By now, UCLA football fans have had long enough to determine
what they like and don’t like about this team. They’ve
also had time to think about those things they just don’t
understand. And one of football’s many mysteries is the pooch
kick, that curious kickoff that has the kicker send the ball sky
high so that it doesn’t land in the hands of the
opponent’s primary kick returner. It’s something UCLA
fans have seen several times from sophomore kicker Justin Medlock,
and it brings to the forefront what may be Medlock’s only
weakness as a kicker ““ leg strength. “That’s the
one thing I need to work on in the offseason a lot,” Medlock
said. “Just improving my leg strength.” On field goals,
Medlock has been a perfect 9-for-9. He’s 6-for-6 from 40
yards and beyond, and he continues to impress in the placekicking
department. But if there’s one criticism of Medlock,
it’s that only 10 of his 40 kickoffs have been downed for
touchbacks. And apparently, that’s where the pooch kick comes
in. He said the decision about what kickoff to do comes from the
sideline, and though he would rather try to kick the ball as far as
he can, Medlock said he will simply continue to do what is asked of
him. What’s most important to the Bruins is that the special
teams unit hasn’t been burned for a touchdown on a kick
return yet, and Medlock will work hard to continue to improve.
“There are little things I have to work on, but for the most
part, I’m doing my job,” he said.
STILL GROWING: Last Saturday’s game
showed a lot about quarterback Drew Olson. But this week’s
game may show even more. Though Olson finished 30-for-44 for 325
yards in the loss to Arizona State, he threw four interceptions
that helped cost the Bruins the game. How he responded Saturday to
a couple of bad first-half throws showed coach Karl Dorrell
something about his quarterback. “There are a lot of
quarterbacks that when you have that type of start, you can’t
get them to finish,” Dorrell said. “You can’t get
them to do things right from that point on. He shows that type of
resolve as a player to just get refocused and do great
things.” “That is what I love about the kid.”
This week, Olson was aware of the mistakes he made. And
that’s the first step toward correcting them. “I
don’t know if I had too much confidence, trying to force it
into spots I shouldn’t have been throwing,” Olson said.
“On film, I knew they weren’t open, but I still tried
to make the play. That’s obviously not the right
answer.”
DONE FOR THE YEAR: Dorrell said after practice
Wednesday that freshman offensive lineman Chris Joseph will be out
for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
NOTES: Start time for the Nov. 6 home game
against Washington State will be at 12:30 p.m., but it will not be
televised. … Dorrell said that though fullback Michael Pitre will
start for the Bruins, backup Pat Norton will see time.