Weekly Q&A

Jon, I haven't seen a comment from you regarding Darius Bell coming to UCLA. Has he changed his mind?

I saw Sheller was not in your projected 2 deep. Was that an oversight, or has something changed since spring? Palcic seemed to think he might start, so I assume he'd at least be in the 2 deep.

In assessing the football programs in LA, you have made it clear that currently, UCLA has a ways to go to catch USC. Judging by the head-to-head matchups of the two in the 90s, would you say that USC, at that time, had a ways to go to catch UCLA? Tryin' to understand your window of measurement to judge a program.

What incoming freshmen do u see redshirting this upcoming football season? also do usee any progressions in the UCLA offense, and will the defense be more dominant this year than last?

Can you explain how you choose which questions to answer? I posted two questions last week and have not yet seen your response. Is it more likely that they are still in the queue or you for whatever reason, choose not to answer?

Randall Carroll: future star, average college WR, or straight up scrub with a fast 100 Meter time? If you were worked in Vegas, what would you put for the over/under on 2010 receptions for Carroll?

Any update on how Josh Smith (the basketball player) is doing in off-season workouts?

I am also confused how you say UCLA has a ways to go to catch USC when it seems the only thing we are lacking is offensive linemen. Do you have any sports background as an "ATHLETE" on any level or are you a journalist who took up sportswriting ??? I beleive we have the athletes to compete and i also beleive our coaches are now better and Kiffin has a long way to go on a coaches level !!!!!

Jon,will you be sitting down with Junior Pomee anytime soon?

Jon, who do you think are our top priority recruits this year?

In your opinion what freshman will have the most impact this year?

Have you seen Stover play at all? Any chance that he spends time as the starting center this year?

do you think we still have a shot at J. Grimble (current suc commit)?

Would you still bet your car on Brett Hundley coming to UCLA?

I see Hundley has narrowed his choices to UCLA and UW. Who get's him? If it's UCLA, do you see him jumping Brehaut after redshirting?

*From last week...

Jon- It's been hard not to notice the lack of overall size of the recent OL commits. While all have got good or more than desirable height, their respective bulk seem to be lacking. Are you aware of any shift in coaching/recruiting philosophies? Does the recent change to the "Revolver" offense necessitate looking perhaps into quicker, more agile OL? Or, forgive me, are we simply stacking recruits at this time for numbers? Thoughts?...

*Another from last week...

Under Karl Dorrell, UCLA was able to open up recruiting access to the South, particularly from the state of Louisiana. His staff brought in notable players such as S Chris Horton, RB Chris Markey, and current DL Reginald Stokes. I've got to admit, I liked that we were becoming more marketable to a previously untapped area by UCLA. I began to look at those states' HS players more and, well, dreamt. Who was responsible for that region? More recently, we BRUIN fans can take note that again our coaching staff is more active there, with lots of notable talent on our radar and with, it seems, mutual interest. Who is responsible for the South today?

Will the future scheduled games be affected by the conferences switches? Such as the Nebraska series?

Would beating USC help in the Coaches Poll or are their games ignored?

With the Richardsons and Shirley out of the program (at least this year), this means we have 3 more scholarships to offer to the incoming class, correct? If so, where do you see Neuheisel deploying them? In short, what is our wish list for the 2011 class?

Ley, I believe that believe is spelled B-E-L-I-E-V-E.

Your spelling is as warped as your belief that JCLA is close to competing with USC.

Any chance Brehaut redshirts this upcoming year? I'm sure the coaching staff would like to do it, but I would think Prince's health is the main variable. Your thoughts?

Does that fact that UCLA being a state institution enable the video from backpack theft by the UCLA Football players to become public? If so, how could one watch it?

Shirley seems to be pissed like he wasn't part of it. It would be interesting to see it for our own eyes.

What do you make of North Carolina and Florida suddenly coming under investigation by the NCAA? Does this have anything to do with USC in a political sense (i.e. are they getting pressure to crack down on a few more high profile programs)? Will anything come of it?

What recruits are UCLA and USC fighting over the most.

What are you hearing about the basketball team? Does Josh Smith really weigh 350 pounds as some rumors have him listed?

Realistically, is it possible to have the kind of dominant success of a Pete Caroll or an Urban Meyer in today's college landscape while running a completely clean program (that includes being willingly ignorant on aspects of the team)?

How are the Bruins doing with their recruiting for the 2011 class?

