Night Owl Special

WTF???? say it aint so..... can you give us some background into why?

Brian,

Do you see this as just year two growing pains or is it indicative of cracks in the hull?

I have to say that while I'm generally patient and open-minded when it comes to the fickleness of college sports, this football off-season has been difficult to understand.

Isn't he the kid with sexual assault charges against him?
Could this be the coaching staff pressuring him out if he's a trouble maker?

I completely understand and agree with the other transfers but this confuses me.

Intertesting. To me, this has to be a non-football realted decision because after spring practice, he was in prime position to be on the field in significant minitues this year. Also, his play this spring showed he is ready for such resonsibility.

Regarding EJ, there is that off the field incident and I think the coaching staff's support for him may be running short, leading for the young man to look elsewhere. If in fact he does leave, I wish him nothing but the best. If he stays, I hope he gets his act together, learns from his situation, and gets his life back on track.

Only 2 more cuts to go.

This is just another bump in what is proving to be a tumultuous off season for the Bruins. What is really disappointing is that UCLA could have really carried the momentum following signing day and continued to keep the news positive this off season, but ever since, it is pretty much been all bad.

On a side note, maybe the coaching staff knew something in advance, as evidenced by their recruitment of 6-7 DB's in last years class.

Good - UCLA does not need a person of questionable maturity with a propensity to strike women corrupting the status quo. I hope it is a university decision to run him off and have zero tolerance for knuckleheads like him. UCLA is privilege and not a place to get "his life back on track". Adios Chris Brown!

Cracks in the hull??? What?
He was #3 on the depth chart with some solid safeties coming in this year.

The only cracks are in EJ's hull and I really do hope things work out for him.

Brian I need some more positive news. Were all incoming students (bb and fb) in class today as expected? Thanks for the earlier update on Hasiak and Su'a-Filo.

It seems to me that there are too many guys on this team that believe things should be given to them instead of having to earn them. Third on the depth chart before my red-shirt freshman season so I am going to transfer!! How about working a little harder, staying out of trouble, and being a little patient. Maybe we are better without him.

My point was that in 20+ years of watching UCLA football, I don't ever remember an off-season with so many unexpected transfers. It makes me wonder if we're not seeing something brewing under the surface.

As for EJ Woods, let's just wish him the best in whatever he does, wherever he does it. None of us are fully apprised to his situation, so (for once) let's not crucify the kid based on conjecture.

"My point was that in 20+ years of watching UCLA football, I don't ever remember an off-season with so many unexpected transfers. It makes me wonder if we're not seeing something brewing under the surface."

How were the transfers unexpected? We over recruited and had to find - what, about 9 scholarships? The writing was on the wall Feb 4th, about 9 scholarship players were going to leave the program by medical retirement or transfer.

I will say that EJ was the most surprising.

Ben Howland did his house cleaning as soon as he got to campus by getting rid of players that did not fit...ie soft, low bb iq, & any kids that didn't want to work as hard as BH requires.

RN is simply doing the same thing. Last year RN couldn't make moves because he didn't have enough kids. This year he can get on with Darwinism.

He's #3 on the depth chart of a roster that still isn't that good. Let him go, and wish him the best. The coaching staff can use the space for better players. I expect at least another year of this.

I have absolutely no problem with this, I only wish he was publicly kicked off the team for his off the field issues (he has a history). The guy directs the wrong attention to UCLA.

This staff is trying to bring toughness back to the program, and shaking things up is necessary. Do you guys want competition on the team, or someone that always thinks of running away from it when things get tough? I want a crop of players that man up and get pissed off when they realize they are being passed up, and then give everything they've got to EARN some action. Enough with the Chicken Littles!

Sounds to me like this is a push out by the staff. Something they should have done with Jerramy Stevens up at UW. We don't need commentators talking about his case everytime he gets on the field. By him leaving, he doesn't get embarrassed that he was essentially cut.

I don't see how Trojans have a leg to stand on with regards to issues like these -- go hang with Wolf.

Anonymous - He has always been a horrible person. They day he put his hands around the neck of that girl at the party! Maybe that is acceptable behavior for you - but the rest of us on the blog never have condoned his actions.

I vaguely recall similar "housecleaning" when Toledo replaced Donahue and again when Dorrell replaced Toledo. In this day and age of 24 hour news/blogging/tweeting/etc these sorts of things get blown up way bigger than in the past.

While I'm sorry to see anyone leave UCLA, I have to trust the coaches to know what kind of player they want and, in this specific case, what kind of person they want on the team representing their school. I don't know the kid, so I can't comment on his character, but if the assault incident was indicative of other character issues then good riddance. If it was an isolated incident and he really is leaving for more playing time, then good riddance as the football roster should be filled with people who want to compete instead of having things handed to them. And if this is just about not being the right player for this particular coaching staff, then I say good luck in finding a staff and team that you fit better with.

