It was an itch he just had to scratch, so UCLA’s Matt
Willis scratched it all the way from Drake Stadium to Spaulding
Field. Previously a hurdler on the UCLA men’s track and field
team, Willis has traded his spikes for a pair of cleats, walking on
to the Bruin football team as a receiver. “Since high school
I regretted not finishing football my junior and senior
years,” Willis said. “I don’t want to be 30 and
look back and be, “˜Man, I regret it’. So I came out
(for the football team).” Willis played football his freshman
and sophomore years at Servite High School, but as an upperclassman
decided to concentrate on track and soccer. Since coming to UCLA in
2003, that decision has haunted him. Last season Willis ran the
400-meter hurdles and demonstrated steady progress, posting a
personal best of 51.89 seconds and qualifying for the NCAA West
Regionals. Still, his desire to chase the football instead of the
finish line remained strong, pushing him to talk to coach Karl
Dorrell about joining the football team. Though he was unable to
play last fall, Willis was invited to participate with the team
this spring, during the heart of track season. After a long talk
with sprints coach Tony Veney, Willis decided to take a hiatus from
track. “He’s had a fire in his belly,” Veney
said. “He believes he can contribute to the Bruin football
team and I wish him all the best. He knows he’s welcome back
to the track team anytime once he fulfills his dreams with
football.” “I wanted to finish the track season but it
didn’t work out like that,” Willis said. “The
coaches wanted me all here or all there. They gave me a great
opportunity and so I jumped on it.” Since joining the
football team, Willis has gotten a decent amount of reps. Although
he will be a relatively raw talent, his speed will give him an
obvious advantage. “It’s better for Matt to go ahead
and make that choice,” Veney said. “If it works for him
in football, then that’s great for him and it’s great
for the university. If it doesn’t, then we’re waiting
for him to come back.”
THE EVOLUTION OF OLSON: After Saturday’s scrimmage, in
which new quarterback Ben Olson was disappointed with his
performance, Dorrell tried to throw as much encouragement to his
top recruit as possible. After the scrimmage ended, Olson said
there was nothing good he could say about his performance, but that
he was trying to keep a positive attitude. His only assurance was
that it had been almost three years since he had played ““
Olson was in Canada serving his two-year Mormon mission ““ and
he had to keep that in mind. “Ben is right where he thought
he would be,” Dorrell said. “I think everyone has a lot
of high expectations of him, and there’s no doubt that at
some time he will meet those expectations. “But I want
everyone to be realistic, too, and give him a chance to grow and
throw passes for the first time in two years. I’m very
pleased with his progress and he has a great mindset about where he
is in his progress.” While Olson is still shaking off the
rust and starter Drew Olson (no relation) is out until at least
fall with a torn ACL and MCL, the situation regarding the starting
position and backup is still unclear. “We are getting someone
ready to start,” Dorrell said. “We’re hopeful
that (Drew Olson) will be able to bounce back and be what he was at
the end of the season. You have to remember he’s still the
guy, unless otherwise stated. But we just have to cover all our
bases. You have to go with what you currently have in your program
and make someone ready to take a lead.”
INJURY REPORT: Tailback Maurice Drew did not participate in
practice Monday. He is suffering migraines that have lasted since
Saturday’s scrimmage and will be checked by doctors Monday
night … Quarterback Pat Cowan aggravated his left shoulder during
the scrimmage and was held to only limited participation.