Last year, UCLA had just three true freshmen, an indication of
the depth of veteran talent on the team. This year, with the loss
of 23 seniors to graduation, and after garnering a Top 10
recruiting class, head coach Bob Toledo says that up to 12 freshmen
could see playing time.
“It’s too early to tell how well the freshmen can
play, but I would venture to say that if we had to, half of the
scholarship players could play,” Toledo said. “I am
very excited about the recruiting class that we brought
in.”
The freshman that Toledo is most excited about is tight end
Marcedes Lewis. Already, Toledo has designed formations and sets
specifically for Lewis, and in a game where receivers are growing
taller and taller, Lewis, listed at 6-foot-7, will see a lot of
time at wide receiver. Additionally, Lewis could play as a
defensive end.
“When you’re 6-6, 240 pounds, and as athletic as he
is, he is one guy who will contribute as a true freshman,”
Toledo said. “You just can’t overload him. We see him
at tight end and wide receiver, and possibly as a pass-rushing
specialist. Not many guys of his kind come around in your
lifetime.”
Robert Thomas, last year’s Pac-10 Defensive Player of the
Year, has departed for the National Football League, which has left
a gaping hole in the linebacking corps. Incoming freshman Justin
London has established himself as an early favorite to see playing
time, showing greater speed and strength than he had in high
school.
He drew oohs and aahs from the crowd attending practice at Cal
Lutheran University, when on a sweep for running back Tyler Ebell,
he shot a gap and pulled down Ebell before the runner even knew
what hit him.
“I have been working hard this whole summer,” said
London, who spent a week driving across the country from Virginia
with his parents.
“It’s a lot different than Virginia. The weather
here is perfect. It’s not humid ““ it’s football
weather, and I love it here. This is paradise here.”
Two of UCLA’s recruits were selected in the Major League
Baseball draft. Mike Nixon decided to forgo his football
scholarship and sign with the Dodgers. The other, safety Jarrad
Page, has declined to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, and while
Page has until the first day of classes on September 26 to decide,
it’s unlikely the two sides will come to any kind of
agreement.
“We’ve almost finished the talks with the Brewers
already, so it’s pretty much football right now,” said
Page, who has seen reps with the first-team defense as a strong
safety.
“It’s a big jump from high school to college in
terms of the number of techniques. You do all these wrong things in
high school and you just don’t know it until you get here. In
order to compete at this level, you need to know your
techniques.”
UCLA recruited well at the quarterback position, signing Drew
Olson and Matt Moore. Olson is regarded as the more refined of the
two prospects, and Moore as the one with the most long-term
potential. Either could be called upon this season should senior
Cory Paus falter.
“It was fun recruiting the two freshmen,”
quarterback coach John Pearce said. “But it’s so hard
for freshmen to come in and play right off the bat. All of the
language changes. It’s like learning a foreign language.
They’ve had the chance to learn the playbook now, learn a
couple of sentences of that foreign language. I was pleased when I
came into their room and saw them studying their playbooks. Both of
them definitely want to be in the game.”
For the freshmen, the first weeks of practice were a part of a
journey that, for some, will continue on to the next level and, for
most, will end at UCLA.
“It just feels great to have made it to the next
level,” Page said. “You work so hard at the high school
level, day in and day out, to get here. You do all those things in
February, like signing the letter of intent, but it doesn’t
hit you until you get here.
The moment you put on the UCLA jersey, the moment you step out
onto the practice field on the grass in your cleats, it’s
indescribable. It’s better than great.”