Although the ultimate result was negative, the UCLA football
team came away with many positives from its inaugural game of the
2004 season against Oklahoma State.
Not the least of which was the career day enjoyed by senior
running back Manuel White Jr.
After sitting out the last five games of last season due to a
shoulder injury, White did not skip a beat in his return to the
field. He ran for two touchdowns while gaining 145 yards on 20
carries, bettering his previous high of 102 yards last year against
Illinois.
“It was exciting. I forgot how fun it was,” he said.
“(The records) definitely meant a lot, but we didn’t
get the win, and that’s all that matters.”
“(White) played well,” coach Karl Dorrell said.
“It was good to have him back.”
White and backfield partner Maurice Drew had to be encouraged
about their prospects for the rest of the season, as the duo
consistently found gaping holes in front of them, something of a
rare sight last season with the offensive line’s woes.
“It felt like we were able to run all day,”
quarterback Drew Olson said. “And we did a good job with
that.”
“The O-line blocked their butts off,” White said.
“There were lanes everywhere. You could have put anybody back
there and they would have had a great game.”
White looked impressive in his debut, repeatedly using his
strength to break through tacklers and even leapfrogging a
defensive back in the open field late in the third quarter to pick
up 15 yards and a first down.
His most impressive run, though, was his career-long 60-yard
touchdown run in the first quarter. Taking the handoff from Olson,
White burst up the middle, broke a couple of tackles, received a
receiver escort as he rumbled up the sideline, and lunged over the
goal line to tie the score at 7-7.
“It was great blocking by the O-line and receivers,”
White said. “The receivers broke me free.”
That may have been the receivers’ most important
contribution for the day, as White and Drew repeatedly swung out of
the backfield and outshined them as Olson’s aerial targets.
With the pass distribution indicative of the Bruins’ new West
Coast offense, White shared the team lead in receptions with four
for 40 yards, and Drew led the team in receiving yardage,
stretching three passes for 87 yards.
“They were getting the running backs lost in the
backfield, and that’s one thing we were trying to take
advantage of,” Drew said.
Although Oklahoma State’s Vernand Morency will receive
most of the attention for his mammoth 264-yard day, the
game’s story could be equally important on UCLA’s side
of the ball. In a far cry from last season where White didn’t
touch the ball once in the first game against Colorado, the Bruins
may have found a potential star in the backfield from the very
beginning, something they have lacked since DeShaun Foster’s
last season in 2001.
“(White) looked great. He went out there and stepped it
up, and I just tried to follow him,” Drew said. “If he
keeps doing that, we’ll go a long way. He’s the
backbone of this offense.”