Here is the ninth set:
Do you believe the coaching staff will bring in another outstanding recruiting class for 2010 or will it depend on the team making a bowl game? Any specific positions you believe the staff should concentrate their efforts on?
The staff should be focused on the defensive line, and it is, but it is always the hardest position to recruit. As for 2010, I’m sure it will be good, but my sense is UCLA must make a bowl game for it to be a stellar class.
What happens when an NFL team brings in a player and then waives him after a week or two? Do they get one years worth of the league minimum salary or are they just given $100 and a plane ticket home?
They do not get a year’s worth of salary. The contracts are contingency contracts, meaning a player gets paid the amount only if he makes the team. Otherwise, it is a few thousand dollars and a coach ticket home.
Kentucky apparently has no available scholarships, yet Calipari adds three star recruits, then essentially runs three other guys off. Even by college basketball recruiting standards, this seems extreme. Does this have impact beyond Kentucky? Thoughts?
Yeah, it means some mid-major programs will get some bounce backs from a high major program, and maybe make that mid-major league a little more competitive.
What impact will the current financial trouble with the state have on UCLA basketball or football program?
I think everyone is waiting to see that, but I am being told it will have minimal affect on the programs this coming season. However, in future seasons the impact could be great.
Where does Ryan Kasdorf stand with UCLA? Is he being seriously looked at, or are there more appealing QB prospects that Neuheisel and Chow like better? Does he have what it takes to be a good/competitive UCLA QB?
I know UCLA continues to look at him and they are interested in him, but he is not at the top of the list. He can work his way up there if he performs well in camps, but it is going to take some time.
Given/If there are some flaws with the new Pauley design/proposal, do you think it will be a significant improvement over the current Pauley, and a home arena others will talk about, positively? Like Staples and Galen???
How can there not be a flaw or two? Everyone building has a few. But, in the end, I don’t think Pauley is a basketball arena, it is an all-purpose facility, and that is why UCLA is limited in what it can do in the renovation process. I think the renovated Pauley will be nice, but I don’t think it can be a truly great arena because it is so much more than a basketball building.
What is the purpose of pre-season honors for football players (Kai Forbath, Brian Price, etc.) Does this impact their potential for awards or honors in the post season?
The purpose is to create publicity for programs, for magazines or web sites or anything else. It does give committees a head start on which players to watch for the upcoming season, but mostly the honors are for publicity.