TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; True freshman wide receiver Randall Carroll needed more than 140 characters to apologize for a recent tweet in which he used a derogatory term to criticize offensive coordinator Norm Chow.
Carroll responded to a high school recruit who had mentioned that the Bruins need to “pass the ball” by tweeting, “man oregon, stanford, and cal should have been easy wins, but s— thys n—- norm chow dnt be trustin us.”
Coach Rick Neuheisel was not initially aware that Carroll had used an offensive term but later deemed it unacceptable when it was brought to his attention.
“There was a derogatory term that unfortunately is used too often,” Neuheisel said. “It’s absolutely deplorable.”
Neuheisel said he would talk to Carroll on the team’s plane ride back to Los Angeles and added that he will use the incident to teach the younger players a valuable lesson.
Carroll, whose Twitter account “OCiAM” has since been deactivated, addressed the situation following Saturday’s 27-13 loss to Arizona.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect or anything,” he said. “I just thought (Chow) didn’t trust us at times. We’re young and frustrated. We’re losing.”
Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Bruins ranked No. 82 nationally in passing offense with an average of less than 194 yards per game. UCLA mustered only 146 through the air Saturday against an Arizona defense that was ranked 69th against the pass.
Carroll, considered one of the fastest players on the team, if not the conference, has mainly been utilized as a deep route receiver this season. He’s a former state track champion who won a pair of titles in each his last two years at Cathedral High before arriving at UCLA.
Carroll has two catches for 16 yards this season.
“I thought we were going to change it around quickly,” Carroll said. “But it’s going to take some time.”
The return of Ramirez
Redshirt junior Christian Ramirez had a bitter taste in his mouth after making his first career start on Saturday. Ramirez felt responsible for the Bruins’ fourth straight defeat.
“I was feeling good until the last play I had,” he said.
On his sixth and final carry, Ramirez ran seven yards on a counter play to the right side but fumbled the ball before he hit the ground. Arizona cornerback Devin Ross recovered at around midfield to put an end to UCLA’s hopes of tying the game on that particular drive.
“Putting the ball on the ground drains a lot of energy out of the team,” Ramirez said.
Arizona took advantage by driving the ball 51 yards for a touchdown.
“All it takes is one play, and, unfortunately, we didn’t have that,” Ramirez said.
Two more for Moore
Sophomore safety Rahim Moore has made a habit of intercepting opposing quarterbacks this season.
Saturday was no different, with Moore intercepting Arizona sophomore Nick Foles twice in the first half. Moore leads the nation with seven interceptions this season. He has three multi-interception performances.
“It’s all film study,” Moore said. “You feel like you know the (other) team in the back of your head.”
The seven interceptions tie Moore for No. 4 on the Bruins’ single-season list and are the most since Marvin Goodwin had the same amount in 1993.
“Rahim is a very instinctive player back there,” Neuheisel said. “He’s going to have his share of those.”
QUICK HITS: As anticipated, redshirt senior offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani got the starting nod at right guard in place of junior Eddie Williams, who is expected to miss at least another three weeks after suffering a left-ankle fracture early in the game against California … Redshirt junior place kicker Kai Forbath nailed a 52-yard field goal in the second quarter, his ninth career field goal of at least 50 yards. He leads the nation with 19 field goals made … Sophomore linebacker Sean Westgate made the start at middle linebacker and earned considerable playing time in place of redshirt senior Reggie Carter, who was nursing a left knee injury … Redshirt freshman Jeff Locke recorded an 81-yard punt in the second quarter ““ the longest since Chris Sailer’s 81-yarder 14 years ago.