Andrew Lewis Roosevelt High School 2011
Christian Soto Rancho Verde High School 2011
Garrett Gilliland Lutheran High School 2010
Marquan Major Las Vegas High School 2011
Andy Orozco Charter Oak High School 2011
Shaq Richardson Los Alamitos High School 2010
Tyler Gray Templeton High School 2011
Derek Stickney El Dorado High School 2010
George Uko Don Antonio Lugo High School 2010
Ryan Andrews Newport Harbor High School 2011
James Brock Crenshaw High School 2011
John Tavai Mira Costa High School 2011
LeJon Baker Crenshaw High School 2010
Wyatt Baker Servite High School 2011
Owamagbe Odighizuwa Douglas High School 2010
Derrick Brown Vista Murrieta High School 2011
Chad Jeffries Glendora High School 2011
Corey Waller Long Beach Poly High School 2011
Will Harris Los Osos High School 2010
Malcolm Jones Oaks Christian High School 2010
Teondray Caldwell Venice High School 2011
Cory Westbrook Long Beach Poly High School 2010
Dres Anderson John W. North High School 2010
Isaac Luatua La Mirada High School 2011
Jabari Mathieu Chatsworth High School 2011
Jared Koster Norco Senior High School 2010
Jerry Neuheisel Loyola High School 2011
Ronald Powell Rancho Verde High School 2010
Eric Kendricks Hoover High School 2010
Aramide Olaniyan Woodberry Forest School 2010
Chidera Uzo-Diribe Corona Senior High School 2010
Joe Gurski Valley Center High School 2010
Willie Mobley Orange Coast College 2010
Brent Williams Taft High School 2010
Richard Ash Pahokee High School 2010
Everett Beed Serrano High School 2010
Ryan Edwards Long Beach Poly High School 2010
Taniela Maka Jordan High School 2010
Patrick Onwasor Inglewood High School 2011
Earvin Simmons Murrieta Valley High School 2011
DeAnthony Thomas Crenshaw High School 2011
Cedric Whitaker Newport Harbor High School 2011
Tevin McDonald Edison High School 2010
Kapelieli Pomee Rancho Verde High School 2011
Peter Nonu South Hills High School 2011
Hayes Pullard Crenshaw High School 2010
Derron Smith Banning High School 2010
Silvarius Ajawara Tesoro High School 2010
Would love to have you all listen, as it should be a pretty cool gig.
Thanks
JG
The Huskies were in the midst of a winless season that eventually culminated in the firing of head coach Tyrone Willingham. Star quarterback Jake Locker was sidelined with a broken thumb. Optimism gave way to realism, and the facts were simple: Washington was a lost cause.
Now the Huskies have a new coach, former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
They have Locker back.
They have a huge win over USC in Week 3 under their belts.
It's safe to say, the Bruins aren't welcoming Washington into town this year with such open arms.
"Sark is off to a great start," said UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, who coached the Huskies from 1999-2002. "They've had a couple of signature performances, and it's fun to see Husky Stadium jumping around again. I've watched bits and pieces of the SC game, and when the camera starts shaken, it harkens back to some fond memories."
Locker was at his best down the stretch against the Trojans, completing 4-of-4 passes for 56 yards as Washington drove down for the game-winning field goal.
Locker's return this season is not lost on Neuheisel.
Last year, the Bruins punished Washington backup quarterback Ronnie Fouch to a 7-for-22 performance, allowing just 39 passing yards and 135 total yards, the team's best defensive performance in nearly 20 years.
What a difference a year - and a new coach and a Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist - makes.
"What a fabulous player (Locker) is," Neuheisel said. "He's truly a remarkable guy. I know there are a lot of quarterbacks who get the accolades because of the program they're in. But I don't think there's a better quarterback in the country than him."
The UCLA coach hopes to one day say the same about his own quarterback.
If the fourth quarter last week against Oregon State was any indication, redshirt freshman Kevin Prince is on his way.
Prince completed 9-of-13 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in nearly leading UCLA back from a 16-point deficit. The Bruins tied the game at 19 with just more than two minutes to play, but the Beavers marched down the field quickly and wide receiver James Rodgers ran the ball in from 17 yards out for the 26-19 win.
After Prince's best week of practice this season, Neuheisel thinks he could just be starting to blossom.
"I know that's a huge step in the right direction," Neuheisel said of the UCLA passing game. "Quarterbacking is a combination of ability and confidence. The conclusion of the Oregon State game, I think is a huge boon from a standpoint of confidence. Once you have that, it's much easier to come in and focus on getting better."
That has been Neuheisel's calling card this season, the "focus on getting better."
Too much time focusing on getting better without actually getting better, though, is a recipe for frustration.
And frustration is certainly starting to set in for a team that is 0-5 in Pac-10 play for the first time in 15 years and suffering its first five-game losing streak since 2003.
"Our guys are dying to win," Neuheisel said. "A week or so ago I talked about you can't get in that comfort zone or that protective cocoon of, `I'm not going to let this pain get to me. It's OK. I'm just going to keep doing my best.' We have to let it go and believe that everything is going to go exactly as we hoped. But you have to risk it before you can achieve it. You can't just go in there, and (think), 'It'll be OK if it doesn't go well.''"
