senior. He was successful at the University of San Diego and we'll have to wait and see if he can spark an offense that was moribund last season.

The one bright spot on offense is the return of healthy receivers Mark Bradford and Evan Moore as well as 2006 leading receiver Richard Sherman. Ostrander will have a pretty good trio of pass-catching targets that have enough talent to play at the next level. Of course, he'll need enough time to actually find his receivers, which is something the offensive line couldn't provide Edwards last season.

Senior Mark Bradford was the top target for Edwards in 2005 and was looking to have a break-out year last season before getting hurt in Stanford's game against San Jose State. Moore looks like he has been hurt a lot in his career and I'm sure both red-shirt seniors will be focused on staying healthy this season. Expect Trey Brown and Rodney Van to have their hands full, especially with the 6'7" Moore. Both corners are giving up almost 10 inches and Ostrander will likely try and isolate Moore and play a little jump ball.

Running back Anthony Kimble lead the team last year with 470 yards rushing and the Senior will look to improve on those numbers. Toby Gerhart is also back and I'm sure Cardinal fans are hoping the big back from Norco will be a future star on the Farm. He broke his arm playing baseball this year and that might slow him down during the football season. The Bruin front seven shouldn't have much of a problem containing the run game.

The offensive line was down right awful last season. They gave up an astonishing 3.82 sacks a game, which ranked them 114th in the country in sacks allowed. Bruce Davis and company were constantly in the Cardinal backfield last year and they had Edwards running for his life most of the game. Stanford returns four of those lineman this season, which may not be a good thing. Even with all of their playing experience, they still looked terrible during spring practices, particularly in the spring game, where they gave up seven sacks. Expect UCLA to be just as successful at pressuring Ostrander come September 1st.

Defense

As bad as the offense looks, there are just as many questions, if not more, on the defensive side of the ball. Scott Shafer, an up-and-coming defensive innovator who revived the unit at Western Michigan, is being counted on to do the same thing at Stanford. He has an uphill battle ahead of him this season.

The Cardinal will be switching to a more conventional 4-3 defensive front from the 3- 4 they ran last season. In some ways that will help them cover for some peronsell loses that will hit a team already lean on talent. The defense lost it's three best players from the worst unit in the Pac-10. That included their only standout player, Michael Okwo, a first-team All-Pac-10 linebacker.

Besides Okwo, Trevor Hooper and Bo McNally were the other two leading tacklers and both safeties will be missed from the secondary. The best candidate at the free safety spot is sophomore Austin Yancy who was a backup receiver last year. That's a telling sign of how hard up Stanford is for athletic players. Ben Olson definitely has the arm strength to stretch the field and I think Norvell will try and take advantage of this thin secondary.

Last year, the Cardinal gave up 211 yards rushing per game. That's an embarrassing number and that was with Okwo in the lineup. They are going to have to find a way to slow down opposing running backs this year if they are going to stand a chance at winning any games. Sophomore linebacker Clinton Snyder and nose tackle Ekom Udofia look like promising players who could help revive this unit down the road.

In the spring game, the defense looked decent, but you expect the defense to be ahead of the offense when a new system is installed. We'll have to see how they perform in the fall and if any new stars can emerge. Considering the recruiting hand-cuffs that the Stanford administrations has put on the program, I won't be holding my breath. The Bruins have an athletic advantage at almost every position.

Special Teams

Senior Derek Belch has passed Aaron Zagory in the kicking competition this spring. Zagory was inconsistent last year, connecting on 8 of 13 field goals with a long of 37 yards. Stanford will likely struggle getting the ball into the end zone, so a solid field-goal kicker is a must. It doesn't look like they have one just yet but incoming freshman David Green, from Mission Viejo High School and the top-rated prep kicker in the country, could be just what the doctor ordered.

The kick and punt returners last season were pretty bad as well. The longest punt return all year was 20 yards (UCLA averaged more than that in 2006) and the kick return wasn't much better. There isn't exactly a lot of speedsters on the roster to take over these duties but running backs Jason Evans and Tyrone McGraw will be given the opportunity.

