Check out the latest batch of weekly answers…
1) Watching the Mountain West kick the Pac 10’s butt over the last few years, one phrase has become a pet peeve of mine, “Pac 10 level athlete” as well as the related “UCLA level athlete.” Give me a sports related pet peeve of yours or two. – Fan4Life
Hmm, a sports-related pet peeve or two? How about eight. Jay Cutler. Inflated expectations. Chris Berman. Announcers who scream at the end of meaningless games. Announcers who are too calm at the end of fantastic games. Jay Cutler. Smack talk. Trading three decent draft picks for a project quarterback who could end up being an H-back in three years. Jay Cutler. Private high schools being allowed to play public schools for state championships. Oh, and Jay Cutler.
2) Jon, what’s the latest with Julious Moore and Rykeem Yates? Is Yates planning to greyshirt? Is Moore working to resolve his admissions status? He is not listed a committing to another school yet, so am I wrong to assume he still has a foot in the door? – Reality Bytes
From what I’ve been told, I’d be surprised if either played for UCLA. With Koster on the roster and Brett Downey on scholarship, the Bruins have their allotment of 25 for this season. Unless he sits Yates sits out the whole year and comes in with the class of ’11, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Moore is considered a lost cause I think.
3) Jon, thanks for all the updates throughout spring ball – Will Neuheisel and Chow go exclusively with the Revolver package or will they still mix in the pro-style sets that Chow had traditionally employed? – sandiegobruinfan
They consistently say that the pro-style will remain the base formation, but I just don’t see how that’s possible. You can’t be half-pregnant. I’m not saying this is all-or-nothing, but I think one of the two will become the dominant formation, and if it remains the pro-style, I don’t know how the Revolver becomes any more than a situational gimmick.
4) Who was the most pleasant surprise during spring ball and who came up short of expectations? – sandiegobruinfan
The biggest surprises to me: Glenn Love, Patrick Larimore, Nate Chandler, Randall Carroll and, in some ways, Joseph Fauria. I had the biggest expectations out of that group for Fauria, and yet I was very impressed by how UCLA can use him and Harkey in the passing game. I wouldn’t say anyone came up short of expectations, but I expected better progress in the running game by the spring game. While I will say emphatically that the defense came to play – that’s the best I’ve seen them play in a long, long time – I thought I’d see more from the offense.
5) Is Howland considering holding onto a scholarship or 2 to save for the class of 2011 now that virtually that 2010 recruiting is all but done? In other words, what is the line between ensuring there is adequate depth for games and practices while ensuring you don’t give away a spot that could be filled by an immediate impact player coming out of the class of 2011 or 2012?
You just nailed it on the head. Matt Carlino will be the 10th scholarship player when he signs, and while that is not ideal, you must remember UCLA will have no seniors this year, so they don’t lose any scholarships next year. Well, barring defections to the NBA, and I’d be surprised if anyone besides Malcolm Lee is at that level. I think Carlino should be the last one this year, unless a miracle falls into their laps.