But even in the midst of such a skid, Neuheisel still sees signs.
Then again, the ever-optimistic Neuheisel could find a single ray of sunshine on a rainy day.
"There's nothing magic about the plan," he said. "The magic is in the belief. Therein lies why patience is such a virtue. You just have to believe we're going in the right direction. I think there are signs.
"The quarterback had his best week of practice. Guys are getting healthier. Reggie Carter is healthier than he's been. Hopefully, it will lead to a great win on Saturday."
I'm looking for any suggestions or ideas, because I want to make this as fan-friendly as possible.
Please post comments here or email me at jon.gold@dailynews.com
Thanks guys,
JG
On a side note: I've just started tweeting on twitter. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/jillpainter
]]>Westwood Bruin Touchdown Club
Friday Nov 6th -- 7 am
Guest Speakers:
Angus McClure, Director of On-Campus Recruiting
Mike Sherrard, UCLA receiver 1982-1985
UCLA Football Players:
#10 Akeem Ayers, LB
#83 Nelson Rosario, WR
#66 Ryan Taylor, OG
UCLA Spirit Squad
Olympic Collection
11301 W Olympic Blvd (at Sawtelle Blvd)
Free Parking
Cost: $25 includes buffet breakfast and program
For more information call Claudia Hart @ 310-348-UCLA or email at claudia4ucla@yahoo.com
GO BRUINS!
* Abdul-Hamid may be an adequate replacement for scarce minutes, but Jerime Anderson is needed. Badly. Abdul-Hamid had seven turnovers, and while showing the resolve to hit the game-winning shot, they were bad, bad turnovers. On a young team, a steady presence at point guard will be crucial.
* Against good defenses and stronger, taller, faster defensive players, the Bruins can't rely on the outside game nearly as much. The team didn't shoot badly from distance, hitting 5-of-11 shots, but only 2-for-7 in the first half.
* Reeves Nelson is a good player, but he'll have his freshman flaws, as he shot 0-for-4 on free throws last night.
* Until the team gets in sync offensively, I think Nikola Dragovic is going to struggle. He thrives on set plays and working to get open, and the lack of team practice time wreaked havoc with UCLA's screens and picks.
]]>Don't forget what happened last year with Locker out - UCLA dominated Ronnie Fouch and the Bruins had their best defensive performance in 20 years in a blowout win.
]]>Here's a little more on Beban: Gary Beban
In your Heisman Trophy campaign, you had just 156 attempts. For comparison, Kevin Prince has 167 in just six games. Talk about the differences between passing in 1967 and in 2009 and how offenses have progressed:
"I'm not sure they've progressed. We had a very balanced attack. The pass was used more for really quick scores. All the way through the three years we had wonderful receivers; we were really able to use the pass to go downfield, to try to score instead of a West Coast offense where you're trying to score first downs. Watching Oregon against USC, that Oregon offense would've been right up my alley.
"I think that with Pepper and Tom Prothro as coaches, we had more of a balance and used the pass for longer gains, rather than the small ones."
Do you still follow UCLA closely?
"It's very hard to do that from the Midwest. If you play past 3 o'clock we don't even know you played! It's a little hard to stay close on a game-to-game basis. I might check in on the big games, and I know there's been some struggles this year."
How can UCLA turn things around?
"I came into a program that had been puttering around for quite a while as well. My sophomore year was a very polarized team. Seniors who had lost a lot, sophomores who had never lost, and in the middle a handful of juniors who were very talented. A great coaching staff that Prothro had, made good players a great team. I don't know what that chemistry was. I don't know how that happened. We never thought twice about losing. Now, how we gain that confidence and that momentum has a lot to do with the coaches putting the right offense in for the players they had. The one thing I think that could have been a trait of those three years is we didn't make a lot of mistakes. I know that's been part of the story this year. I think the players have to commit to play that way. They have to make that commitment to themselves and their teammates."
Can things turn around quickly?
"Without having spent time with coaches or players for that matter, I don't think you can get caught up on what happened two or three games ago. I think you need to get caught up on the last game. What were our mistakes? Correct those, make sure you don't do them again. We always talked about not making the same mistake again."
Is it a matter of talent?
"My senior year, USC had nine first-round draft picks. My tight end was a dentist, my wide receiver became a police officer. We didn't have the talent like the other side of the ball, but we made it a ball game. As players you have to make this commitment that you're doing everything in your power to play at the highest level."
Talk about your Heisman Trophy season, what was the high point?
"I'm not sure that my award was a "year" award. I've made a comment - when voters looked at Gary Beban at UCLA, I think voters looked at three years. We were in contention for three years. We never lost on California soil until (losing to USC by one point in 1967). We didn't lose very often. And I think my award was more of a career award than a season award.
"The highlight was playing in that USC game we lost. It was a highlight because it was what we for shooting for, to play for a national championship. I think everybody left whatever they had on that field that day."
Does the team need another Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback?
"I don't think that any team needs a Heisman Trophy candidate. You need good players who believe in themselves and are coached well, and when I say coached well, that means coaches adjust their system to the talent they have. Then the players have to make the commitment that when all is said and done, what happens on the field is their responsibility."
Also, here's more on the epic 1967 battle between UCLA and USC: Game of the Century
And Beban's 'My UCLA Moment': Beban Video
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