The Verdict

A Bruin victory is pretty much a no brainer. UCLA returns way to many players and they will hit the ground running in the season opener. Stanford is just beginning to rebuild their team after an atrocious 1-11 season and they will eventually be a much better team... just not this year. The only question that remains is the margin of victory and that will be a barometer of how good this Bruin squad will perform this season.

It is a road game, and UCLA has struggled outside of the Rose Bowl in recent years. It will also be the first game under Norvell's offense, so it is hard to know what to expect from our boys. Considering how well Olson did against Utah in the season opener last year, I think he could have a repeat performance up on the Farm. I'm guessing a comfortable Bruin victory is in the works, but don't expect a blow-out. Stanford has just enough players on offense that if Ostrander starts clicking they could put up some points.

CalPoly's predicition: UCLA victory. Record: 1-0 (1-0).

Cardinal Facts

Recruiting rankings for the last 4 years (Scout.com is the first number, Rivals.com is the second):

2007: #36, #51, 11 commits
2006: #38, #53, 19 commits
2005: #38, #41, 16 commits
2004: #46, #57, 14 commits

2006 statistical rankings (National ranking is the first number, PAC-10 rank is the second):

Total Offense : 118, 10.
Scoring Offense: 118, 10.
Rushing Offense: 115, 10.
Passing Offense: 95, 10.
Total Defense : 97, 10.
Scoring Defense: 108, 10.
Rushing Defense: 117, 10.
Passing Defense: 60, 7.

Game info:
September 1, 12:30 pm Pacific Time. Televised nationally on FSN.

More Reading

• ESPN PAC-10 Spring Guide.
• ESPN PAC-10 Spring Wrap Up.
• USA Today Stanford Inside Slant.
• Fox Sports 2007 Preview of Stanford.
• Stanford 2006 NCAA Stats.
  
• Stanford 2006 Bruin Roar football Stats.
  

(photo credit: Getty Images)

7-7 Drills

Ed Note: This is posted with permission from DeaconBlue at BruinGold.

Given the choice between being a responsible citizen, keeping an important social obligation, or busting on out to Spaulding Field to attend the first 7 on 7 workout yesterday afternoon, I did what any red-blooded Arroyo Pyscho would do & played hooky from real life.

My answering machine was SMOKING when I got home, but I ignored it & hunkered down to clack out a practice report. Don't expect a whole lotta X's & O's. Rather, consider this a whistle wetter, a few lightweight observations on a few hours spent catching up with old buds & digging some pigskin slinging around Spaudling Field.

Since I rarely begin a practice report without some allusion to prevailing atmospheric conditions, I should mention that competition vs the Oilers of West LA College commenced under pearly skies. Immediately upon discreetly plunking open my notebook & jotting down a few stray notes, a HUGE shadow suddenly loomed over me, which looked suspiciously like a suspicious Chris Horton when I gazed up. Indeed the senior safety perfectly played the role of both senior leader & enforcer, by making damn sure I wasn't one of those internet geeks. Once I assured him I knew the right people, who knew the right people, he released his hand from my throat & told his teammates to give me my pants back.

While I'm sure the usual suspects are wondering whether Ben Olson or Patrick Cowan looked better, I couldn't honestly tell you. Nor do I care at this point. Both had their moments, hitting some nice medium & deep balls. I can't say that Chris Forcier throws the prettiest spiral I've ever seen. But he's a very cool kid, seems comfortable out there & is accurate despite, (wth all due respect), the wobbling delivery, today anyway. It's never wise to judge anybody on one day's efforts. I'm guessing he was a little tight at his first official gig as Bruin & over gripping the stone.

But speaking of athletic QBs, I can say that Osaar Rasshan will make one KICKASS WR. Dude has prototype size, nice jets, fluid moves & a surprisingly fine set of paws. Other players confirmed he has been snagging stone VERY WELL all summer. When I asked him if he had any experience playing WR, he mentioned that he played WR as a frosh on the varsity at Garey HS in Pomona. As for any hard feelings about making the switch to WR, he was all about helping UCLA football. Speaking of which, he got open often, didn't drop a ball thrown his way & made some nice snags with decent technique, (hands fully extended), while showing the usual freakish athleticism.

