There was a time when coach Jim Mora, Jeff Ulbrich, a McDonald and a Rice all donned the red and gold.
No, not that of the rivals across town, but up in the Bay Area.
When special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Ulbrich served as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, Mora was his defensive coordinator from 2000-2003. Now, Mora and Ulbrich are together again ““ but this time in Bruin blue and gold.
As for all-Pro safety Tim McDonald and wide receiver Jerry Rice, who many call the greatest player of all time, their sons, redshirt sophomore Tevin McDonald and redshirt junior Jerry Rice Jr., find themselves together as Bruins, playing the very same positions their fathers once did.
This weekend, the UCLA football team is heading up to the Bay where it’ll face Cal. Though they’ll be the away team, Berkeley is just a short distance from what these Bruins used to call their home field advantage.
“It’s always nice to get back there. That’s obviously where I played for ten years but it’s also where I grew up ““ a Bay Area kid,” Ulbrich said. “It’s always nice to go home and see family and just be in a familiar place.”
Jerry Rice Jr. mimics Ulbrich’s sentiment, stating he always looks forward to playing at Cal or Stanford, located in Palo Alto, because of hometown friends and fans nearby.
Mora spent six years in San Francisco from 1997-2003 as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator.
“I remember Tevin and JR Jr. when they were five-year-olds, and now I’m sitting here on stage with this good-looking young man who’s a heck of a football player,” Mora said at Pac-12 media day.
“I coached Tevin’s dad when I was a defensive coordinator at San Francisco and Tevin was always running around the locker room ““ a little gym rat getting in trouble and he’s growing into quite a football player.”
While Mora is able to recall memories of both Tevin McDonald and Jerry Rich Jr. the players have some trouble remembering the men who would later become their college coaches.
When asked how much he could reminisce about his experiences with Mora growing up, Jerry Rice Jr. said, “Not too much, I was too young to remember. But I do remember (Mora) … so it’s kind of funny now that years go by and I’ve grown a little older and he’s my coach.”
“I just remember seeing his face as a part of that 49ers players and staff.”
The Bruin receiver’s memory of Ulbrich proved a little bit less hazy of a picture.
“I actually remember (Ulbrich) playing linebacker but only glimpses,” Jerry Rice Jr. said.
“But I do remember him more than coach Mora, actually being out there playing.”
When the tables are turned and Ulbrich is asked as to what he remembers about Jerry Rice Jr., he says with a laugh, “I just remember he was a chunky little kid.”
Although Tevin McDonald and Jerry Rice Jr. grew up in the same vicinity and were playmates around the 49ers facilities, they were separated once their fathers’ playing days were over.
Tevin McDonald comes to UCLA by way of Fresno, Calif. and Jerry Rice Jr. by way of Atherton, Calif. But though they were rug rats at the same time, the two didn’t remember too much of their previous friendship.
“They said we knew each other and would see each other so we talked about it when we first got to UCLA … about how back in the day when we used to see each other, but we didn’t really remember anyways,” Jerry Rice Jr. said.
While there are past parallels between the 49ers and Bruins, their program trajectories seem intertwined.
“I’m so happy for them, for so long we didn’t win but we had guys that were putting the work in and willing to pay the price,” Ulbrich said. “(49ers quarterback) Alex (Smith), with all he’s been through as far as the media and losing, I’m just so happy for him and the other guys to finally have an opportunity to be successful there.”
The same can be said about UCLA. After struggling the past few seasons, both teams are looking to restore their respective glorified histories and achieving recent success with UCLA ranked No. 25 with a 4-1 record and San Francisco boasting a 3-1 record.
And when offering some advice this week to redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, Mora recalled the tactics of former 49er quarterback and Super Bowl Champion Steve Young, also known as a scrambler.
“Steve Young taught me this a long time ago when I was fortunate enough to work on the staff when he was quarterback in San Francisco,” Mora said.
But while Hundley takes notes from a 49er legend in young, Jerry Rice Jr. and Tevin McDonald can learn from one in their very own home.