If all BCS programs break some rules and are at least a little corrupt (and some majorly), where do you place Rick Neuheisel (currently speaking i.e. not taking into consideration his past) on the spectrum based on what you've seen and know? Lets say on scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being NCAA model citizen and 10 being Nick Nolte in Blue Chips. What about Howland?

Will we see an on campus football stadium in the next twenty-five years?

I note that most if not all of the ucla posters on SC Wolf's blog state commentary that is rude, crude, exaggerated, boring and repetitive. Whereas, the SC comments on your blog are comparatively benign. If you agree or disagree, why do you believe this is the case?

Jon, if had a son, and he was a four or five star QB recruit, would you want him to go to UCLA?

Can we get some info on Darius Bell? Whats the difference (or how is he better) than Kevin Craft? D. Bell is listed as a 2-star and Craft was (considered) a 5-star.

Has the coaching staff made a firm and substantial decision to run and recruit for a spread option based offensive scheme, shifting away from the classic drop-back/west-coast pro-style offense (a la Coach Homer Smith, Bob Toledo, and Karl Dorrell)?

Do you think Damien Holmes will develop into a dominant defensive end or will he get passed over for Owa, Datone Jones, and Keenan Graham?

Jon, excuse this Q about Southern Cal, but something weird is going on and i wonder if you notice it, or is it just me? i understand the shock Southern Cal is going through, but i can't understand how it is ex Coach Carroll continues to "play dumb" about the multiple infractions. it was just "all this STUFF happened!" and "compliance took care of that, what? was there a problem?" it seems ludicrous such a detail oriented, intelligent man could sudenly turn into Jethro Bodine when he is questioned about all this. tell me you have not been taken in!!

Well said ghost. My black Russians and I are indeed marinating on that!

How are former Bruins Chris Forcier, Dominique Johnson, EJ Woods, and Aundre Dean doing at their new schools?

Seems like the offensive line is the weakest link/unit that could improve the most. However, with Xavier Su'a-Filo on his mission, why is this line going to be any better than last year?

Didn't see this one answered earlier - apologies if you addressed it...

When a player like Brian Price leaves early but is still on campus taking classes, is he allowed to be part of recruiting (hosting players, etc.) or once he declares (which presumably is the time he can start receiving "extra benefits") does that have to stop? Same Q for players after they have finished their senior seasons - once they sign with an agent are they still allowed to be part of team/recruiting functions?

Mr. Gold, your USC cohort (Mr. Wolf) would enjoy the opportunity to cover EPL soccer games, if given a preference what sport (aside from UCLA sports) and/or league would you like cover if given the option (e.g. Denver Broncos, rugby)? Thank you in advance.

WoRd in Moreno Valley is Pomee is in Florida as we speak and it doesn't look good for the Bruins!Jon can you confirm this?

Jon, you previously mentioned there are more silent verbals out there. Would you describe those silents as recruits fans would be excited to hear about, or more under the radar recruits?

Jon, what is your non-biased opinion of coach Calipari as a recruiter and coach? If you were an A.D. at a basketball powerhouse and you could choose any current NCAA coach who would be your top 5 candidates and why? My top 5 would be coach k,Izzo,Pitino,Williams,Calipari in that order. Thanks.

How do you think Pat Haden will do at USC?

By way of framing my question... My son is a naval officer currently attending Nuclear Power School - an intense year long school of which half is classroom and the other practical experience. This is a rigorous school with no room for failure. Yet they have a 90% graduation rate. So the question is this: am I to infer from the defense of Brehaut and others about the difficulty in learning the UCLA playbook that the playbook is harder than Navy Nuke School and if so, what does that tell you about the playbook?

who wins in a sumo wrestling match- You or Sam Strong?

From what you've seen and heard, who starts at PG next year, Laz Jones or Jerime Anderson?

If Jake Locker is a Heisman finalist and/or top 10 draft pick, is Hundley going to Washington?

SIMPLE QUESTION JON - The lead story on the blog is now 4 weeks old. Will you ever write a new one so we don't have to look at it anymore?

I am confused by Casey Griffiths... I was under the impression JC transfers have to receive their AA degree in order to join a D-1 program... how can he join UCLA a year early?

I have heard from more than one player that they do not trust CRN because he says one thing to one player and another to another. At least two of the players have said he talks a big game when he recruits you and when you get there for more than a year ,any bond that used to exist is completely gone. Have you been able to get this sense from the players or are they too cautious to speak about it for fear of retaliation?

What's the starting lineup look like right now on both sides of the ball?