Another lesser known, ex HS QB, who has made a few position switches in the past few years also caught my eye on numerous occasions today. True story time... A few years ago I met a young man, at a UCLA camp who was DESPERATE to see his nephew (or was it stepson?) get a shot at playing for UCLA. He actually handed me a highlight video & asked me to do ANYTHING I could to get it to the coaches. I managed to get his video seen by the right people, but it produced no offer.

Me, I was impressed with the prospects extremely quick feet & learned that he ran the fastest shuttle time at the Stanford Nike Camp. He played QB at Redondo Union High School by default, simply because he was the best athlete on his team. But it seemed that his Division 1 future lay at DB. Long story long, UCLA didn't offer, but Idaho did. So he ended up committing to the Vandals.

Well recently he transferred to UCLA as a walk on. I PROMISE, before camp is over you will definitely her a little bit about a smallish, white WR at practice, just flat out JUKING the shorts off of one DB after another & making circus catches with his 40 some inch vertical leap & say WHO THE HELL WAS THAT???? It will be walk on WR Chris Meadows, #30. Think Andrew Baumgartner with considerably more raw talent.

It's always tough to tell too much from any one practice, let alone an informal short & T shirt 7 on 7 type dealio vs a local JC squad, albeit vs one of my alma maters WLACC. But FWIW, (to this longtime practice regular), it is obvious that UCLA's overall talent level is picking up considrably. As is the confidence level & focus of the team.

These Bruins clearly have A BLAST hanging out together, talk a ton of smack & get along famously. But on the business side of the deal, there is no shortage of fire in the belly. It's AWESOME to see Trey Brown, Chris Horton, Moochie, Rodney Van, Alteran Verner & other elders schooling talented youngsters like Courtney Viney, who is smallish, but stout & VERY MUCH a cling on type DB & PLAYA. Generally the team elders were all taking the cubs under their wings & dispensing high caliber Div 1 wisdom. As for any proverbial corners turned, I'm perfectly comfortable to let the upcoming Pac 10 season determine that.

All in all, it was fantastic to be around UCLA football, rap with a few players & kick it with a select few friends, who know & love the game. I can tell you that every player I spoke to is confident about the coming season & itching to get cracking in August. I spoke with several players, including one young man, I've always enjoyed. Being an offbeat breed of cat myself, I appreciate the quirkiness of kickers like Aaron Perez. He has always been bright, engaging & forthright with me. He mentioned that he knows all about BRO & the rest of the cyber sites, but no longer surfs the net, because its easy for all the crapola folks say to get into your head.

Perhaps I shouldn't have told him about the C+ grade some internet guru gave Perez on the upcoming year. But when I did, he shrugged, smiled & said wihtout hesitation: "I'm confident." You know what... So am I. I don't care what any of y'all say. Despite a few question marks, I feel GOOD about the upcoming season. Stay tuned for further observations on all thangs Bruinesque. I hope this little ditty finds you all well. Me, I can't wait for the first CRACK of pads come Fall to reverberate in Beautiful Downtown Bruinville...

Be Cool, Keep Da Faith & Rock On...

2007 Preview: UCLA Bruins

I'm kicking off a new series of articles for the blog. Over the next 6 weeks, I'll be previewing all 12 of UCLA's 2007 opponents and how I think we stack up against them. Look for a new article every Monday and Thursday (or thereabouts). To start off the series, I'll first take a look at our own team and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the latest edition of Bruin football.

UCLA has a ton of returning starters (10 on offense and 10 on defense) and a very experienced and deep roster. This is really a make-or-break season for Karl Dorrell and the UCLA football team, as 2008 is sure to be a major rebuilding effort. The schedule is setup for a run at the conference crown, and the Bruins could be playing for a BCS birth for the first time in a decade.

The team was inconsistent last year, producing some incredible victories (Oregon State, USC, and ASU) and some ugly loses (FSU, Cal, and WSU). The Bruins led most of their games going into the 4th quarter, but saw some of those leads vanish as they faltered down the stretch (UW, ND, and FSU). Hopefully a wiser and more experienced group of players can put together a full 60-minutes of excellence on the field in 2007.

