He is a big man, striding confidently among other big men, all
of them together faced with a tremendous responsibility.
He barks out instructions, and they listen, because they respect
him. They believe this is the time to show what they are, and to
effectively prove what they are not.
He is Tom Cable, UCLA’s first-year offensive coordinator
and offensive line coach, and they are his men ““ his big men
““ his offensive line.
“My passion is those big guys,” said Cable, who
joined the Bruin staff in January after four years as head coach at
Idaho. “My passion is trying to find a way to move the ball
and get a group of guys to believe in each other and go out and
have fun.”
That word ““ fun ““ is certainly welcome to the
offensive linemen, who just weren’t having much of it last
year. The big men up front were forced to endure the majority of
the criticism for the team’s anemic offense last season, and
perhaps rightly so.
The numbers speak for themselves, as the Bruins ranked last in
the Pac-10 in rushing offense (91.9 yards per game), and ninth in
total offense (294.9 ypg). UCLA finished 110 out of 117 Division
I-A teams in total offense, and the offensive line surrendered an
astounding 51 sacks.
“Anytime you have a year like last year as an offense and
as an offensive line, you come out pissed off, and you have
something to prove to everybody, including yourself,” junior
tackle Ed Blanton said.
That’s what it’s all about for these guys ““
proving that last season is behind them, and proving that they can
be relied on to ensure a successful season on offense.
Turning the much-maligned group into a unit of confident winners
is Cable’s task. And if the progress from last spring to the
present they speak so much about is any indication, this
year’s offensive line will be a far cry from last
year’s, even though the players are the same. In the opener,
UCLA will likely start Blanton and senior Paul Mociler at the
tackle positions, junior Mike McCloskey at center, and senior
Steven Vieira and junior Robert Cleary at the guard spots.
“The kids have been awesome,” Cable said.
“That’s probably what’s made it the most fun for
me. The players this year have changed who they want to be from
what they were. If you can continue that, it can be fun for
everybody.”
What they were was a disgruntled group, unhappy with the losing,
the criticism, the numerous sacks allowed. But following the
Bruins’ final game last season, a loss to Fresno State in the
Silicon Valley Classic that ran the team’s losing streak to
five, things started to change. Mark Weber, last year’s
offensive line coach, was fired, and Cable was brought in to help
save the sinking ship.
Cable’s offensive resume is impressive, though his head
coaching stats are less than stellar. Cable lost the Idaho job
after posting a four-year record of 11-35, but his teams averaged
424.1 total yards-per-game during his tenure. In two of
Cable’s four seasons, the Vandals finished among the top 10
in the country in total offense.
Prior to being hired at Idaho, his alma mater, in 2000, Cable
worked with UCLA coach Karl Dorrell at Colorado. Cable was the
offensive line coach in 1998 when Dorrell was the offensive
coordinator, and filled Dorrell’s position the following year
when Dorrell left to become the Denver Broncos’ wide
receivers coach. Both men have the same offensive philosophy,
centered in the West Coast Offense, and Cable was such a logical
hire that Dorrell and Cable had discussions before Dorrell’s
first season about the fiery redhead possibly joining the Bruin
staff.
“His personality is felt,” Dorrell said. “Tom
is a very meticulous, very passionate coach, and he coaches with
that passion.
“That provides us a strong sense of belonging. He has a
great connection with the guys he coaches, and they understand
him.”
Cable was initially hired as just the offensive line coach, but
he was later given the offensive coordinator role when Steve Axman,
last year’s coordinator, was let go in February.
While many things have changed with the offense and the
offensive line off the field, it remains to be seen if those
changes will be reflected positively in a real game situation. The
players, at least, say things are already different.
“We put last year in the past, and we have high
expectations (for the offensive line) this year,” junior
quarterback Drew Olson said.
Olson feels better about the offensive line, and the linemen
undoubtedly feel better about themselves.
“We’re definitely ready to come out and show people
what we’ve got,” said McCloskey, the team’s
starting center. “We think we’re going to work a lot
better this year. We’re going to work as a team. Everything
just seems to be moving forward and coming together.
“The offensive line is definitely going to prove something
this year.”
That idea seems to be firmly instilled in the minds of the
linemen ““ proof that the failures of last year are gone, but
not totally forgotten. And Cable understands what it was like.
“I’ve seen the tapes (from last year), and I think
this: What’s done is done. That’s yesterday’s
news, and that’s how I’m addressing it with them. You
can ask yourself what you did for that to happen, and I think
that’s where they’ve changed ““ their work ethic,
their commitment level, their attention to detail.
“They’re learning how to do those things, and
it’s getting better and better. That’s how you
succeed.”
You also succeed by having faith in your coach, something that
clearly wasn’t present last year. Cable’s coaching
style, infused with confidence and passion, has translated into an
improved unit. Cable doesn’t waste words; he means what he
says and believes in the system wholeheartedly.
“We’ve gotten so much better with the offensive line
and the offense,” Blanton said. “It’s just so
much better, I can’t even put it into words. Coach
Cable’s been pretty much the whole reason.”
Cable has simplified things for the offensive line, making
schemes as black and white as possible. It is also a huge benefit
for the line to have a coach who has such an intimate understanding
of the offense as a whole.
“It’s big when you have your offensive line coach as
your coordinator because the foundation of your offense begins up
front,” Dorrell said, adding that the offensive line is just
as important as the quarterback.
That foundation is also stronger than it was last year. The team
has been working with strength and conditioning coach E.J.
“Doc” Kreis for over a year now, and the entire
offensive line is more powerful than last year. But physical
strength means little without the mental fortitude to accompany
that strength. That’s something Cable has been working
on.
“The biggest thing I worry about is how we handle getting
better,” Cable said. “How do you handle success?
We’ve had some times, on both sides of the ball, where
we’ve had good days and we’ve had bad days. It’s
been good to see them come back from a rough day. It’s been
frustrating sometimes to see how they handle that good
day.”
Cable said he wants his line to take “big guy steps”
every day, to continue to get better and better. He’s not
happy with baby steps, because they won’t get things done at
this level.
“You’re not going to succeed by just throwing your
jock on the field because you’re a big guy,” Cable
said. “They’re realizing that. It takes a heck of a lot
more than saying “˜I’m a guard, I’m a big guy, and
I’m going to do it.’ It doesn’t happen like
that.”
It happens with hard work. It happens with confidence and trust
in your teammates. It happens when you believe in your coach, and
your coach believes in you.
The swagger is certainly not there, but the confidence does
appear to be coming back. Come Sept. 4, the Rose Bowl will act as
the ultimate testing ground for this group of big guys that has
been kicked around for too long.
“There’s only one way to go now, and that makes it
easy,” McCloskey said. “There’s no real pressure
to perform from everyone else. The only people we have to impress
are ourselves, and that’s our constant goal.”
Impressing Cable is no easy task. It’s a big job, for big
men, with big responsibilities.