Answers, Part III

How much of a project is J'Mison Morgan in your opinion?
Significant. I think people expected him to be Kevin Love, or close to that level, but the truth is he was never a polished scorer, and was a decent rebounder. His strength was that he could block shots, and was a big body. I think it will be at least three years before he begins to show how good he could be.

How does Jonathan Franklin aka jet ski look? Particularly does he have true home run speed, and does he have good hands? Was wondering if he could lineup as a speed WR next year.
He has good speed, but I'm told the coaching staff doesn't view him as the end-all, be-all when it comes to speed. But I don't see him lining up at receiver next season since he is a running back first, and a defensive back second. But I am not ruling it out.

What is the status of the "Silent Commit?" when do you think this person will take away the silence?
The one I believe you are talking about, which I referred to a few weeks ago, could come public the second week of January.

So with Holiday playing better and more confident, and the other freshman getting more time in these early non-conference games, do you think that the Bruins can live up to their own hype and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament?
My definition of a deep run is the Elite Eight, so yes, I think with the right matchups and development that could happen. However, it is such a long way from happening, and UCLA is such a long way from being a complete team, I find it foolish to talk about at this juncture.

Which players do you think will be asked to make a possible position switch before the next football season?
I don't know. Can I at least wait and see which players come back for the winter quarter? And by position switches, do you mean moving from left guard to right guard, or more like moving from offensive line to defensive line.

UCLA brought in a bunch of talented receivers last year, but only Embree and Rosario played. Which of the others do you think will make the biggest impact next year?
Antwan Moutra is my pick, but again, let's see how these kids develop in the offseason, and see who passes whom.

Any feel at this point on whether the late start for 2009 football recruits is still hurting us and if getting a great start for 2010 may pay dividends soon (like Feb/Mar) with key early verbal commits? U$C got several verbal commits in early 2008 for their 2009 class.
UCLA plans to kick their 2010 recruiting into high gear in January. I will be writing about UCLA's recruiting in a story next week.

Have you heard whether any NFL team is looking at DeWayne Walker as a defensive coordinator?
It's a little too early for that since the NFL season still has a few weeks remaining. That stuff usually start to sort itself out after the season concludes. I'm hearing Walker will have some NFL opportunities, but I'm not sure id they will be as a coordinator.

The SD Tribune down here referenced a "source" who mentioned Walker did not interview very well in the second go-round. Did you hear of any similar issue or commentary when Walker interviewed for the UCLA job last year?
My understanding is the AD from San Diego State called to apologize for that being reported, and said it was not true. I heard nothing of it in regards to UCLA, and when I read it in regards to San Diego State wondered how a guy could be brought in for a second interview if he did not interview well. If a guy interviews well in the first round, it stands to reason he will interview well in the second round.