Answers, Part VII

What is a typical football practice like? Do Chow and Walker go head to head with their schemes and stuff?
They do special teams work, stretch, go through fundamental periods, then the scout teams go against the offense and defense, then the first team offense goes against the first team defense, and then the second teams, and it is finished off with conditioning and more stretching. It is not glamorous.

The OL played better than expected Monday night vs. Tenn; however, they struggled mightly in the running game. What do you attribute to the lack of a running game? Bad technique, missed assignments, etc...
I don't think the OL played better than expected. I thought it wasn't very good, but its shortcomings were hidden by the quarterback getting rid of the ball quickly. As for the lack of running game, the players and coaches cited bad technique and missed assignments, which is what I always hear. An O-line says they are always one block away, one missed assignment away from springing a big play.

with the injury to Bell, why is Craig Sheppard not a viable option as a 4th RB?
Because he is not as talented or as good as the other running backs.

With the new recruits coming in. is dragovic still going to get his mins? or is he gonna have a limited roll? Last i heard was he was going back to serbia to play ball there. What have you heard?
He is expected back at UCLA, and I think his role will be limited again this season. He shoots the ball well in practice, I'm told, but he cannot play defense, so you know what that means on a Howland coached team.

Kevin Craft seems much more comfortable out of the shotgun. Do you see Norm Chow, who is rumored to dislike the shotgun, calling more of a shotgun based offense for Craft?
Craft spent all last season in the shotgun, so he should be comfortable in it. And Chow will adapt to whatever his players do best.

what should UCLA fans take when they hear that that Southern Cal commit's Pressley and Moore attended the UTenn. game? Is it a big deal or is just a recruit accepting tickets to big game?
Right now I don't think it means very much. They just wanted to check out a UCLA game unless something crazy happens with USC (a la NCAA sanctions or Pete Carroll leaving) and they decide to jump.

how would you go about trying to sell out the Rose Bowl for each game? It looked like the people that had tickets used them, but the one end zone looked pretty empty (aside from the normal empty UCLA student section before school starts).
I haven't given it much thought. UCLA has never done it, and I don't think I'm smart enough to have the answer.

What element of UCLA's performance in the Tennessee game surprised you the most, and what surprised you the least?
I knew UCLA had a big advantage in the coaching department, but I was stunned how badly the Bruins staff out-coached the Vols' staff. And I was also surprised how much Tennessee ran the ball on UCLA, and how mentally tough Kevin Craft was by bouncing back from four interceptions. The least surprising was how well Brian Price and Alterraun Verner played, and how much UCLA was able to use the tight end in the passing game.

Logan has a redshirt year avaiable and though the coaching staff may think its too early to comment on it, do you see Logan redshirting?
Yes, I see him red-shirting. The coaching staff won't comment now, because if it did, it could jeopardize Paulsen getting the red-shirt year.

Another Craft question; how do you assess the sea change from KC's horrific first half performance to his stellar second half play? Was it merely a case of bad to good fortune, phenomenal halftime coaching adjustments or a QB finally settling down and showing that he can actually play at this level?
A big reason is the change in offensive philosophy. Short timing passes over the middle or something safe to the outside. Also, not all four interceptions were his fault, which I will have more about in Saturday's paper.