Nearly five months after proclaiming UCLA was ready to take the
“next step,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell took a personal
step in that direction by being named Pac-10 co-coach of the year
on Monday. The award was the first of its kind for Dorrell, and for
him, it was an accomplishment to be named alongside USC coach Pete
Carroll, who has his Trojans on a 33-game winning streak. “I
am very appreciative of my peers, and the recognintion they have
given me,” said Dorrell, who was voted upon by his fellow
Pac-10 coaches. “Even more, it’s an honor to be
alongside the coach across town, who has accomplished some very
special things with his program.” Dorrell is the first Bruin
coach to be named Pac-10 Coach of the Year since Bob Toledo and led
this year’s Bruins to 9-1 record after having a 12-13 record
overall in his first two seasons. For Dorrell, the award is very
rewarding considering the Bruins were ranked fifth in the
pre-season Pac-10 rankings and the Bruins finished undefeated at
home for the first time in nearly six years. “It’s a
great thing at this point, but we still have a lot more to
accomplish with this program.” Besides Dorrell, five other
Bruins were named to the Pac-10 first and second team, including
quarterback Drew Olson and running back Maurice Drew. Drew was
named to the All Pac-10 first team as a kick returner and second
team as a running back, while Olson was named to the second team as
quarterback. There was a little controversy as Olson was named to
the second team behind USC quarterback Matt Leinart, although Olson
had a better quarterback rating and more touchdown passes. “I
don’t think Drew is disappointed,” Dorrell said.
“You have to consider that he was on no one’s preseason
list at the beginning of this year, and for him to be named to the
second team is quite an accomplishment.” Tight end Marcedes
Lewis was the overwhelming pick as the first team tight end and
senior linebacker Spencer Havner was named to the second team
defense. Kicker Justin Medlock rounded out the selections by being
named to the second team on the special teams unit.
AWARD WINNERS: USC led all teams with eight
first team selections. Running back Reggie Bush was named the
Pac-10 offensive player of the year, the first non-quarterback to
be named back-to-back offensive player of the year since 1985. Just
a sign as to how dominant the Trojans have been this season is the
fact that all eleven members of their offense were either named to
the first or second team or given an honorable mention. At
Monday’s press conference, coach Dorrell was asked if he had
played against a team as dominant as the Trojans. “I played
against some pretty star-studded Nebraska teams from the
1980’s. But those guys were on steroids,” Dorrell said
jokingly. “But in terms of the best teams I’ve seen,
USC is right up there with them.”
RED COLORS: The UCLA scout team was dressed in
cardinal and gold for practice on Monday. The UCLA players walked
out to practice as the USC fight song was roaring and the scout
players had on the full USC garb of helmets and red jerseys.
“It’s kind of nice to have them out there,”
redshirt freshman Ben Olson said. “Those are the same colors
that we will be hitting on Saturday, so it just adds to the
rivalry.”
EXTRA POINTS: USC is favored by 20 points in
the early betting line that came out Monday. UCLA is still ranked
12th in the latest BCS rankings.