New UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel added another assistant to his staff Monday as he continues the process of preparing for his first season.
Neuheisel named Bob Palcic as his offensive line coach. Palcic, like Neuheisel, has a history at UCLA. He was offensive line coach for the 1993 Bruin team, which featured a dominant offensive line and reached the 1994 Rose Bowl. Neuheisel was also an assistant coach for that team.
After coaching at UCLA, Palcic spent 12 seasons in the National Football League. He coached at Wisconsin for the last two seasons.
“Bob is one of the top offensive line coaches in the country at any level,” Neuheisel said in a statement released Monday by the athletic department.
“The young men in our program will be able to draw upon his wealth of experience to assist in their development as players on the field and men off the field. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to bring Bob back to UCLA.”
With over 30 years in football, Palcic has coached his fair share of great linemen, including former Bruin Jonathan Ogden, All-American Tony Boselli, and Joe Thomas, winner of the 2006 Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman.
The 59-year-old Palcic said he is looking forward to joining Neuheisel’s staff.
“I’m excited about returning to UCLA and I am looking forward to working for Rick,” Palcic said in a statement. “I’m confident we will be able to give our fans and alumni the football success they deserve.”
Palcic will replace Bob Connelly, who coached the Bruin linemen last season under Karl Dorrell.
The hiring of Palcic comes just days after Neuheisel announced the addition of Reggie Moore to his staff.
Moore is a former UCLA wide receiver who previously worked for Neuheisel as a graduate assistant at Washington.
The 39-year-old Moore spent the past four seasons coaching wide receivers at North Dakota State, but he has not yet been given a specific title on the UCLA staff.
“Reggie is a great Bruin and he will be an asset to our staff,” Neuheisel said. “I haven’t put all the pieces to the puzzle together yet, but he has a lot of experience in different areas. One thing I do know is that he will be involved in alumni relations.”
Eric Scott coached wide receivers under Dorrell last year and was an important recruiter for the Bruins.
No announcement has been made about his future with the program.
BRUIN ALL-STARS: The Bruin seniors will be playing in upcoming all-star games, which are typically considered auditions for the NFL draft.
Defensive end Bruce Davis and safety Dennis Keyes will play in the East-West Shrine game.
The game will be played on Jan. 19 at Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus. ESPN will broadcast the game.
Offensive guard Shannon Tevaga will play in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii on Saturday.
SCHEDULE SWITCH: UCLA announced a change to its 2008 schedule on Monday. The Bruins will play at Arizona State on Friday, Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The game was originally scheduled for the Saturday before Thanksgiving.