Craig Bragg will go down in UCLA history.
By the time the senior receiver’s stay in Westwood is
complete, Bragg will almost certainly be the school’s
all-time leader in receptions.
But right now, as Bragg stands just five catches away from
breaking the all-time receptions record of 179, his thoughts turn
to other things.
“I’d trade 100 catches to beat USC one time,”
Bragg said. “That’s honestly how I feel. If we do that,
the record would just be icing on the cake.”
All things considered, the record will almost certainly be
broken. Whether it comes Saturday against Washington State or some
other time in the near future, Bragg will leave Westwood perched
comfortably atop the career list. But instead of thinking about
five catches, Bragg is thinking about the next three opponents,
Washington State, Oregon and USC, as he is winless against all
three in his illustrious UCLA career.
“Hopefully I can beat every Pac-10 team,” Bragg
said. “That’s the biggest goal for me.”
That’s the kind of player Bragg is. Though he admits he
will look back fondly on the records he will have set, he measures
himself by the success of the team. And as a player, he has tried
to do everything in his power to win games for the Bruins.
That’s why he works so hard in practice.
That’s why he watches so much film.
That’s why he pushes his teammates to improve every single
day.
“Craig is a heck of a player,” coach Karl Dorrell
said. “There’s a reason why he has been that productive
in our program.”
The production has indeed been staggering. Bragg caught 29
passes his freshman year, 55 his sophomore year, and an incredible
73 last season. He currently stands at 175 career receptions for
2,655 yards and 17 touchdowns. He is the only player in Bruin
history to have two 50-reception seasons, and the list goes on.
But beyond just lists and records and numbers, Bragg is about
consistent production. In fact, Bragg has been so consistently good
for the Bruins that he has entered the stratospheric realm of
greatness.
But what exactly is it that makes him so great? Well, that
depends on who you ask.
Dorrell, a former Bruin receiver, says it’s because Bragg
works so hard in practice.
Dino Babers, UCLA’s wide receivers coach, says it’s
because he’s such an intelligent player.
Fellow receiver and good friend Tab Perry says it’s
Bragg’s confidence on the field.
Quarterback Drew Olson credits his experience.
Cornerback Matt Clark says Bragg is just “fast as
hell.”
And Bragg’s opinion counts, too.
“I think that I just work hard and I’m
consistent,” Bragg said. “I wouldn’t say that
I’m overly talented in any area. It’s just being
comfortable. I think coaches and players are just comfortable with
me, and that’s why I’ve seen a lot of passes come my
way.”
Ever since his freshman year, Bragg has seen a lot of passes
thrown to him. In his ascendance through the program, he has become
the most reliable, consistent offensive performer.
And that consistency is what sets him apart, and puts him in the
position to be the No. 1 UCLA receiver of all time.
“Some of that stuff has to go with being here for four
years and being consistently good and not occasionally
great,” Babers said. “Somebody you can wind your clock
by. Year in and year out, you know what you’re going to get
with this guy. It’s not like him being up and down, and that
in itself is greatness nowadays.”
Bragg couldn’t agree more. The fact that he’s been a
major part of the offense all four years has obviously put him in a
position to do great things, and he has seized the opportunity.
“Sometimes guys are great, and then other days
they’re not to be seen,” Bragg said. “I always
take it upon myself to make myself become noticeable every
game.”
Unfortunately for Bragg, and for Bruin fans, there was a time
this season when the senior receiver wasn’t noticeable.
That’s because he was on the bench for four games, nursing a
separated shoulder he suffered in the team’s third game of
the season against Washington.
“When he left the lineup, we sorely missed him,”
Dorrell said. “It was hard filling his shoes.”
Though Bragg said sitting out was frustrating, he’d prefer
to focus on the present. And the present has him five receptions
and 366 receiving yards from topping two of UCLA’s career
charts.
It’s been quite a journey for the San Jose native, who
said that just making it to UCLA was a great accomplishment for
him.
