Red-shirting freshmen
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said the staff would meet today to decide which freshmen would red-shirt, and which would play. That said, here is what I'm hearing:
Will play this season
DB Rahim Moore, DE Datone Jones, WR Nelson Rosario, WR Antwon Moutra, TE Cory Harkey and RB Aundre Dean
May play this season
LB Sean Westgate, DB Tony Dye, DB Aaron Hester, RB Johnathan Franklin and WR Jerry Johnson
Likely to red-shirt
OL, Connor Bradford, OL Jeff Baca, LB Donovan Carter, RB Derrick Coleman, QB Nick Crissman, DE Damien Holmes, LB Patrick Larimore, RB Milton Knox, P Jeff Locke, QB Kevin Prince and S E.J. Woods
(Keep in mind this could change due to injury or performance. Also, depth in the secondary could allow UCLA to red-shirt Dye and Hester.)
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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.
So, I guess if Crissman and Prince both redshirt that means the staff is comfortable (or you are predicting they are comfortable) with Craft, Forcier, and Rashan at the QB position. Seems dicey given our OL. Do we have any walk-ons (a la McLeod Bethel-Thompson) hanging around just in case or would we just bring Prince out of his red shirt year if disaster struck?
I was thinking the same thing.
And Milton Knox. Not that the team is that deep at running back, especially with Bell being a medical question mark; and I thought Knox was all-world in high school. Of course, that does not always translate to collegiate greatness which is perhaps what the coaches saw.
What about Embree?
Redshirts don't have to be decided until after the season, if QBs get injured you play the freshman, if the freshman they never play then they are redshirts.
I am interested to see Sean Westgate on the "may play" list. Has he outperformed Carter and Larimore?
I am with you Greg. Sean Westgate is a relentless pursuer. I have just seen high school tapes. He was at least 20lbs. lighter then.I am glad to hear he is bigger and doing well in practice.
In watching high school tapes - he always knows where the ball is, gets there (somehow) in an instant and has the ball carrier down in another instant. And then resets to do it again.
Here is a "three star" athlete who just has great instincts for the game. I really look forward to seeing him play.
Westgate is playing because he can deliver on Special teams. He's smaller than Carter and Larimore, but quicker and isnt afraid to lay his body out. He's a gamer.
I think Knox looked slow in HS. I dont know if he has that breakaway speed.
I'd like to see Prince play.
Prince did not play his senior year. We need someone with recent experience at the very least. Crissman will have to get it done