A month of riding the bench has passed, and Kevin Prince has returned as UCLA’s starting quarterback. This time, everyone’s going to pay a little more attention to his health, including the redshirt junior himself.
“I’m not going to try to take on big hits and get hurt,” Prince said. “I’m definitely going to try to get out of bounds, slide, do whatever I need to do. But I don’t want that to change the way I play.”
Prince has taken a bevy of damaging hits in each of his three years at UCLA, every time trying to keep a play alive by running the ball.
As the linchpin of an offense that requires a mobile quarterback, Prince is constantly in danger of adding another entry to his long injury history. It’s up to him to keep the risk of that low.
“When he runs the ball he has to make smart decisions, like any quarterback,” offensive coordinator Mike Johnson said. “If you’re a quarterback, you have to learn to get down and get out and not take the big hits when you can avoid them.”
If Prince can’t avoid them, talented but untested freshman Brett Hundley would be given the reigns to the offense.
“We definitely want KP to be smart out there,” redshirt senior wide receiver Josh Smith said. “He knows he has a freshman as his backup and he considers that. At the end of the day, we want KP to not be afraid and be himself.”
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has steadfastly maintained that Prince is an ideal fit in the pistol offense because of his strengths as a runner.
Those often show during some of the pistol’s read-option plays, which require the quarterback to make a split-second decision on running the ball.
Keeping their valuable asset healthy is of top importance, but the Bruins aren’t ready to shy away from certain play-calls to make sure Prince is still under center.
“I’m not going to play it differently,” Prince said. “I’m not going to shy away from pulling the ball or running it. But I’m definitely going to try to protect myself.”
Injury Notes
After a week of recuperation, UCLA’s injury list is a little shorter.
Sophomore offensive guard Chris Ward, who missed the last game with a shoulder injury, is no longer listed as injured. Neuheisel said he hadn’t yet tabbed a starter at guard between Ward and redshirt sophomore Albert Cid.
Also expected to play is starting junior cornerback Sheldon Price, who has missed two straight games.
Not expected to play is redshirt freshman kicker Kip Smith. Despite being listed as questionable, Smith did not practice this week and will likely miss his fifth straight game.
Senior free safety Tony Dye (neck) and redshirt sophomore free safety Alex Mascarenas (concussion) have been ruled out to face the Wildcats.
“Our team’s getting healthier,” Neuheisel said.
“We’re still nursing some guys back to health, but no complaints. We’ll take what we’ve got and see if it’s good enough.”