Never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d leave as the
career leader in receptions.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Bragg
said. “I’ve had a lot of fun. If I got to go back four
years and do it over again, knowing that this would happen, I would
do the exact same thing.”
Still, there have been plenty of ups and downs.
Bragg has been through two head coaches, three receivers
coaches, and a lot of general program upheaval. He has seen his
team complete some impressive victories, and suffer some awful
defeats.
He’s even developed a great friendship with Perry, only to
see him leave the program before coming back again.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” Bragg
said. “We’ve accomplished some good things, but
sometimes we didn’t quite meet our expectations.”
But Bragg pinpoints his best moment during his tenure here as a
Bruin as the team’s victory in the Las Vegas Bowl his
sophomore season. The worst moment has been a recurring theme, a
loss to USC every single year.
But probably the most meaningful thing about Bragg’s UCLA
experience has been his friendship with Perry.
Perry and Bragg are both redshirt seniors. Having entered the
program at the same time, they have experienced the same highs and
lows. And they have forged a friendship that will probably last a
lifetime.
“He’s been like a brother since day one,”
Perry said. “We’ve had our ups and downs together,
shared a lot of good stories together, and he’s a helluva a
guy on and off the field. I’m really privileged to have the
chance and the opportunity to play with him.”
The two friends almost didn’t have that opportunity this
season. Perry didn’t play last year because he was
academically ineligible, making Bragg the go-to guy on offense.
Perry wasn’t expected to return this year either, until
someone got to him.
“Craig is about 75 percent of the reason why I came
back,” Perry said. “He just stayed in my ear. He kept
telling me, “˜I need you back, come back, come back.’
Part of the reason why I worked so hard was just for
him.”
The effort didn’t go unappreciated.
“It meant a lot to me,” Bragg said. “It meant
that he really wanted to be here. When your best friend really
wants to come back to school and play with you your senior year,
and go through all that he went through, that meant a lot to
me.
“His presence there has made this a lot more
enjoyable.”
The combination is an interesting one, the loud and outspoken
Perry alongside the quiet leader in Bragg. But they wouldn’t
want it any other way.
“We go hand in hand with each other; we complement each
other well,” Bragg said. “Just because he says it
doesn’t mean I’m not thinking it. He just has the
courage to say it, while I’ll patiently wait for it to
happen.”
That’s how Bragg has been his entire career ““
putting himself in position to be great, and waiting for the
numbers to come. Even now, he is constantly striving to improve
himself, working on his footwork, making his cuts sharper, getting
stronger, and learning from another great Bruin receiver ““
Karl Dorrell.
“I really respect what he has to say,” Bragg said.
“I’m always asking him questions. He probably gets
annoyed with me because I’ll run a route and jog over to him
in the middle of practice and kind of stop the whole practice to
ask him a question to make sure I was doing it right.”
“I just want to be the best I can be.”
Bragg still feels like it’s a learning process even in his
senior year.
“He is definitely a student of the game,” Dorrell
said. “I wish I had one more year with him, just because his
experience and being around these young receivers, they can really
benefit from a guy like him.”
Everyone on the team can benefit.
Olson, now in his third year of working with Bragg, has only
good things to say.
“He’s so experienced right now,” Olson said.
“His route running is just so precise, you know where
he’s going to be. He’s just a smart football
player.”
Clark said defensive players get better in practice by playing
against someone like Bragg.
“It’s awesome, just covering him every day,”
Clark said. “I consider him one of the best receivers in the
nation. He’s the total package.”
The total package wants to leave more than a name in the record
books. He wants to leave a mark of how he played the game.
“I just try to remind people that we’re out here
playing football,” Bragg said. “This isn’t that
serious.”
“For me, the more fun that I have, the better I
play.”
Bragg remembers how much fun it used to be, playing football
since he was eight years old. He never wants to lose that, even
when he’s playing on Sundays next year.
“It’s the same way I feel now, I can’t wait to
go out there and show what I can do,” Bragg said, “Just
to score a touchdown, make plays, do things like making up endzone
dances even though you can’t use them. It’s things like
that that make playing so much fun.”
That, and beating USC.