With August fast approaching, college football fever is beginning to set in.
You can see it in the newsstands, with preseason preview magazines popping up like wildflowers. In local parks, groups of friends are already tossing around the pigskin. On campus, players stroll quickly between classes and the weight room, itching for the practice field.
For UCLA fans and players alike, Sept. 1 ““ opening night at the Rose Bowl ““ is a near-holy date. There’s nothing like a prime-time game with the Volunteers from Knoxville to get the good old campus spirit bubbling in the souls of students. And this time, as fall approaches, the feeling of anticipation is markedly different from the past five years.
Last December, a monumental change was made. Athletic Director Dan Guerrero pulled off perhaps his most daring move yet. Out with the old guard, which under Karl Dorrell had struggled to capture the imagination and live up to the expectations of fans and media. In with the new, a resurrected alumni coach with proven success, albeit a questionable past in the eyes of the NCAA. Following a period of Bruin football that grew muddled in inconsistency and stagnancy, fresh faces, minds and methods were called upon to restructure a proud program.
Many are anxious to observe for themselves what kind of alterations have been tailored to the UCLA style, with the expectation (no doubt attributed to the arrival of offensive mastermind Norm Chow) being a wide array of razzle-dazzle plays with beneficial effects where the scoreboard is concerned. No doubt many also believe that teamed with defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, a rising star in the coordinating ranks, that this year’s edition of UCLA football will make immediate strides and begin to slowly bridge the chasm that separates Westwood from Pete Carroll.
Hold up. Time for a little dish of perspective.
In 2008, UCLA will assuredly make some serious improvements, but many of these may not play out onto the field.
Coach Rick Neuheisel’s hiring, along with that of Chow’s, and Walker’s retention, cements the blocks of a potentially potent Bruin team, but that will take a year, if not two or three, to take serious effect. UCLA enters the season short of its tabbed starting quarterback, the hard-luck Patrick Cowan, whose season ended with an injury before it could even begin. Backup Ben Olson, once hailed as a possible savior to the program, will need to return from yet another injury and improve both his passing game and his pocket mobility to give his team a consistent chance to win.
The defensive secondary lost top-flight players and is thus filled with inexperience, and the offensive line is seemingly more permeable than a slice of Swiss cheese.
In short, there are some serious questions to be asked about the level at which this team will be able to compete as the leaves turn gold and begin to fall. Improvements will be made by the new coaching staff, which will hope to instill a winning culture in the players donning one of the prettiest uniforms in sports. In the years to come, baffling losses to lesser teams, and collapses that became mainstays of the Dorrell era will vanish.
Until then, fans may continue to expect the best, as has become common for all of UCLA athletics. It may be wise, however, to temper expectations as the 2008 UCLA Bruins experience growth and change. There will be excitement, intrigue, and a fresh quality not seen in these parts for a considerable while, along with the struggles that come with any changes at the leadership level.
Despite all this, for many of the Bruin faithful, September can’t come fast enough.
E-mail Salter at ksalter@media.ucla.edu.