Cory Harkey had just finished putting on his black warm-ups and was preparing to leave the Bruin locker room at the Rose Bowl when he heard a voice calling his name.
It was his coach, Rick Neuheisel.
Neuheisel initially summoned his freshman tight end because the coach wanted to talk to Harkey’s father. But after that was settled, Neuheisel embraced Harkey in a moment that exemplified how proud he was of his player.
After all, it was Harkey who made the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the game, giving the Bruins an exhilarating 23-20 victory over Stanford.
And it was Harkey who, after such a rough start to his college career, finally had the chance to realize his potential on the field.
After suffering a high-ankle sprain early in the season, Harkey had worked diligently to get back on the field, but to little success.
Until Saturday, and that 7-yard touchdown reception that turned him into an instant hero.
“I’ve just been busting my butt off to get my ankle better, just been grinding through, just hoping for the best,” Harkey said. “It’s just crazy how all of it fell into place like that. I tried to stay positive, just stay “˜relentlessly positive’ like coach always says, and it’s just crazy.”
Harkey’s catch ““ his only of the game ““ was only part of the breakout day for the Bruin freshman receivers.
There was Taylor Embree, who caught four balls for 72 yards, including a 43-yard reception in the third quarter which led to a Bruin field goal.
There was Nelson Rosario, who caught four balls for 71 yards, including two circus-like catches on third-and-long situations which extended crucial drives.
Like Harkey, Rosario battled injuries in the early part of the season that have hindered his progression. But a performance such as the one he had Saturday is a great boost of confidence for what lies ahead.
“The (knee) injury slowed me down a little bit, but I’m back,” Rosario said. “For me to come back and make some big plays help us win the game. It means a lot to me.”
As a result of those catches on third down ““ going across the middle of the field, leaping high above the defender and coming down with the ball ““ he already has made at least one fan: offensive coordinator Norm Chow.
“How about those?,” Chow said. “Those were terrific. He needs to step up for us. He’s a very talented young man. He keeps saying he’s a freshman, (but) he really needs to start playing and he showed that today.”
As the season progresses and the freshmen receive more opportunities, their comfortableness with the offense will grow. According to Embree, that time may already be here.
“You don’t have to think twice about anything; it’s all become second nature,” Embree said. “And that’s important for us in the second half of the season. We’re going to play some great teams; we can’t be out there thinking, we just got to go out there and play.
“I think all the freshmen are just really understanding the offense inside and out and understand what we’re trying to accomplish, not just what we do on the play but what everyone else does.”
Junior wide receiver Terrence Austin likes what he has seen out of the young wide receivers so far this season and sees this season as an excellent opportunity to develop their skills.
“I told them when I was a freshman, I didn’t play as much,” Austin said. “These guys have a real good opportunity to get some balls their freshman year.”
While the freshmen have shown moments of promise, Austin said that there are areas in which each can improve. For example, Austin said he would like to see Rosario be more aggressive and to use his playmaking abilities.
But overall, Austin loves having all of them on this team.
“I’m just happy that we got them,” Austin said.