TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; In his three years at UCLA, Osaar Rasshan has spent time as a backup quarterback, faced a brief stint at wide receiver, and then switched back to quarterback.
On Saturday in Arizona, Rasshan finally saw the field, and all the emotions that go along with the quarterback position.
UCLA was trailing Arizona 34-14 when quarterback Pat Cowan left the game with a concussion in the third quarter, which led to Rasshan taking the very first snap of his career. In the ensuing 27 minutes of the game, Rasshan showed the mobility and fearlessness the UCLA faithful had only heard as rumors.
Rasshan injected life back into an offense that hadn’t converted a first down in five consecutive possessions under Cowan. Rasshan led the Bruins to 13 unanswered points, and when the Bruin defense forced the Wildcats to punt late in the game, the Bruins had the ball with 2:49 left and a chance to tie the game.
But Rasshan couldn’t put together a game-saving drive. He threw three straight incomplete passes and was unable to get the snap off on a key fourth-and-6, taking a delay of game that forced the Bruins into a fourth-and-long that they were unable to convert.
It was that final series that Rasshan couldn’t get out of his mind as he sat in the cramped Bruin locker room and answered questions he had never had to answer before.
“I don’t know if the offense was energized, maybe I was a spark,” Rasshan said. “But we didn’t win the game.”
The loss clouded any positives the Bruins could find after the game, but there was no denying Rasshan’s surprising poise and fine performance.
“He came in and gave us some life there in the second half,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “He came up short, but he played very hard. … He played with guts and a lot of heart.”
Dorrell said that the Bruins had planned to use Rasshan against the Wildcats in at least one series in the second half, “just to spark something.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
“It was clear that we rallied around Osaar today,” wide receiver and returner Matthew Slater said. “He can turn a broken play into a first down, he showed that today, and the offense was feeding off him.”
Rasshan’s first drive ended with a 35-yard field goal by Kai Forbath. In the game, Rasshan had five rushes of more than five yards, including a clutch 20-yard dash on third-and-9. At the end of the third quarter he completed a 42-yard flea-flicker to Dominique Johnson, setting up a Chane Moline touchdown.
Moline, for one, noted a difference.
“When Osaar came in we were all energized,” Moline said. “We were driving all over the field.”
The Bruin offense found some rhythm and the defense tightened up in the fourth quarter, but the 20-point deficit was too much.
That makes for even more on Rasshan’s mind now. He said after the game that this week of practice “might be a little different.”
If Cowan’s injury keeps him out for an extended period of time, and with Ben Olson still out, Rasshan will be the likely starter heading into Saturday’s game with Arizona State.
And that seems like a role he can handle.
“The coaches have always known about my mobility,” Rasshan said. “They were just waiting for the correct time to get me in the game, and I know they know what they’re doing.”
Now those coaches may look to gear the Bruin offense more towards Rasshan’s specific abilities, and give him a shot at the role of starting quarterback.
But, really, Rasshan’s prepared for anything. Any quarterback has to learn to forget mistakes; Rasshan has also had to learn not to worry about playing time and to concentrate solely on helping his team. His stint as a wide receiver demonstrates as much.
“It’s just like an interception or a fumble,” Rasshan said. “You can’t focus on the past. I can’t bring that baggage along with me.”