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In his fourth season at the helm of the UCLA football program,
and in the year following his most successful season, Karl Dorrell
is still searching for the goal that has eluded him for his entire
coaching career: winning the Pac-10. Even last year, when his team
went 10-2, UCLA finished third in the Pac-10 behind USC and Oregon.
As the prospect for a conference championship becomes more
tantalizing, the hunger for it grows stronger.
But this might not be the year.
The Bruins lost their leading passer, their leading rusher and
their leading receiver from last year. Their defense, which was
last in the Pac-10 in scoring defense last year, has the potential
to be even worse this year despite the addition of new defensive
coordinator DeWayne Walker.
They also lost much of their linebacker talent from last year
with the departures of Spencer Havner, Justin London and Wesley
Walker.
But Dorrell is not focusing on that. His goals remain the
same.
“I expressed the optimism of the season last year and we
nearly accomplished what we were trying to do,” Dorrell said
at Pac-10 Media Day last Thursday. “This year is no different
““ we are very capable of taking a big step.”
The Bruins do have talent. They return most of their receivers
from last year, including redshirt senior Junior Taylor, who has
recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for most of last
year. They will also benefit from new recruit Terrence Austin,
whose speed is expected to be a key addition to the UCLA passing
game.
“He’s playing very well,” Taylor said.
“He looks really good out there.”
The Bruins also get some very highly rated defensive-line
recruits to shore up the unit that last year was extremely thin.
Darius Savage and Micah Kia should help to bolster a unit that
helped give up 232.8 yards on the ground per game last year, but
Dorrell advises not to expect too much too soon from young
linemen.
“That’s a tough position to come in and play,”
Dorrell said. “There’s so much to learn, it’s
tough to see any first-year linemen playing.”
The Bruins will also get defensive tackle Kevin Brown back, as
well as end Nikola Dragovic. Brown suffered an ankle injury before
the start of last season, and Dragovic tore his ACL against
Washington last year. Their return, along with the continued
maturation of sophomore Chase Moline and junior Brigham Harwell,
should go a long way toward improving the line.
LEWIS, PAGE SIGN: Former tight end Marcedes
Lewis has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lewis was the 28th
pick in the first round of this year’s draft. Last year,
Lewis was the recipient of the Mackey Award, given to the
nation’s top tight end.
Former safety Jarrad Page, who was drafted in the seventh round
of both the NFL draft and the MLB draft, has elected to go with
football and signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City
Chiefs.
NEW BLUE: The Bruins will be playing with
slightly different road jerseys next year.
“I wanted the same blue, to be consistent,” Dorrell
said. “So, we did this because we wanted to match the blue of
the home jerseys with the away jerseys.”
The home jerseys prior to the change were a darker blue than the
away jerseys.
PRACTICE AT IM FIELD: The Bruins will practice
for two weeks at the beginning of fall practice on the IM field.
Spaulding Field, the Bruins’ normal practice field, has been
completely redone. New field turf is being put in and it has also
been reseeded. Spaulding Field will not be ready until mid- to late
August.
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