When the UCLA football team broke fall camp and began the season, they envisioned redshirt senior Tom Blake holding down one of the defensive end positions for the whole season.
After Blake went down with an abdominal injury, redshirt sophomore Reggie Stokes was next in line.
Now, with Blake possibly lost for the season with a sports hernia surgery and Stokes sidelined with a torn meniscus until at least mid-November, the Bruins (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) must now turn to freshman Datone Jones to start Saturday against the California Golden Bears (4-2, 2-1) in Berkeley.
For Jones, to have success in his first start at a place where the Bruins have failed to win since 1998, the plan is simple.
“I have to go hard every play, and I’m happy I get to fill these shoes,” Jones said. “I just want to show the coaches what I can do.”
Jones has played in five of the Bruins’ seven games this season, recording three total tackles (two solo, one assisted).
Coach Rick Neuheisel said that after having played about 15 plays in the Bruins’ win against Stanford last week, he believes Jones is ready for an increase in his role.
“I think he’s grown a great deal in the brief time he’s been here,” Neuheisel said. “He’s certainly a gifted athlete and a guy that loves to play the game, so hopefully we can continue to increase his role and he’ll take to it.”
Jones will not be afforded much time to learn on the fly, because the Bears possess a potent running game and an experienced offensive line. Both Cal running backs ““ sophomore Jahvid Best and redshirt freshman Shane Vereen ““ have had productive seasons and will provide a threat to a Bruin defense that has been susceptible to the run in the past two games. In the game against Oregon, the Bruins allowed 323 yards on the ground. In the game against Stanford, the Bruins allowed Cardinal junior running back Toby Gerhart to rush for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
“You could just see that they have a lot of speed on their team,” junior cornerback Alterraun Verner said. “Very capable athletic guys on the outside and at the running back position, where when they get the ball in the open field, they make things happen.”
Neuheisel said that Cal’s offense presents “a tall order” and that a dominant running game has always been one of the hallmarks of coach Jeff Tedford’s offenses.
“When the Trojans were snuffing everybody out, Cal was still able to have a 100-yard back against them,” Neuheisel said. “That’s going to be a real challenge for us to be able to not let them just control the game with their running game.”
After Saturday’s win against Stanford, the Bruins evened their record in the Pac-10, and with every team in the conference with at least one loss, they think there is still a lot to play for this season.
“We make slight mention of it that we’re not out of anything yet,” Verner said. “We can still run the table, we can still get into a bowl game, we can still compete for this Pac-10 race, because anything can happen.
“We definitely have a lot to play for, even if our record says otherwise. We’re still going to go out there and compete.”
If the Bruins wish to turn their feelings into reality, the journey begins Saturday against one of their more historical rivals.
“It’s UC versus UC,” Jones said. “That’s all you have to say.”
With reports from Sam Allen, Bruin Sports senior staff.