Offense

Despite returning almost ever player this season, there are still a lot of question marks surrounding the offense. This unit was a liability last season as both Ben and Pat struggled to move the ball. They were particularly ineffective in the red zone and that was a key area of focus during the spring. Unfortunately, they looked awful in the spring game and they still have a long way to go before being ready for the first game up at the Farm on September 1st.

Like most years in the Dorrell Era, we're starting off with a new offensive coordinator. Jim Svoboda was fired for his conservative play calling at the end of the 2006 campaign, and Jay Norvell, who was the Offensive Coordinator at Nebraska, is taking over the reigns. This will be Norvell's first season calling the plays and he looks ready to bring some changes to an offense that only ranked 7th in the conference last season.

The Bruins will be running the west coast offense again under Norvell, but with more of an emphasis on the shotgun. Jay has also introduced a more verbose and complex vocabulary for this team that will take some time for them to learn. In the spring there was an emphasis on speed and tempo, so expect them to get to the line faster and have fewer delay-of-game penalties and wasted timeouts. Norvell is also introducing single back sets with stacked wide outs. It should be a more pass-oriented and wide open offense this year, something that has been sorely missing the last few seasons.

Ben Olson is back behind center and the big southpaw will finally come into the fall tagged as the starting quarterback. Olson has all the physical skills to be an NFL quality quarterback, he just hasn't been able to showcase them during his time in Westwood. He still has a ton of rust to shake off, only starting five games in the last five years. How Ben performs this year will be a huge factor in the success of this team. If the game can slow down for him and he can get comfortable in the pocket then expect this squad to improve immensely over the 56th ranked passing offense last season.

The offensive line saw a reshuffle in the spring, with a number of players shifting positions. Chris Joseph was shifted to center after starting 13 games last year at guard. Micah Kai, the talented and physical sophomore, will take over as the starting left tackle. The right side of the line has Shannon Tevaga and Noah Sutherland. The squad as a whole really struggled in the spring and they couldn't keep the Bruin's second-string defense off of Ben and Pat during the spring game. Hopefully a few months to absorb the new offense and a good fall camp will solidify this unit. They definitely have a lot to prove this season.

The receiving corps underachieved last year and I'm very glad to see DJ McCarthy and his hockey-style lineups gone from the program. New receiver coach Darrell Scott will be re-introducing a merit-based rotation that will keep our best players on the field and let them build a rhythm. Scott will have a nice mix of size, hands, and speed at his disposal.

While the wideouts look solid and balanced this year, they lack some of the game breakers of the past. We get back Joe Cowan from injury and he'll be adding some depth to this unit. Marcus Everett is a great route runner and has excellent hands and Brandon Breazell brings some speed. At this point, nobody really sticks out as someone who can change the course of the game and hopefully someone will step-up and claim that role this season. This group as a whole will need to make-up for a lackluster 2006 campaign.

Paulsen and Moya are back at the tight end spot. Neither is going to set the world on fire, but they should be a solid pair and give the Bruins a receiving threat in the seams. Some football analysts think that Paulsen could be a sleeper on this team who is poised for a big year. He looked good filling in for Moya after the Oregon game.

The final piece of the puzzle is the running game led by Chris Markey and fullback Michael Pitre. They did a solid, if unspectacular, job last year and a lot more will be expected from them this time around. There is a significant drop-off from Chris Markey to Kalil Bell, though I did read that Kalil had a good spring camp. Chane "the train" Moline is back as a short yardage specialist. The X-factor is Crenshaw star, and true freshman, Raymond Carter. There is a lot of hype around this speedster and he could find himself in the regular rotation by the end of the season. The running backs are going to have to find a way to score more touchdowns this year and break off some big plays.

Defense

The other side of the ball could not be any different. With Walker at the helm for his second season, and 10 returning starters, the Bruin defense is a known quantity. The squad grew by leaps and bounds in 2006 and they should be poised to have a huge 2007 campaign. They run a traditional 4-3 defense with a lot of zone and safety blitzes that leaves the corners on islands.

