How does Forcier look? I know he is probably not getting a lot of reps, and I assume he will red shirt.
Forcier looks like any first-year quarterback in this complicated system – lost. By the time he figures out he should throw the ball, the receiver is no longer open, the play is whistled dead because of a sack or something else goes wrong. If he doesn’t red-shirt this season, it will mean three other quarterbacks got hurt.

Brian, what is the likelihood that ossar rasshan will earn a starting position this year at wr? Also, is Norvell planning on using 4 and 5 WR formations to get some of the younger guys on the field to make plays? (Guys like austin, johnson, and ossar).
I don’t think Rasshan will start, but that doesn’t matter with the receivers. UCLA will rotate receivers in, and use 6 or 7 in games. He will be one of those guys used. And there will be some four receiver sets.

Is UCLA going to offer C. Noble if he can get his academics in shape? I'm assuming thats why they haven't offered yet?? f not, what are they waiting for?
There are some things Noble needs to do before UCLA offers.

With a good percentage of the recruits that UCLA has landed in the past and going to land in the next year having offers from USC, do you see the talent gap narrowing? Does next years class contain that "game breaker" that the Bruins have lacked? And finally do you see UCLA at least starting to be recognized as a nationally since their talent seems to be on the rise?
Wow, that’s a lot of questions. First, the gap with USC is narrowing, but not nearly at the pace needed to even things out in the next year or two.
Second, UCLA thinks the game breaker is there, but who really knows until these kids get on campus and play. I think Raymond Carter could be a game-breaker, but he gets hurt the first week of practice and now it is a question of whether his knee will be right again.
Third, even if UCLA wins big this season, I believe it will struggle in 2008 because of the number of starters lost after this season, and the amount of inexperienced depth that will be playing in 2008.

Given what you have seen of the Bruins so far, and what you know about the rest of the conference, what would you consider a successful 2007 season for the Bruins? How many wins, what place in the conference standings and what level of bowl appearance? Also, do you have any idea regarding what the coaching staff expects?
If UCLA doesn’t win at least nine games (barring significant injuries), I would consider it to be a disappointing season. I think UCLA should challenge for a BCS bid, but because the Pac-10 bowl lineup is so bad, I could see UCLA winning nine or 10 games and going to the Sun Bowl in El Paso. I think the coaching staff believes UCLA should, at worst, finish in the top three in the league, but they’ll never say that publicly.

why is Ben Olson so hesitant and indecisive with the ball? he didn't move the O very well at all in the scrimmage. does he just not have 'it', that quality it takes to play QB @ a school like UCLA?
You can’t judge the offense off the scrimmage. As was the plan, there was no imagination with the offense. No play-action, no counter plays, no role outs, ect. …It would also help if the receivers got open more. Olson looks much better this training camp than he did last training camp. I don’t think it will be time to judge Olson until three or four games into the season.

I know Willie Mobley was in town this weekend , did he get the offer , he was looking for ?
As far as I know, he did not. There are several things, including grades, that is keeping UCLA from offering him.

I was at scrimmage today and the offense did not look all that inspired. But Rasshan and Johnson looked like potential future break-our players ... do you agree with that, and if so do you think that can happen this year? Whats the word on the field?
This is my fifth year covering UCLA, and every year this is what the scrimmage looks like. It is not designed for flash or big plays. I think Rasshan could be a break-out receiver in the future, but Johnson needs to toughen up. I think Rasshan could be a big-time receiver as soon as next season, and I’m not sure Johnson will ever be.

Lots of fumbles on snaps, hurries, sacks, batted passes at the scrimmage. Was the OL that bad or was the defense that good? On running plays, the offense looked better ... on our great rush defense ... was that good OL play or bad defensive play?
I thought the offensive line blocked OK in the run game, but had difficulty picking up the stunts and blitzes of the defenses. I still don’t know how good the offense can be because it struggles against a defense that I think will be one of the best in the Pac-10. Even when I talk to the coaches, they have a hard time quantifying it.