Junior wide receiver Taylor Embree, seen here in 2008 against Fresno State, is back to lead a corps of receivers that features a balance of veterans and newcomers.
Trailing by nine against Washington and mired in a five-game losing streak, the UCLA football team’s season was in doubt after starting quarterback Kevin Prince left the game with a concussion.
With close to 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter, backup Kevin Craft grossly overthrew then-senior Terrence Austin, who was wide open in the middle of the field. Austin extended and appeared to make the catch, but then the ball popped into the air. One somersault and rolling dive into the endzone later, Austin somehow came down with the ball in the end zone, pulling the Bruins within two in a game they would go on to win.
At that moment, it was hard to imagine how the Bruins would ever hope to replace Austin, now the No. 2 man in UCLA’s record books for all-purpose yards, and current wideout for the Washington Redskins.
UCLA wide receivers coach Reggie Moore thinks he has found the answer, and it doesn’t come in the form of one particular player.
“I’ve got a variety of different talents (in my receiving corps) so it makes the group exciting to coach because you have speed, you have size, you have crafty guys,” Moore said. “Overall, it’s a good group.”
Proven commodities Nelson Rosario and Taylor Embree are back for their junior seasons along with sophomore Randall Carroll and redshirt sophomore Jerry Johnson. Rosario led the team with 723 receiving yards a year ago while Embree led the team in receptions with 45. Coach Rick Neuheisel appears to have a lot of faith in the duo, referring to them as “seasoned vets.”
Throughout spring practice and fall camp, though, it’s been a pair of newcomers that have impressed fans and coaches alike.
Josh Smith, a redshirt junior transfer from Colorado, has wowed the small audiences at Spaulding Field with his blinding speed and precise route running. Smith, also a kick return specialist, insists that all of the receivers are well-rounded, but it’s clear that his athleticism shines when he’s running deep routes.
“We’ve all got our different weapons,” Smith said. “We all have one mindset: to become a real strong receiving corps and to make big plays whether (it be) possession or down the field.
“I just feel like I bring the vertical game, and I stretch it a lot.”
Another pleasant surprise of fall camp for the UCLA coaching staff has been redshirt freshman receiver Ricky Marvray.
Neuheisel has mentioned Marvray’s name on several occasions in post-practice interviews as a hustler and someone who keeps the energy up. He even went so far as to say that he thinks Marvray’s going to be “fabulous” after a practice in which Marvray laid out and made a circus catch while getting sandwiched by two defenders.
Embree spoke highly of his teammate’s willingness to learn from the more experienced receivers, like Embree himself.
“Ricky Marvray’s done a great job of asking questions and trying to learn,” Embree said. “He just wants to learn everything and that’s going to help him so much.”
Carroll, a track star who originally committed to USC before signing with the Bruins, has another year of experience under his belt and looks poised for a breakout year after catching only three balls last season. He gave fans something to be hopeful about when he snuck behind the defense in the team’s annual fall scrimmage to haul in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Richard Brehaut.
“I learned how to control my speed rather than just be crazy on the field and out of control everywhere,” Carroll said, referring to what he’s improved on since last fall.
His quarterback, Kevin Prince, offered his thoughts on Carroll’s maturation.
“A guy like that, that has so much potential in terms of his speed and athleticism, just has to make sure that he has the mental part of the game down, and I feel like that’s something that he struggled with last year that he’s stepping up this year,” Prince said.
“I feel like he knows what he’s doing and if we can get the ball in his hands, he can make plays in open space.”
No one receiver will be relied on to carry the offense, but with the loss of Austin and the implementation of the new pistol offense, it seems that everyone in UCLA’s receiving corps will have to step up.
“They’re still going to be called on to make some plays and make some big plays,” Neuheisel said. “One thing we’ve been devoid of in the first two years (that I’ve been coaching here) is enough big plays so hopefully we can figure out how to create more of that.”