Weekly Answers, Pt. 1
1) Jon do you think we will try to add a QB to this years recruits or just wait till next year?? - Rico Bruin
The Nottingham situation was such a public jilting that I think they essentially have to wait til next year. Next year, though, is a rather weak class at quarterback - as it stands, Scout only has eight four-star QBs for 2011 and zero five stars.
2) Does Honeycutt have more offense then we've seen? If so, what is it? Inside Game/Outside Shooting etc.? - Steve
Honeycutt thrived in high school by simply being longer, more athletic and, well, better, than his peers. I saw one of his games - 42 points, 25 boards - that left me absolutely breathless. Of course, he wasn't penetrating against a 6-10 center and a 6-8 power forward against a 6-6 small forward, though. He reminds me of a Shawn Marion type, a great all-around player who thrives in transition and with clean-up points.
3) Even with Jrue, I'm not sure this team would be near the top of the PAC-10. Seems like they're missing guys to score from the inside and Jrue wasn't that assertive a player on the offense end anyway. What do you think? - Steve
Jrue would have been a better defender and a much better creator than anything UCLA has. While he might not have been instant offense himself, the team would be better offensively. Still not at top-of-the-conference level, but better.
4) In Part 6 answers the first question seems to refer to Norm Chow leaving. Where is this coming from? I thought he announced he was back, excited and happy to be with UCLA. - East Bay Bruin
That was a bad attempt by me to be funny and snarky. Yes, Chow is at UCLA and happy to be there.
5) To your credit, you didn't report much on the Chow thing along the way. Why do you think it became such a story so quickly? Was SC feeding the media to soften the Kiffin news, or was this just Wolfie and the rest trying to make news where there was none? - Spedjones
Appreciate the compliment, but I was definitely part of the mass hysteria. It's very hard as a reporter to deem who is credible and who is just talking out of their...let's just say, it's difficult. The problem with blogs is often times people just want to hear the latest news and gossip, even if it's not 100 percent.
6) Do you have any reports on how Nik Abele and Greg Capella are progressing? Do you think they will contribute next year? - Spencer
Abele is farther along than Capella, but with UCLA losing a little offensive line depth, both could have a chance to contribute. Abele will certainly fight for a starting position, but UCLA might choose to go with the current unit, and just slide Baca to LT.
7) Do you think that the RB situation is an open competition? It seems to me that Jordon James and Malcolm Jones will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves in spring ball? What do you think? - Spencer
It is definitely an open competition, but don't write Johnathan Franklin off just yet. An offseason to get stronger - particularly in his core and his biceps - could mean a world of difference.
8) Do you think Neiheisel and Chow are going to give Brehaut a chance to compete for the QB job in spring ball? - Spencer
A chance? Yes. Do I think he'll get it? No.
9) Who do you think will be starting FB in spring ball? - Spencer
Derrick Coleman or Jayson Allmond.
10) How come we are having difficulty recruiting DTs? Throughout the year, we were not able to get Kiri Taula, Willie Mobley and George Uko. Considering our depth at the position, I thought we would have a few more committed at this point. - bruwin5931
With Brian Price leaving for the NFL, UCLA coaches were able to pitch major playing time to major recruits. If UCLA lands just one of the big guns they're hoping for, it's all worth it. And they had Mobley, he just couldn't make it academically.
In regard to question #10, we also had Taula until it was discovered that he couldn't make it academically.
Moreso than Pete Carroll or any other Pac-10 recruiter, the UCLA Admissions Department has been our biggest obstacle in getting recruits this past decade.
The enemy within...
James and Jones are enrolling early at UCLA?! I didn't know that...
From the outside, it like UCLA and Stanford are the only two major programs with any academic standards. What exactly is the UCLA admissions policy? I don't expect us to let in every kid with an agent, but I've never found a clear definition of our academic standards as compared to other schools.
for #7... are James and Jones planning on enrolling early so they can play in spring ball? is anyone enrolling early?
Scott Wolf never bought into it, it was the OTHER fat chick on ESPN, Shelly Smith (I hear they look alike if you throw a wig on him).
Here's the story he wrote:
http://www.dailynews.com/usc/ci_14197122
We'll never know if Chow would have gone if Kiffin hadn't been an idiot and asked nicely.
Isn't anybody else worried that Prince seems to get injured when he sneezes? I really think they should spend more time on developing Brehaut because Prince seems like a crap shoot.
In general, I think there are fewer college-level DTs to recruit. There just aren't that many guys that big.
Missing on Taula will not be an issue if we get Heimulu and Marsh, as I expect. Maybe we knew we had a strong shot at better DTs and decided not to try to get Taula in as a special admit.
Greg Biggins from ESPN wrote today that Marsh's HS coach expects him to end up at UCLA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=West_Recruiting
Getting Heimulu and Marsh is key to this class. Barr, Owa, Pullard, Jefferson, Riley, and Shirley would be icing on the cake. I hope Ricky lays it on THICK.
You never, ever NOT play your best option at quarterback in order to "Develop" someone else.
It's on that someone else (Brehaut, in UCLA's case) to get better and BECOME the best option. The only person holding Brehaut back is Brehaut.
The Anonymous idiot above who posted about special admits and UCLA's academic standards does not know what s/he is talking about!
It's not the percentage of special admits that matters anyway, but it's their actual qualifications.
In fact, Dohn had a breakdown of the average GPA and SAT for Pac-10 athletes and Stanford was #1 and UCLA was #2 with USC and the Arizona schools at the bottom.
So, yes, UCLA does apply higher standards, both within and without the special admissions categories.
AMEN PETERUCLA...................tell it like it is