Check out the latest batch of weekly answers…
1) Is crissman eligible for a medical redshirt 6th year,making him technically a freshman. What does he think about that possibility? – Anonymous
I don’t believe so. I think to obtain a sixth year, you need to have missed more than 1.5 years because of the same injury, but I could be wrong. Anyone who knows the hard-and-fast rule, respond here.
2) Hundley missed his visit to UW this weekend and has now announced that he will announce his decision on 9/6. Sadly (for me), it looks like he will announce to UCLA. If so, does UCLA stop its QB recruiting with Hundley and Rick’s kid? Or are they still looking at adding a B level guy like Gretzky? – UW Fan
Given the precarious scholarship number situation – maybe as low as 13, as many as 17 – I would be surprised if they added a “project” quarterback. If Hundley decides otherwise, I expect them to go after a Gretzky or Adam Pittser, guys who have talent, but for whatever reason, didn’t get the spotlight. I’d be surprised if they went after Hundley AND one of them.
3) I heard from a player that Todd Golper is out for the season with a lower back issue? Can you get confirmation on that? – Anonymous
Neuheisel told me a few days ago that it was six weeks. If the pain is that severe – and back pain can often be debilitating – then I wouldn’t be surprised if it was longer.
4) Jon, with a solid year under your belt covering UCLA, what has surprised you most about being UCLA’s beat reporter? How have things differed from your expectations? – brand0n
Hmm, good question. If I’m being honest, I would say the biggest surprise is the amount of information either coming or going every single day, and how quickly that info is demanded on the blog. I’ve been a “beat” writer before, but that was in college, and really, that amounts to covering games and a practice or two per week, and then trying to overwrite the heck out of a feature that six people will read, and then just hoping that a cute coed classmate picks up the paper the day your column mugshot is in it, but then realizing what that mugshot looked like, and knowing that even that wouldn’t help. Before covering UCLA, I was in Casper, Wyo., covering high school sports and RODEO, in Las Vegas, covering high school sports, minor league baseball, quirky sports and RODEO, and at the Daily News as a preps writer and local columnist. Getting the UCLA job, I was blown away by how much fans crave information, and how much information there is for them to crave. So probably that. Sorry for rambling.
5) There does not seem to be a lot of love from the media for the Bruins. They are predicted to finish 8th. What do you see that the outsiders (ESPN, Phil Steele etc)aren’t seeing? – legalseanThe first thing I’m seeing is that THE MEDIA – cue ominous music – is way too in love with quarterbacks. I think the Stanford and Washington hype is insane. Stanford lost TOBY GERHART. He was amazing. Honestly, one of the best football players I’ve ever seen, in the traditional sense. If he played three decades ago, he’d be a legend. Washington hasn’t done anything for almost a decade, and everyone thinks they’ll take this top-25 leap. The common thread? Star quarterbacks. Then, there’s the Pistol offense, which I think if executed correctly, can be a game-changer. I didn’t think UCLA was that far away in many games last year – then again, you could say that they won a couple they shouldn’t, too – and I think the coaching staff has put them in a position, schematically, to succeed. Now, given the injury and attrition situation, I think things could go completely the other way, too. Basically, no one knows.