The strongest unit on the team is the talented foursome in the secondary. They return a lot of experienced players and some very hard-hitting and talented athletes. Walker's style of defense calls for a lot of man-on-man coverage, so these guys will carry much of the burden of this team. They are anchored by lock-down corner Trey Brown who has started the last 30 games. Chris Horton also brings a hard hitting mentality to his run-support role as a strong safety. Sporting news ranks them as the best secondary in the PAC-10, even ahead of USC's talented group.

The linebackers, once thought to be a liability, emerged as a tough and effective unit under Christian Taylor last year. Reggie Carter is one of the only underclassman starting this season and he should see a big improvement this year, with a full season under his belt. Whittington and Hale also bring experience and talent to round out the linebacker position. They aren't the biggest squad, but a lot of smarts and the leadership of Taylor makes them very formidable.

That leaves us with the defensive line, which is the only unit to lose a starter from last season. Bruce Davis is the star on the line and it is hard to believe that two years ago he was considering moving to tight-end and even leaving the team. Expect him to face a number of double teams this year. Kevin Brown should finally be over his ankle injury and he looked sharp this spring. Harwell and Brown have both bulked up in the off season, so maybe our undersized line won't be so undersized after all. The only mystery is the other end spot opposite Davis. Dragovic, who started early in 2005 before going down with a knee injury, will have to step-up and replace the productivity of Justin Hickman. It will be a big task as both Davis and Hickman had 12.5 sacks each last year.

Special Teams

This is the one area where the Bruins could really see some problems. Gone is the automatic Justin Medlock to the NFL and Kai Forbath is taking over. He struggled a lot this spring missing some easy ones from up close. Walk-on Jimmy Rotstein could take his spot if his struggles continue into the fall. In either case, the Bruins will have to find a way to get into the end zone a lot more regularly to take the pressure of these newcomers.

Perez is back for his 3rd season and he has improved his accuracy and distance. He nailed some big punts last year, including that booming 60+ yard shot against USC to seal the victory. The punt return role is still a work in progress but it looks like Ryan Graves has the job for now. Terrance Austin could take his spot back in training camp. UCLA will need to improve a lot in this area to help give the offense an extra boost.

We'll be starting over on kick returns as Williams and McGee, who both saw time on KR duty last season, are gone from the team. That might be a good thing since the Bruins ranked 6th in the conference last year barely getting over 21 yards a return. With the new NCAA rules moving kick-offs back 5 yards to the 30 yard-line, we'll probably see fewer touch backs. This a phase of the game where UCLA cannot afford to struggle. It looks like a host of players are auditioning for the job, including Alteraun Verner and Terrance Austin.

The Verdict

I think this is a team that can achieve double digit wins, but it will require the offense to really improve under Norvell. There's plenty of talent and depth on both sides of the ball and a ton of seniors in the lineup. Players tend to see their biggest growth from their junior to senior year (think Drew Olson and Marcedes Lewis) and I think this team has the potential to be very good.

The Bruins have a tough schedule this season, with the PAC-10 looking like one of the toughest conferences from top-to-bottom in the country. The good news is that most of the difficult games are at home (California, Oregon, ASU, and Notre Dame) with just a few brutal road trips (OSU and USC). The offense will still be on the learning curve with Norvell's new system but a relatively easy early schedule (Stanford, BYU, Utah, Washington) should give them enough time to find their sea legs.

The big question marks are still on offense. We can pontificate all day about single back sets and spread packages, but it really all comes down to the confidence and competence of the quarterback. UCLA has a great defense that will keep us in each contest, but games will be decided on how well Ben Olson performs. He had flashes of brilliance last season, but also spent many games looking lost and shaken. I do expect some improvements but I wouldn't bet the house on Ben turning out a Heisman worthy year. Hopefully he can improve his game in time for a brutal November and December schedule.

Bruin Briefs

Recruiting rankings for the last 4 years (Scout.com is the first number, Rivals.com is the second):

2007: #36, #35, 11 commits
2006: #20, #17, 22 commits
2005: #24, #26, 21 commits
2004: #24, #34, 26 commits

2006 statistical rankings (National ranking is the first number, PAC-10 rank is the second):

Total Offense : 71, 7.
Scoring Offense: 64, 7.
Rushing Offense: 63, 4.
Passing Offense: 56, 6.
Total Defense : 35, 2.
Scoring Defense: 39, 4.
Rushing Defense: 9, 1.
Passing Defense: 49, 4.

