Help is on the way.
UCLA signed three junior college football players to national
letters of intent on Thursday in an attempt to bolster its roster
for next season. At least two more are expected to sign in the
coming days.
Defensive lineman Kyle Morgan, a 6-foot-3, 263-pounder from Pearl
River Community College in Mississippi, originally signed with
Miami out of San Francisco’s Galileo High School and will
have two seasons of eligibility. He is a key singing because UCLA
will lose all four of its defensive line starters to graduation
this spring.
Matt Raney, a 6-4, 245-pounder from Phoenix City College has two
seasons of eligibility remaining and three years in which to
complete them.
Marc Villafuerte, 6-3, 290-pounder from Santa Ana Junior College is
originally from Anaheim Canyon High School and has four years to
complete three seasons of eligibility.
“Kyle, Matt and Marc fill immediate areas of need in our
program,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said in a statement.
“They will all benefit by participating in spring practice,
and we expect them all to help us next season.”
UCLA is also expected to sign quarterback David Koral of Santa
Monica College, so as to provide depth behind Drew Olson with Matt
Moore having transferred, and John Sciarra thinking about doing the
same.
The Bruins might also benefit from transfers. Former Fresno State
linebacker Ricky Miller appeared at practice Saturday, apparently
interested in transferring to UCLA. The redshirt freshman from
Tustin, Calif., left the Bulldogs in November, unhappy over being
converted into a defensive end, according to the Fresno Bee.
UCLA just happens to be playing Fresno State on Dec. 30 in the
Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose.
JOHNSON TO STAY: Don Johnson will return as defensive line coach at
UCLA after turning down an offer to become the defensive
coordinator at the University of Nevada-Reno.
“He’s staying here,” Dorrell said.
“He’s flattered with the opportunity, but he’s
excited about being here at UCLA.”
Johnson came to UCLA in 2000 after five seasons as an assistant in
Nevada.
LATEST VICTIM: Senior linebacker Brandon Chillar was forced to sit
out Saturday practice after experiencing flu-like symptoms and
vomiting.
“Golly, it seems like (the bug) hits one person and then it
hits another person,” Dorrell said.