PKB,
Right on the money there dude. The Chicken little mentality around here is killing me. Dorrell hed a major house cleaning and replaced the 4-5 star guys with 2-3 star guys. The kid has issues that we are all aware of. We have a strong crop of DB's on the team and this is not a big deal! Frankly, if he is getting a little encouragement out the door its fine with me because this was the first kid with legal issues that Neu has had to deal with so it sends a message to the rest of the team. Dont forget, he is one of Dorrell's recruits

Didn't realize I was going so far as being chicken little...

Cleaning house is understandable and expected, as is making space for scholarships. My point is that there *seems* to be something else going on here with a larger number of high-profile players leaving the team than I can ever remember in a single off-season, including those surrounding the regime-change years.

I'm not screaming about the sky falling, I'm just pointing out that even factoring in the expected, something isn't passing my eye test.

Now, is there actually something else going on? How would any of us fans know? That's why I asked Brian - probably the only person here qualified to intelligently answer that question.

Which one of our transfers are "high profile"? Rashaan, had his chance. Forcier, 4th on the depth chart. R. Carter, 4th or 5th on the depth chart with Dean. Woods redshirted, so we never even saw what he could do. the only "proven" one is D.Johnson. Am I missing any one. I'd be worried if these were all seasoned starters.

VB, really, Darwinism confused you...dumbest post ever honor goes to you.

pffff "Survival of the fittest"

The real sign to look at is the kids not getting in the most recent class.

I wounder what promises to these kids was not KEPT...you play the kids you have and move on.............

Being "high profile" your senior year of high school does not make you "high profile" after not cutting it after a couple years in college. Take a look where some of these kids are transferring to, Cal Poly SLO.... Furman......Colorado State....... Not exactly the juggernauts of College Football.
I would venture to say that in the past you were not privy to the information you have now at places like this blog so it seems as though the movement seems extreme. This issue happens at every single unniversity that goes through a coaching change. This scholarship count, player transfer topic is absolutly to be expected and I have not seen 1 name that would have a negative impact on the team from them leaving.

Does ANYONE here realize that this kid has a pending court date? Aparently, although he is innocent until proven guilty and it is a misdemeanor, there are witnesses who back up the victims story. So, Bulloch and Neu are supposed to make E.J. 1st on the depth chart and give him all the reps so they can suspend him for a couple games if he gets convicted? I guarentee you that Neu is not going to let the 1st player legal issue of his tenure go by with a slap on the wrist. We are talented at DB talent breeds competition. Wouldnt you all rather have a player on the team that would commit to busting his tail to move up the depth chart than one that wants to quit if he is posed with some adversity?

Perhaps these kids aren't game changers. Perhaps they wouldn't play one minute of playing time. I'm not saying otherwise. And absolutely, while I follow UCLA football pretty closely, I've never previously had the level of detailed information we get now from Brian and other modern news sources.

With that being said - there is a perception that these kids are "high profile," whether they have or have not worked out in CRN's program.

Again, while I completely understand the necessary attrition related with a coaching change, I don't EVER remember seeing anything like Forcier's press release and I don't EVER remember seeing so many "high profile" (even if we didn't think they turned out to be great) players take off in one off-season. Woods or Dean or any of these other guys could excel in a different program simply because these are players that have that potential. To me, that makes them "high profile."

OMG, I just figured it out, gubon13 is my ex-wife!

"Woods or Dean or any of these other guys could excel in a different program simply because these are players that have that potential"- Reeeeeeally?

Your perception must be reality

Indeed - now pay up the alimony. You're three months behind and the kids are hungry.

Let's be honest, nobody writes about the 4th string kicker nobody has heard of asking to transfer, but we're all talking about Dean, Forcier, Woods, etc. Doesn't that make them high-profile?

When USC is using this against us in recruiting circles saying that we can't keep our players happy, doesn't that make them high-profile?

Ask ESPN and Fox Sports if these guys are high-profile. If they weren't, they wouldn't be writing articles about them or doing radio interviews, but, oh, wait...

And as for potential - we'll have to wait and see what Dean does when he's not asked to block because his o-line is veteran. Or what Woods will do when he matures and finds a scheme that he fits well in. Most of these guys won't be close to NFL material, but it's not like UCLA is so overloaded with talent that these guys are bottom feeders...

Much to do about nothing.......as usual,
I guess SC's leading receiver fron 07 transferring
to Cincinatti means there is something going on there too........ good luck "getting it"
Enlightening the uninformed is impossible.....