Rick Neuheisel sits at his desk, laptop before him, remote in hand, paused game tape glaring out at him from the television placed at the far end of the desk. Across from him is Brett Hundley, the now-redshirt junior quarterback who was the then-high school senior that Neuheisel recruited to be a Bruin when he was the UCLA football coach once upon a time.
This isn’t a scene from one of those recruiting trips or from the one season Hundley and Neuheisel were together as quarterback and coach, but rather from Neuheisel’s new show, “Under Center with Rick Neuheisel.”
On the show, Neuheisel, who served as the UCLA football coach from 2007-2011,goes one-on-one with different Pac-12 quarterbacks, such as Hundley, whose episode airs Wednesday. The show aims to offer a glimpse into the lives of each player and the experiences of being the signal caller at the collegiate level.
“I want the people that watch the show to see how cerebral a position the quarterback position is as well as how much these guys have in common, with their ability to memorize and see what is happening on the field of play,” said Neuheisel of the show on which he serves as both a producer and host. “To me, it is an amazing thing, all that goes on – 22 players – in a vast arena of dirt and for these guys to remember pretty much what all of them are doing.”
His former signal caller echoed those sentiments this spring camp, stating that he spent more time in the film room and spoke with NFL quarterbacks to better understand the game and the demands that come with playing perhaps the game’s most prominent position.
“Now I can understand what defenses are doing and call plays to it,” said Hundley following UCLA’s spring game. “You’re always trying to be one step ahead of the game – a lot of it comes into just knowing what you’re doing and getting an understanding of it.”
However, if there is one spot more demanding on the football field than quarterback, it is that of the head coach, which Neuheisel learned firsthand after four years of coaching at his alma mater. He was fired from UCLA in November 2011.
Shortly afterward, Neuheisel traded in grass fields for television screens, joining Pac-12 Networks as a studio analyst in May 2012. Thus far, the pairing seems to have worked: He has met with early success, earning an Emmy nomination for his work as a studio analyst. Part of the reason for Neuheisel’s easy transition has been his ability to translate the skills he learned on the football field to the studio set.
“Getting to know Rick over the past year, I could see what probably made him a successful coach. Part of being a coach is of course the X’s and O’s and all that, but I think even more so Rick has a great way with people,” said Michael Tolajian, a senior coordinating producer for Pac-12 Networks who works on “Under Center with Rick Neuheisel.” “He’s able to connect with people, which probably made him a great recruiter at the same time – he just draws people in and makes you feel important.”
Still, Neuheisel isn’t ready just yet to rule out a return to the sideline, saying that he hasn’t lost sight of the possibility of getting back to coaching rather than just talking football, but he insisted he isn’t in a “panic” about being away from the game. Though he may never again officially coach a football team, he finds himself doing just that each time he turns on the television.
“I coach every game I watch,” Neuheisel said. “I’m sitting there, whether it’s the commentator and what he’s saying, I’m telling him what he should’ve said or I’m saying what the coach should or shouldn’t do, and congratulating them when they make a brilliant decision or saying, ‘Gosh darn it I wish they would’ve done this.’ It drives people crazy who are in the same room with me, but it’s my therapy.”
While the day may come when he is once again the head of a football team, Neuheisel seems content with where he is, eager to maximize his time as an analyst and explore the opportunities it presents.
Tolajian confirmed that there are already plans for another season of “Under Center with Rick Neuheisel,” while Neuheisel added that he would like to do an iteration of the show with former Pac-12 quarterbacks, such as Stanford alumnus John Elway, to explore the evolution of the position and has talked with Ann Meyers Drysdale about doing a show focusing on female athletes.
“I hope we can continue to produce more television shows. Think of all the different things you can talk about in terms of the world of athletics,” Neuheisel said. “I’m hopeful to continue to build on what we’ve started. (I’m) trying to climb the ranks of the new industry and see where I can take my career in this.”