More Reading

• ESPN PAC-10 Spring Guide.
• ESPN PAC-10 Spring Wrap Up.
• USA Today UCLA Inside Slant.
• UCLA 2006 NCAA Stats.
  
• UCLA 2006 Bruin Roar football Stats.
• Bruin Blitz Breakdown of the 2007 Bruins. Preview, offense, and defense.
  

(photo credit: Getty Images)

Nelson Rosario is Westwood Bound

There was some speculation when Milton Knox committed to the Bruins that Nelson Rosario might be next in line. Well, today the wideout from El Camino High came forward and made his verbal commitment to coaches Dorrell and Scott. This brings the total scholarship count to 22 for the 2008 year.

Rosaio is a fantastic addition to this class. He is a very tall target, with some services listing him at 6'6". He has a freakish 6'10" wingspan and he looks a little like a quicker and thinner Marcades Lewis. He's bigger (202 lbs) and faster (4.43 sec forty) then the other three current wide receivers that are headed to Westwood in 2008.

It is kind of surprising that both Rivals and Scout give him only 3-stars, but I'm sure this kid will start getting a lot of attention his senior year of high school. He has outstanding offers from Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, and SDSU. Apparently he has had some interest from USC, but no offer ever came from Carroll and his coaches.

Rosario attended one of UCLA's camps this summer and he was very impressive. His height and wing-span was on full display. Here is a picture of Rosario going up against another 2008 commit, EJ Woods. Woods is considered one of the top-5 safeties in the country but Rosario just towers over him. I'm sure he'll cause all kinds of mismatch problems for opposing corners.

Rosario has great leaping ability, body control in the air and is very athletic. The coaches were all over him after the camp and he's been receiving a lot of attention from receiving coach Scott. He looks like a great addition to the receiving corp and another huge pickup for the coaches.

(photo credit: Scout)
(photo credit: nigganell)

Beating the Heat

Well, we're officially in the doldrums of the summer. Spring practice wrapped up over a month ago and we have another month until the start of training camp. If you're like me and you think baseball is something to be endured rather then embraced, then any news from the college football world is a welcome relief. Here are some of the latest tidbits from the last few weeks.

There hasn't been a lot of recent news on the recruiting front. Nelson Rosario, the tall wide out from Oceanside, was rumored to be the next commitment. However, in a recent interview, he said that he hasn't made a decision yet. The Bruins are high on his list, but I guess Rosario is still weighing his options. When asked which way he was leaning, Rosario said it was down to UCLA and Oregon. Staying close to home is a big factor in his decision and his parents are pushing hard for him to attend school in Westwood.

The B2G camp was held last week and the annual event attracts a lot of the big talent from around the country. A number of Bruins commits attended and all seemed to live up to the hype around them. Anthony Dye did well and the corner is looking better and better as the summer progresses. Kemonte Bateman was also at the camp to defend the MVP honors he earned last season. It was reported that he looked good in the 7 on 7 drills, catching a nice TD pass in between defenders.

UCLA also held their 3-day camp at the end of June. They had a number of recruits show up, including Joe Montana's kids. Nick Montana, who is the younger brother, is a sophomore this year. He was, by all accounts, the better of the two siblings and I'm sure he'll garner some attention from the Bruin coaching staff when he gets closer to graduating.

One of the benefits of getting so many commitments early for the 2008 class is that the coaches can start pursuing the top prospects for the following class. The Bruins gave out their first offers for the 2009 class. One went to Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley and the other went to Hawaiian tail back Manti Te'0. Karl Dorrell and running back coach Dino Barbers went to Hawaii back in May and Te'o was one of the top players the coaches have decided to target.

Summer workouts began 2 weeks ago and, while voluntary, the whole team is pretty much "required" to show up for them. Terrance Austin has apparently made the most of his off-season and the sophomore wide out has gained 10 lbs of muscle and trimmed his body fat. The skills players have also been working on digesting the new play book and it was reported that Ben Olson has looked more mature, has improved his decision making, and taken on more of a leadership role. The 24 year old red-shirt junior is definitely looking to make the most of his anointment as the starting quarterback.

