After a game, most people will point to the player who had the
most yards or touchdowns as the star of the game, and fullback
Michael Pitre is just fine with that.
For an offense that has had an up-and-down season, Pitre, a
redshirt junior, has been one of the team’s most consistent
members, performing under the spotlight of the marquee athletes
while playing the fullback position to perfection.
“He has really come on as of late and become a lot more
physical with his blocking,” running backs coach Dino Babers
said. “It does not show up in the production side of it, but
he has really done well ““ the best he has ever done ““
particularly in these last two games.”
Pitre leads the fullback squad ““ which is responsible for
picking up blitzes ““ as well lead blocking and also handling
the ball every now and then. On a fair amount of plays, Pitre also
acts as a receiver and safety valve for quarterbacks under
pressure.
“Our position is important to a certain degree,”
Pitre said. “A lot of times, the running backs don’t
make their reads off of our blocks. If I miss my block, then my guy
makes the play on our running back.”
Pitre, who has twice been an honorary mention on the Pac-10
team, is one of the main keys to the Bruin run game in the two-back
set, opening holes for running backs Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell
to run through. And while Pitre does not receive nearly the same
acclaim as those two, the coaches know that he brings certain
intangibles to the backfield which are immeasurable through
statistics.
“Pitre has been playing the fullback position very
well,” Babers said. “What he does can’t be seen
by most people, but we know he is making plays when he is out
there.”
UCLA has had some inconsistencies in the running game this year
and a lot of that could be because the Bruins are fairly thin at
the fullback position, making Pitre all the more valuable.
Behind Pitre, the Bruins also have senior Dan Nelson, who was
just moved to the backfield this season after converting from
linebacker over the summer.
“Dan has really taken to the move,” Babers said.
“Linebacker and fullback are really the same position. In
one, you hit people, wrap them up and bring them down. In the
other, you hit people, but you just don’t wrap them up.
Outside of that, it is kind of the same thing.”
With Bell out of the lineup with an ankle injury, Nelson and
Pitre look to see increased time handling the ball as well.
SECONDARY: The UCLA secondary has had a hard
time stopping the pass lately, which was evident in the second half
against Notre Dame last Saturday and also a week earlier at
Oregon.
Despite their recent troubles, the group feels that they are
still one of the best units in the conference.
“We have a great secondary,” redshirt junior
cornerback Trey Brown said. “We’ve just got to keep
making the most of our opportunities. When opportunities come,
whether it is a shoestring tackle or a pass breakup, we need to
make them. That’s going to be the momentum- and
game-changer.”
Despite the recent woes, UCLA currently ranks fifth in the
Pac-10 in pass defense, allowing just over 187 yards per game. Many
teams go to the air against the Bruins because their run defense is
so stout.
RECEIVERS SET RECORDS: Many of the team’s
wideouts currently have impressive streaks of consecutive games
with a reception. Marcus Everett has caught a pass in 12 straight
games. Junior Taylor’s streak is at nine, while Brandon
Breazell is up to eight.