As the football season approached, redshirt freshman Aaron Perez
found himself contemplating Chris Kluwe’s past success and
the enormous shoes he had to fill. He had good reason to, as Kluwe
finished last season as one of UCLA’s all-time leading
punters and Perez had not punted in a competitive football game for
over a year. “Replacing a great guy like Chris, an
award-winning punter, was definitely on my mind a lot at the
beginning,” Perez said. “We’ve been good at the
position for so long and there were very high expectations.”
But as the games start and the guidance of the coaching staff begin
to sink in, Perez has shifted his focus from the past to the
present. “The coaches have just been telling me, “˜The
past is the past, it’s all you now, just be
yourself,'” Perez said. “The more I play, the
less I’m thinking about the past.” Perez has
experienced relative success early in his UCLA career. He’s
been averaging a respectable 39 yards a punt and has nailed four
punts inside the 20-yard line. Still, Perez knows that he’s
got a lot of work to do to get to the level that the team has come
to expect out of its punter. “I’m always working on
getting my punts off quicker so that there is no chance for a
block,” Perez said. “Also, getting more hang time on my
punts. I’ve had too many low punts this year and those can
turn into big plays for the opposition. It was good to get my first
couple of fair catches last week.” Despite the constant
criticism punters receive, Perez realizes his importance to the
team and takes pride in doing his job to the best of his ability.
“Any punter would tell you that most people don’t give
us enough credit,” Perez said. “It’s a very
important job, especially in close games. “It’s
important that my punts put our defense in the best possible
position to succeed, and it’s a good feeling to know that
I’m helping my defense out.” Perez did have a miscue in
last week’s game against the Huskies, shanking a 13-yard punt
and missing an opportunity to pin the Huskies deep into their own
territory. But Perez rebounded on his next punt with a long, high
50-yard punt that was downed by the Bruins at the Washington 2-yard
line. “I was really mad at myself coming off the
field,” Perez said about his reaction to his bad punt.
“Coach Dorrell and (special teams) coach Schneider both were
very positive and told me to get it out of my head and focus on the
next punt ““ you have to have a real short memory as a punter.
“I was a little more anxious to make good on my next
opportunity and I was able to get a good one off. When I got back
to the sidelines, coach Schneider told me he would have been really
pissed if I had messed that one up.”
LINEUP UPDATE: In place of the injured Nikola Dragovic, redshirt
sophomore William Snead will suit up as a starter at defensive end.
Bruce Davis, who has been working as a defensive end and outside
linebacker this season, will now focus more as a defensive end to
help a defensive line that has suffered losses to some of its top
players. Marcus Cassel will remain a starter at cornerback for UCLA
in its game against Cal this weekend. Redshirt freshman Byron
Velega got the majority of the playing time in place of Cassel down
the stretch for the Bruins last week, but will remain the
backup.
EXTRA POINTS: As practice ended, a plane with a skywriter flew
over Spaulding Field, UCLA’s practice facility, and wrote the
word “RESPECT” in the sky. Coach Dorrell said that he
had no idea why the plane was there … Marcedes Lewis received the
John Mackey Tight End of the Week award for his career-high
eight-catch performance last Saturday against Washington … UCLA
men’s basketball coach Ben Howland was on hand for the end of
UCLA’s football practice yesterday.