Player Profile: Bruce Davis

We've saved the best for last, and I'll be wrapping up the player profile series by taking a look at defensive end Bruce Davis. Bruce is the biggest star among the returning Bruin seniors, and the fast and athletic defensive end is receiving a lot of pre-season hype. He's charismatic, exciting, and a deadly pass rusher who was one of the top defensive players in the country last year. He's the unquestioned emotional leader of the defense and a big reason why the Bruins are poised to start 2007 as one of the top 25 teams in the country.

Bruce Davis is, by far, my favorite Bruin on this squad. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is an unparalleled optimist and supporter of this team. He thinks they can move mountains and beat anyone in the country. He carries that swagger and attitude into every down and every series in each game. He has a non-stop motor and a nose for hunting down the quarterback that is almost second to none in the conference and the nation.

Bruce had a stellar 2006 campaign. The red-shirt senior was a beast off the end spot, recording 12.5 sacks which tied him for 4th in the country and 1st in the PAC-10. He also added 17.5 tackles-for-loss (18th in the country, 2nd in the PAC-10) with 47 tackles in total. He made a living camping out in opponents backfields and there didn't seem to be much opposing tackles could do about it.

Davis is undersized for a defensive lineman. His 6'3", 229 frame would be considered a little light for a linebacker, much less a guy up front. That was one of the reasons why Davis bounced between positions earlier in his career. He switched from DE to LB and even considered TE before Walker came to town. Dewayne Walker immediately envisioned Davis as a pass rush specialist and he utilized his skills perfectly to transform him into a sack-producing machine last season. His immense speed and quickness gives him an advantage over slower, bigger offenses tackles and he has exploited the mismatch with spectacular results.

If there was ever anyone who was destined to be a UCLA Bruin, it was Bruce Davis. His dad and uncle also played for the Bruins in the 70's and his Mom is an alumnus as well. His father played on two Super Bowl teams with the Raiders and the Oilers, so you know Bruce has some good genes working for him. A number of NFL scouting services are projecting him as a first or early-second round draft pick, so he should follow in his father's footsteps at the next level as well.

Davis played his prep ball at Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. Both Rivals and Scout gave him 3-stars and he was ranked in the high teens as a defensive lineman. Despite the low ratings, Davis had great camps and his NFL pedigree garnered him a lot of attention and some impressive offers. He choose Westwood over LSU, Arkansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma.

After red shirting his first year at UCLA, Bruce actually started in his first two college games against Oklahoma State and Illinois. He was a backup the rest of the season but did manage to record 2.5 sacks that year while playing in all 12 games. In 2005, he moved to outside line backer and bumped around between that position and end for the better part of the year. He would actually spend the first part of the week practicing with one squad and then the latter half of the week with the other group. He never really learned either position very well and that left him frustrated and questioning his place on the team.

Before the 2006 season, Bruce confronted coach Walker as soon as he joined the team. He wanted to be moved to a new position to get more playing time. Walker was firm and told the passionate Davis that he could use him best as a pash rusher. With Dewaynes guidance and the coaching of D-line coach Todd Howard, Davis has grown into the super star he was destined to become. He'll likely see a lot of double teams this season and strength and speed conditioning are crucial for him to grow and improve with the added pressure.

This will be a big year for Bruce. He came in under the radar last season and that helped contribute to his success. You can bet that offensive coordinators are already planning on ways to factor out the athletic super star. This is really his season to shine and prove that last years success wasn't just a flash in the pan. Other teams better not underestimate Davis, or he just might have another thing coming. And that's all I got to say about that.

(photo credit: Ghetty Images)

Scout First Class ranking

Well, not to be outdone by Rivals, Scout has also released its first 2008 class ranking. The Bruins come in at a respectable #3. We slip a bit in these rankings because of the lack of elite talent in the class. Rivals gives out fewer 5-star rankings so a lot of teams have no 5-star players. Scout, on the other hand, gives out more 5-star rankings but the Bruins come up just short. So teams like Notre Dame and Texas get the nod with a few more elite players.

