Dean and red-shirting
I talked to UCLA running back Aundre Dean, one of the standouts of the incoming freshman class, about being frustrated early in training camp at a lack carries. He said at one point he thought the unthinkable would happen -- that he could red-shirt rather than play this season.
"It got a little cloudy,'' Dean said. "I was like, 'Man, really, I am going to red-shirt?' It was starting to turn for a little bit. I got on the phone and talked to my dad, and he said just play ball."
Dean said he started asking questions about his assignments, rather than his stature in the backfield, and his carries in practice increased. And last week UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said Dean was the only one of the four incoming freshman running backs who would be available for the season-opener against Tennessee.
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
It's sounding more and more that if things don't go AD's way in a hurry, he's going to seriously entertain the idea of transferring to a school where he'll start immediately. Thank you for posting these informative pieces Brian, but they make me uncomfortable.
Many young players go through the same thing Dean is going through. He just might transfer some day but he has to make the most of every opportunity that he gets. He did have the fumbles during practice so he needs to concentrate on having good practices and knowing his assignments. Not many true FR RB's start. Some do but many don't!
Dude needs to stop worrying about playing time. He will have his day if he is just patient. We have a senior in Kahlil Bell and another hot prospect in Raymond Carter. He needs to know where he stands.
I'm not worried. If he does transfer, we have plenty of depth at the RB position.
We don't need people like him on the team anyway! What a terrible attitude. I hope he really does transfer!
i really have absolutely no idea where this transfer talk came from. i don't see why it isn't possible that the negative in this story could just be that he was doubting his abilities, and not anything to do with transferring. either way, the important thing is that he got his focus back.
that said, i sincerely hope that this anonymous was being sarcastic. if he/she wasn't, then i sincerely hope this person does not procreate.
The players I love. The fans...not so much.
Why are people overreacting to a kid having struggles as a freshman!! Think back, remember how it took some time to adjust to everything. I met this kid at the scrimmage and he a very polite, respectful young man.
I also observed him encouraging the o-line on the sidelines. Mr. Dean will have a long and successful career at UCLA.
Dean is fine. The anonymous posters are just suc posers trying to stir stuff up.
So the 4 frosh suiting up for the Tenn. game are Dean, Knox, Franklin and Coleman, right?
Mario DiLeo,
Knox, Franklin, and Coleman are redshirting. Coleman is not clear to practice following his arthroscopic surgery.
Sounds like he's learning, which is what we should hope for all of our freshmen. It doesn't sound like he has a bad attitude to me. It just sounds like he's being honest.
Strange how people can get a different perception of the same story...
I thought it was great that he had the common sense to first seek the advice of his father, second to ask questions of his coaches, and third to actually follow that advice. I think too many "star" players would have thought themselves above asking others for guidance. And nowhere in the story did he talk about transferring, so I don't know where that came from...
Franklin was the best looking freshman back I seen this summer,not Dean