By Hannah Gordon
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
hgordon@media.ucla.edu
Nicknamed by the Daily Cal “Jesus in cleats” as an
incoming freshman, Cal senior quarterback Kyle Boller has spent the
last three and a half years trying to live up to impossible
expectations.
Now that Boller has led the Bears to a 4-3 record under new head
coach Jeff Tedford, some think divine intervention is finally at
work.
This week Boller faces the one school he has always succeeded
against, the school that did not want him, UCLA. Coming out of
Newhall Hart High in Southern California, Boller was one of the top
quarterback recruits in the country as a senior in high school, but
UCLA had no place for him. J.P. Losman (who later transferred) had
already committed, and the school would not take another
quarterback.
Boller wanted to go to a school where he had the opportunity to
start as a freshman and be close to home. In Cal, he got his wish,
and it turned out to be a baptism by fire.
Boller started the Bears’ Pac-10 opener against Arizona
State as a true freshman and led the team to victory after fumbling
the opening snap. The rest of the year was a good deal rougher as
he completed only 38.6 percent of his passes, earning a lowly 80.75
efficiency rating. It was a shock for a young man who was used to
success.
“He was like a god,” said UCLA redshirt quarterback
Matt Moore who was a freshman at Hart when Boller was a senior.
This week on the scout team, Moore has the job of
“being” the guy he always wanted to be as a high school
freshman. “It was like Kyle Boller, Kyle Boller, Kyle Boller.
He was everything.”
While he was known for his accuracy in high school, where he
threw 59 touchdowns with only three interceptions in 1998, Boller
threw more picks than scores in his first three seasons at Cal. He
suffered from an offensive line that did not protect him well and a
program that has struggled in recent years, hitting rock bottom
last year with a 1-10 season.
“It was weird,” Moore said of watching the high
school hero suffer. “Our school was good. He told me college
football is so different. Everyone is as good as you
are.”
Still Boller could always find enough loaves and fish for UCLA,
tossing one touchdown pass when the Bears beat UCLA 17-0 in 1999
and three in a 46-38 win in 2000. Last year, Boller sat out the
UCLA game with back trouble as the Bruins blew out the Bears
56-17.
While Boller completed less than half of his passes for the
third consecutive year in 2001, he seems to have finally turned
things around with Tedford, his second head coach, and the third
system in his four-year career. Currently, Boller boasts a 141.1
quarterback rating after completing 57.2 percent of his passes and
tossing 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in the last seven
games.
“It looks like Jeff has brought Kyle’s confidence
back,” UCLA defensive coordinator Phil Snow said.
“Jeff’s really got him playing. Kyle knows what
he’s doing and he looks like he’s having fun this year,
which is not good for us.”
Now he can just be Kyle in cleats.
“We have worked on his fundamentals and with a new
offense, he’s really been dedicated to studying and
understanding what we’re asking him to do,” Tedford
said. “Through the tough times that he’s had, he never
once laid blame. He’s paid his dues.”
“I’m glad he’s doing good because I’ve
seen him take a lot of hits and a lot of abuse,” Snow
said.
“Of course, our goal is to hit him.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
Friday redshirt quarterback Brian Callahan won’t fly on
the team charter. And Saturday he won’t see the field at
Memorial Stadium. But that’s OK because Sunday he gets to
visit his dad’s office.
Brian, son of Raider head coach Bill Callahan, will be at
Network Associates Coliseum to see the Raiders play the
Chargers.
“I absolutely love Raider games. I think they are the most
exciting NFL football games,” the young Callahan said.
“It has been a little weird having my dad in the spotlight
but it is nice for him, he’s good at keeping it
humble.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
Sophomore defensive back Matt Ware will start at cornerback
again this week, and senior cornerback Ricky Manning won’t be
complaining.
“It’s nice to have a bigger guy on the other
side,” said the 5-foot-9-inch all-Pac-10 corner.
Sophomore safety Ben Emanuel practiced Wednesday and may start
Saturday. Sophomore Jibril Raymo started in his place last week at
free while true freshman Jarrad Page started at strong safety.
Tailback Manuel White (pulled hamstring) will not play.