The ratings are still a work in progress and UCLA may see Rahim Moore and EJ Woods possibly bump up a star. Kemonte Bateman is also impressing everyone at the camps he attends, so he could also be a 5-star kid; that isn't as likely given the depth at wideout this year. In any case, this is still a very, very good class and the rankings show UCLA at the top of the list.

Coach Profile: Jay Norvell

Even though I've been profiling the players in this series, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the man behind one of the big coaching changes at UCLA this past off season. Jay Norvell was named the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Bruins this January after Jim Svoboda was fired. With the Bruin offense struggling last season, there will be a lot of pressure on Norvell to right the ship and kick this offense back into high gear.

The Bruins had the 7th best offense in the conference (71st nationally) last season and that was mainly due to a weak passing attack. It will be up to Norvell to try and improve the passing game, his quarterbacks' performance, and the offense as a whole. He has a lot of experienced players to work with, but it will be an uphill battle. He has a revamped O-line, a QB coming back from injury, few play makers at wideout, and a running game that didn't deliver many big plays in 2006. Norvell is going to have to bring almost every unit up a notch if the Bruins are going to compete for the conference title.

UCLA will be running the west coast offense again under Norvell, but with more of an emphasis on the shotgun. Jay has also introduced a more verbose and complex vocabulary for this team that will take some time for them to learn. In the spring there was an emphasis on speed and tempo, so expect them to get to the line faster and have fewer delay of game penalties and wasted timeouts. Norvell is also introducing single back sets with stacked wide outs. It should be a more pass-oriented and wide open offense this year, something that has been sorely missing the last few seasons.

It was no coincidence that Norvell ended up in Westwood. He has been close friends with Karl Dorrell and Dewayne Walker for years. The three are roughly the same age and they have followed similar career paths. One interesting fact is that Dorrell and Norvell played opposite each other in the 1986 Rose Bowl. Norvell was a safety for the Iowa Hawkeyes at the time and Dorrell was a receiver for UCLA. This season will be the first time all three have worked together on the same sideline.

Norvell started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa in 1986. He went to Northern Iowa for a year and then landed an assistant job at Wisconsin where he coached from 1989 to 1994. It was here that he first worked with current Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan. The two would work together extensively throughout the years at different schools and in the pros.

After Wisconsin, Jay spent the 1995 through 1997 seasons on Dan McCarney's staff at Iowa State, serving as assistant head coach and quarterbacks and receivers coach. Jay did two stints in the NFL, 1998 - 2001 and 2002- 2003, as a position coach. He worked with the receivers at Indianapolis and the tight ends at Oakland. During his time with the Raiders, he reunited with Callahan and the two took positions at Nebraska in 2004.

Jay spent the last two seasons at Nebraska doing pretty much what he'll be doing at UCLA this year. He was the offensive coordinator there and the quarterbacks coach. The big difference is that Norvell will have the added responsibility of calling the plays each Saturday. Most of the work for a coordinator is done in the days before the game, as he prepares the game plan and puts together a play script. Norvell was pretty successful preparing Nebraska as they ranked 14th in the national in total offense last year.

UCLA has seen a lot of turnover at the offensive coordinator spot. Norvell is the 3rd coach in as many seasons and the constant transition has been difficult for the players. Chris Markey had this to say about the coaching carousel, "It's been tough on the guys. It's been hard to adjust to it. It's been kind of rough. But Coach Norvell is a great coach, and the adjustment hasn't been as bad as it was in previous years."

Norvell definitely seems to be more demanding and organized then Svoboda. He asks more from his players and mistakes are not tolerated. When asked about Norvell's style, Markey said. "Coach Norvell coaches just like Coach Walker." That's a good sign and a Walker-like turnaround of the offense is just what the doctor ordered.

If the Spring game was any indication, this offense still has a long way to go under Norvell. Typically the spring is when new concepts and plays are introduced, so we'll have to wait until the fall before we can get an accurate read on this team. A lot will be asked from Jay Norvell, but it seems like his career has been building toward this moment. Hopefully he can take this opportunity and turn it into a huge season for the blue and gold.