UCLA

USC-UCLA: Early Christmas gift

DAVID BEAN, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:38:28 +0000

Christmas treat from Rick and Pete … who said these guys can’t get along? Oh, and one of the Weis men, too.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/cuY9iCFOUZgPrVZA#/owner/cuY9iCFOUZgPrVZA

in the zone

Mark Whicker, ocregister.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:53 +0000

UCLA’s loss to Michigan in New York Thursday night reinforced the First Rule for anybody who plays the Bruins — especially if you don’t have Derrick Rose, Taurean Green, Al Horford, etc.

Play zone.

If you don’t know how to play zone, learn it. If you can’t learn it, fake it.

Ben Howland would outlaw the zone if he could, and it throws even the most experienced UCLA teams into the mud, much less this young one.

Mind you, a lot of other college teams can’t stand the zone either. But it’s your only chance against UCLA.

Franklin and Knox show their stuff

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:47:06 +0000

LOS ANGELES _ The future of UCLA’s running game may have been on display at the end of practice Wednesday and Thursday. Milton Knox and Johnathan Franklin finally got to show their moves in front of a live audience.
The two tailbacks, relegated to the scout team all season, got to run some of UCLA’s plays while the players and coaches looked on from the sideline.
“I liked our two backs,” Neuheisel said afterward.
Knox, a Parade All-American from Birmingham High of Lake Balboa, probably would have played this season except the NCAA Clearinghouse kept him in limbo through the first four games. He still might be the most talented back on UCLA’s practice field on any given day.
Next year, he might actually get to prove it.
“Coaches told me and Johnathan that when it comes to the spring, we’ll see where the chips fall and see who’s going to earn their spot and retain it heading into the fall,” Knox said. “It’s going to be real good.”
Knox (5-foot-9, 200) is a squat, powerful runner with the ability to break tackles and keep on his feet. Franklin (5-foot-10, 186) might be the Bruins’ fastest back. You don’t earn the nickname Jet Ski by being a sloth.
“For everyone, it’s disappointing to take a year off, but I understand everything happens for a reason and I’m taking the best from it,” Franklin said. “I’m just getting better, faster and stronger.”
The redshirt season has allowed both players to learn the nuances of the Bruins’ blocking schemes.

Post-practice notes

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:45:15 +0000

* With the team on a bye, this weekend is the final recruiting evaluation week for the coaches. Neuheisel couldn’t reserve a helicopter as he has done twice earlier this season, so he was limited to one game Friday night. He was expected at Mission Viejo’s playoff game vs. Loyola. Mission Viejo receiver Alex Mascarenas has verbally committed to UCLA.

* After Thursday’s practice, the team hosted scholarship donors at the team buffet table. …

* Defensive end Datone Jones missed practice so he could visit his mother who has been ill.

Neuheisel in the OC

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:54:50 +0000

I’m hearing that Coach Rick Neuheisel will spend part of this weekend recruiting in Orange County. He is scheduled to attend Friday night’s game between Loyola and Mission Viejo, which features UCLA commit Alex Mascarenas.

This time, Neuheisel won’t be arriving by helicopter. He apparently will brave the freeways just like the rest of us, slooooowly.

Bruin commit Golper will play in All-Star game

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:35:53 +0000

UCLA commit Todd Golper of Arcadia High is one of 20 players from the West to play in the Jan. 2 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.

Another Theriot coming to UCLA

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:33:35 +0000

Newport Harbor High’s Tina Theriot, the younger sister of Bruins fullback Trevor, has made a verbal commitment to run track at UCLA next season. Their father, Brian, also was a track athlete at UCLA.

UCLA Football: Paul Richardson of Los Al commits

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:30:09 +0000

UCLA got its first verbal commitment from the 2010 class Wednesday night when Los Alamitos junior wide receiver Paul Richardson phoned coaches Rick Neuheisel and Reggie Moore to say he wanted to be a Bruin.
Richardson’s father, Paul Richardson Sr., was a receiver at UCLA from 1988-1991 before playing for the Raiders, Packers, Jets and Eagles.

Neuheisel was the receivers coach at UCLA for Richardson Sr.’s final two seasons.
“Rick told me last night, ‘Paul, you’re making me feel old. I coached you and now I’m going to coach your baby,’ “ Richardson Sr. said.

Richardson, 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, was a two-sport star at Los Alamitos and was beginning to garner recruiting interest in basketball, but abruptly told his father he was quitting the team to concentrate on football and track.
Shortly after that, he decided on UCLA over USC and Oregon, the other Pac-10 schools pursuing him aggressively for football.
“Hey, this is not just because his daddy went to school there,” Richardson Sr. said. “This is the best situation for him to come in and compete. The school is looking for a go-to receiver and, as of right now, they don’t have it. In a year or two, he feels he’ll have an opportunity to come in and add to that blue and gold family.”

Craft gunning (errantly) for UCLA record

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:31 +0000

LOS ANGELES _ Kevin Craft looks like a shoo-in to break a UCLA record this season, but it’s the last thing he wants to do.
The Bruins have two games left and the junior quarterback is three interceptions short of the team record of 19 set by Dennis Dummit in 1970. The team’s remaining opponents, Arizona State and USC, are tied for fourth and tied for second, respectively, in the Pac-10 in interceptions.
Cutting down on Craft’s errant throws has been a focus for the Bruins this week in practice, but it’s not the first time they’ve tried to tackle the problem. Thus far, nothing has worked.
Craft threw interceptions to linebacker Akeem Ayers and cornerback Alterraun Verner in one five-minute stretch during Wednesday’s practice.
Offensive coordinator Norm Chow points out that two of Craft’s interceptions against Washington last week deflected off a receiver’s hands.
“Guys have got to make plays for him as well,” Chow said.
But Chow stopped short of saying that Craft is showing improvement.
“I didn’t say that,” Chow said. “He’s struggling, obviously. He’s thrown, what, 16 interceptions? That’s a lot.”
It’s not as if Craft is unaware of the problem. He just isn’t sure what the solution is. He said one of Saturday’s interceptions came because of a miscommunication with fullback Chane Moline, who cut his route short against a zone defense.
“It puts the team in a hard situation to be successful. Turnovers are usually the deciding factor in games, but I work every week on that,” Craft said. “We want to be smart with the ball. There’s nothing more you can say than that you want to be better.”

UCLA Basketball: Moser chooses Bruins

MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:59:58 +0000

Portland, Ore., forward Mike Moser held a press conference Wednesday to declare he would sign a national letter of intent to play at UCLA next season.

“I just felt UCLA was the best place for me,” Moser said.

He joins a class that had been considered a steep drop-off for UCLA from the top-ranked group now comprising the freshman class. The Bruins also have letters from Tyler Honeycutt, Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane and Anthony Stover.

Moser originally committed to Arizona, but bolted when Lute Olson announced his retirement. Moser, 6-foot-8, was the No. 18 small forward according to rivals.com.