PASADENA ““ Order me a McTriple, side of Rice. Sound familiar? It shouldn’t.
Ravaged by injuries, suspensions and sprinkles of mediocrity, this UCLA program found new ingredients. For a night, at least, it was a winner.
The name of the night on the defensive side of the ball was Tevin McDonald, he of the three interceptions that became the “McTriple.”
Only a redshirt freshman, McDonald has been thrust into serious action now that starting safety Tony Dye is out for the season because of injury. Sophomore safety Dietrich Riley left the Cal game with an apparent neck injury. Suddenly McDonald ““ whose dad played in the NFL and whose brother plays at USC ““ is one of the most experienced healthy safeties. It’s time for young McDonald to become Old McDonald. Ee-yi-ee-yi-o.
He didn’t do it alone. The stifling Bruin defense that held Cal to 333 total yards and forced five turnovers was also energized by the activity of redshirt freshman linebacker Aramide Olaniyan ““ his teammates call him “AO” ““ who dropped Cal quarterback Zach Maynard on a crucial third-down play and was disruptive on multiple occasions. Ee-yi-ee-AO.
“Guys stepped up,” McDonald said. “Just to see guys get in position to make plays and do their thing was real exciting.”
The fresh faces weren’t limited to the defensive side of the ball. With guard Albert Cid suspended for the first half, redshirt freshman Wade Yandall got the starting nod. He was so effective, the UCLA coaching staff left him in after halftime.
“On the first snap, I had the butterflies going,” Yandall said. “When you get the butterflies, you start questioning yourself, but I knew I was in there for a reason.”
Jerry Rice Jr. only had two catches for 17 yards, but one of them was an impressive diving grab on a key third-down conversion. Can we call that play, a nice comeback route that hopefully made his father proud, the “Jerry Curl”?
Jerry Johnson also saw action at the depleted wide receiver position (no word on if Jerry Seinfeld or Jerry Lewis were next in line to suit up).
Rice Jr. and Johnson were forced into action after four UCLA receivers were suspended for their part in the brawl against Arizona. The personnel problem was compounded when Nelson Rosario struggled with cramps.
“Every time he burst, he’d go back down,” coach Rick Neuheisel said of his senior wideout. “Rice to the rescue.”
At the least, Rice’s presence seemed to give the Rose Bowl fans an emotional lift. “Je-rry, Je-rry,” they chanted. And what do you know, it was actually loud. The fresh faces weren’t limited to the field; they filled the student section almost to the brim. Two days before Halloween, it seemed many UCLA students chose to dress up as fans who attend football games. It was a welcome sight.
Turns out a blood transfusion was just what the doctor ordered for UCLA. Even as old regulars like Kevin Prince, Derrick Coleman and Jeff Locke produced their fair share of highlights, the real buzz on the night centered on the play of the McDonalds and the Rices, the Yandalls and the Olaniyans.
New seeds are finally, necessarily, being planted.
“We are not going to sit and act like what we’ve been doing is good enough,” Neuheisel said. “We have to churn the soil and find another way for things to grow.”
One of the primary criticisms of the current regime has been the inability to develop highly-touted young recruits. To see such players step up at a critical juncture in the year ““ with jobs and the season potentially on the line ““ had to have been encouraging for all parties.
On All Hallow’s Eve Eve Eve, was this merely some once-in-a-blue-moon masquerade? Guys will need to continue to step up in big spots if this program is going to have any hope of development going forward. The signs of progress were there for one night at least, and everyone hopes it was more treat than trick.
If you’re the next wide receiver on UCLA’s depth chart, email Eshoff at reshoff@media.ucla.edu.