For five years, I’ve been overly optimistic about UCLA football.
My freshman year, I bet with one of my assistant editors almost every game that UCLA would win. I lost a lot of money.
My sophomore year: roughly the same story.
Junior year, of course, UCLA went 10-2, and I was crushed when we got crushed by Arizona, despite the fact that anyone with two eyes and a brain could see that coming.
First senior year and second senior year I deceived myself into thinking that we were going to be good. Last year, I picked UCLA to go 12-0.
So let’s just establish that I’m an idiot and move forward from there.
Let me lay this one on you: Aside from picking the Bruins to go undefeated in a season in which they went 6-7, I’ve probably never been more optimistic about the future of UCLA football than I am right now, on the eve of the first spring practice of the Rick Neuheisel era.
Sure, the roster is almost bereft of talent as presently constituted. Of course, I realize Neuheisel has some serious baggage. And yes, I’m wondering if we’re slowly becoming a Western Athletic Conference program, with Monday and Friday night games all of a sudden. (As my brother so eloquently put it, “I stopped watching Friday night games in high school.”)
But there’s so much to like.
Let’s start with the coach: Neuheisel actually invited all the UCLA beat writers to come pick his brain for an hour over lunch before the start of spring practice. He speaks in full sentences, demonstrates a good grasp of a team that he has not really seen yet, and knows how to deal with the media.
I’ve yet to see the man coach, but I can only imagine he’ll be slightly more active than Karl Dorrell supervising the practice standing yards away from anyone.
The way Neuheisel speaks about UCLA in dulcet tones, I’m led to believe that if there are no scandals in the future for the guy, he will be here a long time. The impression I always got from Dorrell was that he was serving his time here until an NFL job opened up.
Neuheisel was, in retrospect, probably the best hire out there, based strictly off of what he has done this offseason.
A quick checklist: rehired DeWayne Walker, hired Norm Chow, secured top-15 recruiting class, hired an experienced coaching staff, called me with a recorded message, and won over the hearts and minds of thousands of Bruin fans.
Beyond Neuheisel, there’s still more to get excited about. Walker and Chow might form the best combination of coordinators this side of the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see Chow’s offense versus Walker’s defense in the spring game (at the Rose Bowl, another great change). Considering the talent available to play this spring, it’s apt to be a weak-wristed pillow fight of a scrimmage, but it’ll be interesting to see what Chow tries to do.
This spring is about hope.
After a long five years of muddling through the Terry Donahue-on-depressants that was the Dorrell era, we have an active coach who wants to be in the spotlight, wants his team to be in the spotlight and wants a team worthy of being in the spotlight.
It’s been a long time coming, but we may have found our answer for USC’s Pete Carroll.
So go to Spaulding Field. Watch some practice. Go to the spring game at the Rose Bowl and bask in Pasadena when it doesn’t feel like a furnace.
It’s five months till the start of football season, but, once again, there is reason for hope.
E-mail Woods at dwoods@media.ucla.edu if you think UCLA’s going to be on probation within two years.