Last Thursday after football practice, Derrick Coleman and Rahim Moore ate dinner together in their dorm’s dining hall.
They had a lot to discuss.
Coleman and Moore are two of a group of true freshmen on the UCLA football team whom coaches have handed significant responsibility. Moore starts at free safety, so he is the last line of the Bruins’ defense. In the past two games, Coleman has carried the ball more than any other Bruin tailback.
And with those roles come pressure and scrutiny, especially when something goes wrong. Moore felt it when he whiffed on a tackle against Arizona wide receiver Mike Thomas, and Thomas sprinted for a 52-yard gain. A week later it was Coleman who fumbled in a crucial moment of the Bruins’ loss to Fresno State.
“I have to always know that if anybody gets past me it’s probably a touchdown, so yeah, it’s a lot of pressure,” Moore said. “But I like it. It keeps me on my toes and it keeps me working hard, because I know that a lot of guys are counting on me. It’s pressure, but it’s good pressure.”
Three freshmen started for UCLA on Saturday against Fresno State ““ wide receiver Taylor Embree, left tackle Jeff Baca and Moore. Seven other true freshmen played ““ safety Tony Dye, linebacker Sean Westgate, defensive end Datone Jones, tight end Cory Harkey, wide receivers Antwon Moutra and Nelson Rosario, and Coleman. Freshman tailback Aundre Dean played in the game against Brigham Young.
A combination of poor depth and injuries has forced UCLA coaches to play so many freshmen.
“You look at the top five programs in the country today, I would wager to say that you would probably be hard-pressed to say they’re going to have 11 freshmen playing on those teams, or at least in the roles that our 11 freshmen are playing,” coach Rick Neuheisel said. “But I’m very proud of all of them in terms of what they’ve contributed to the program in such a short period of time.”
Neuheisel was also quick to defend Coleman in particular, whose fumble against Fresno State came at an important juncture in the UCLA-Fresno State game, when the Bruins trailed by five points with just 8 minutes, 55 seconds remaining. Neuheisel praised Coleman’s stellar play prior to the fumble ““ he has gained 110 yards on 17 carries in two games ““ and his resiliency following an injury to his MCL earlier in the year.
Prior to this month, Coleman never received near as much attention. Recruiting services rated him below Milton Knox and Dean, two other UCLA freshman tailbacks. But Coleman is a workhorse player who can play both running back and fullback. His greatest assets are his size and strength ““ he stands 6 feet tall and weighs 225 pounds. He played in his first college game Sept. 20 against Arizona, one day after his 18th birthday.
Coleman said he expected to redshirt this season, until injuries to starter Kahlil Bell, backup Raymond Carter and Dean.
“There is more pressure for me, as a freshman,” Coleman said. “But that’s not what I’m worried about. I came here to play football. I do what I do.”
Freshmen typically use their first year to adjust to the speed of college football and build muscle. It is uncommon for a freshman to start at many positions on the offensive line, or at quarterback or running back.
Neuheisel has said that he wants to be especially careful when deciding which freshmen to play because he does not want to waste a redshirt season.
And this freshman class will definitely have a huge impact on the UCLA football program soon. In addition to the 10 players who played Saturday, there are two highly rated quarterbacks ““ Nick Crissman and Kevin Prince ““ running backs Johnathan Franklin, Knox and Dean, wide receiver Jerry Johnson, and a host of corners and safeties including Aaron Hester and E.J. Woods.
“All the freshmen, we’re all cool,” Moore said. “We all came in here for a reason, and we all have love for one another. Everybody has a good heart. Even those who (will) redshirt, they’re helping us on the sideline and encouraging us.
“We’re all tight. We’re all like brothers.”
It is hard for a freshman to get everything right. In training camp, defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker spoke about limiting “high school” mistakes like missed assignments and confusion on play calls. He said that inexperience is never an acceptable excuse, even for a player who has just started to grasp the pace of Division I college football.
But there’s a sense of confidence, too, that this group is learning and that the playing time they’ve received so early in their college careers will pay dividends.
“I think they’re all giving us everything they can give us,” Neuheisel said. “We are going to reap the benefits of this in the future, hopefully in the very near future.”