Two days after saying he would move fast to fill his latest
vacancy, coach Karl Dorrell held true to his word by hiring John
Wristen to overtake the special teams and tight ends position on
Wednesday. Wristen was hired to replace Brian Schneider, who left
the Bruins’ coaching staff on Monday for personal reasons and
was the Bruins’ special teams coach last season. Wristen
comes from the University of Colorado, where he coached the last
seven seasons. For the past five years, Wristen was responsible for
coaching the tight ends, and several parts of the Buffaloes’
special teams unit. “John has a great track record with tight
ends and special teams,” Dorrell said. Wristen, in fact,
became a member of the Buffaloes’ coaching staff in 1999, the
year after Dorrell left the Buffaloes for the NFL’s Denver
Broncos. Both coaches, however, worked with a similar offense while
at Colorado, the famed West Coast offense. “He has great
experience with our offense,” Dorrell said. During his time
at Colorado, Wristen coached numerous players to All-American
honors. In 2005, placekicker Mason Crosby was named an
All-American, and tight end Joe Klopfenstein earned All-Big 12
acclaim. Additionally, in 2001, tight end Daniel Graham won the
Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end under
Wristen’s guidance. Wristen was also the Buffaloes’
recruiting coordinator the last two seasons.
DORRELL HONORED: Dorrell is scheduled to be honored by the UCLA
Black Alumni Association this Sunday night at its annual awards
benefit. Dorrell, currently one of five black head coaches in NCAA
Division I football, will also receive the Florence Joyner Griffith
Spirit of Victory Award. The other honorees on Sunday will be Los
Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (Ralph J. Bunche Trailblazer
Award), Judge Joe Brown (Tom Bradley Alumnus of the Year Award),
Carolyn Webb de Macias (Arthur Ashe Community Service Award) and
Charles Z. Wilson (Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award). The
black tie optional awards benefit will be held at City Club on
Bunker Hill in Los Angeles. This season, Dorrell led the UCLA
program to only their seventh ever 10-win season. He was named 2005
Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year by his peers, and was also a finalist
for several National Coach of the Year awards, including the FWAA
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The Bruins’ finish at
No. 16 in the season-ending AP Poll was their highest finish since
1993.