After a disappointing recruiting season, in which the Bruins
missed out on several top prep quarterbacks, the football team
finally got what it had been hoping for ““ a highly touted
freshman quarterback.
The only problem is that he won’t be in a UCLA uniform
until 2005.
Osaar Rasshan, a junior quarterback at Garey High School in
Pomona, verbally committed to UCLA last week, giving the Bruins a
potential future offensive leader.
“God only touches a few people on this earth with a
certain athletic gift,” Garey High School football coach
Joseph Mariani said. “Osaar is definitely one of those
few.”
Rasshan, standing 6-foot-4, is a three-sport athlete, playing
football, basketball and baseball (he throws a 94-mph fastball). On
the football field, he passed for 768 yards with four touchdowns,
and rushed 287 yards for another four touchdowns.
He announced his decision to come to Westwood while still being
recruited by Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona and USC. UCLA reportedly
had the edge since early last June, when the coaching staff gave
him an offer during the UCLA 4-Day Camp.
It also helped that the coaching staff saw him as more than
merely an athlete.
“They looked at me as quarterback,” Rasshan said,
“whereas USC thought of me as of an athlete. I want to play
as a quarterback.”
By the time Rasshan arrives at UCLA, it will be the perfect
opportunity for him to find early success.
Currently the Bruins have four quarterbacks who could play next
season: sophomore Drew Olson, sophomore transfer David Koral,
third-string back-up Brian Callahan and incoming freshman Patrick
Cowan.
Olson will be the designated starter for 2004, according to
coach Karl Dorrell, with Koral acting as a solid backup and Cowan
viewed as more of a “project.”
Since the Bruins failed to sign a highly recruited prep
quarterback for the 2004 season ““ such as
Matt Tuiasosopo, who ultimately went to Washington, or Rudy
Carpenter, who went to Arizona State ““ the team originally
had no potential replacements for Olson or Koral.
But since both Olson and Koral will be seniors in 2005, the
football program will be in need of a freshman it can groom to take
over the team after the starter’s departure ““ a
responsibility Rasshan says he’s ready to accept.
“I could definitely see Osaar as a leader at UCLA,”
Mariani said. “He’s a guy that, if the game is on the
line, he wants the ball.”
Rasshan also hopes to be selected in the MLB Amateur Draft, much
like now-departed Bruins Matt Ware and Ricky Manning Jr.
But while he waits for his eventual transition to UCLA, Rasshan
feels comfortable and relieved that the recruiting process is out
of the way, giving him the ability to relax during his upcoming
senior year.