January 2011 Archives

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You know who you are, and you know what I mean.

Thanks.

From UCLA:

CAMP HILL, Pa. - UCLA Running Back Derrick Coleman has been named one of five finalists for the 2011 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award. The honor is presented annually to recognize a leader in the world of college football who has realized their potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community. More than 30 million Americans are affected by rare diseases.

The 3rd annual award winner will be determined by an online vote beginning Tuesday, February 1st. The Champion will be announced at a public awards ceremony at the end of the month with details to be released at a later date. Previous winners include American Football Coaches Association Executive Director, Grant Teaff (2009); and Dickinson College Quarterback, Ian Mitchell (2010).

Derrick Coleman's mom was concerned when his speech wasn't progressing as a small child. It was determined that Derrick was almost completely deaf. A missing gene was to blame and as a result, Derrick was fitted for hearing aids. His lack of hearing hasn't hindered Coleman in the least little bit. He was UCLA's second leading rusher this past season. Coleman knows he can be a role model and ever since his sophomore year of high school, he's spoken to groups about the challenges he's faced. "My message is 'there's no excuse as to why they can't succeed,'" Coleman says. "If I can do it, they too can do it."

The other 2011 finalists: North Carolina State Offensive Coordinator, Dana Bible; Minnesota Head Coach Jerry Kill; Princeton Running Back, Jordan Culbreath; and Wisconsin Quarterback Scott Tolzien. To read each finalist's personal story and cast your vote for this year's Champion, log onto: www.upliftingathletes.org/vote.

About Uplifting Athletes: Uplifting Athletes is a full service national nonprofit organization aligning college football with rare diseases and raising them as a national priority through research, outreach, education and advocacy. What makes Uplifting Athletes unique is that our university chapters are run by current football student-athletes, providing them with an opportunity to gain management and leadership skills while learning how to leverage their assets and abilities to make a positive and lasting impact. Each chapter adopts one out of approximately 7,000 rare diseases (such as ALS, Aplastic Anemia, CMT, cystic fibrosis, Ehlers-Danlos, Ewing's Sarcoma, Kidney Cancer, Leukemia, MS, Neimann Pick Type-C, Neuroblastoma, pancreatic cancer, etc.). ###

I wasn't able to reach Will Oliver, the 6-foot-8 OL from NorCal who intends to sign with UCLA on Wednesday, but I chatted with his coach Jeff Haagenson a few minutes ago:

Gold: When did UCLA get involved on Will?
Haagenson: "The first time I heard was when Coach Angus McClure called Monday or Tuesday of last week, wanted to stop by. Some guys are stopping by for next year, or trying to get a guy late, so we expect this, but he said he was coming by to take a look at Oliver. Now, Will was committed to Sac State, but I'm sure anybody would take a look at UCLA."

Gold: Did he have any more interest from other colleges? His name doesn't seem to be out there much?
Haagenson: "Will was really committed to Sac State, really committed. They were the first school on him junior year. Fresno State came through, Reno came through, but he didn't even listen to offers. I got a call Thursday night from Angus, and Coach Neuheisel and wanted to meet with Will.
Coach Neuheisel is just brimming with personality, just takes over the room, and he was really good with Will. And Will really liked them back. Will wouldn't take a trip to Reno or Fresno State, but he took a visit last weekend to UCLA, said he had a great time, loved UCLA and told the Sac State coaches that he was changing."

Gold: When did he get an offer?
Haagenson: "Sunday morning at breakfast."

Gold: What can you tell me about Will?
Haagenson: "Will is kind of a late-bloomer. He was 6-4 as a freshman, so it wasn't like he grew a foot, but he was a little overweight at that time, and not just soft physically, but mentally. He was always bigger, he was never bullied, he never had to be a tough guy. Came into high school a little soft, played football and wrestled, got into much better condition. The only problem was, wrestling took him away from the weight room. But he's been getting much better.
I don't know if his heart was into football until after his junior year. He didn't start, we were a really good line, three returning all-league guys. He sat for a year, didn't get a lot of looks, but he had a great senior year, started a little slow but by the end, he was killing guys. This scholarship is probably based on the last three games of his career. We played Deer Valley, Pittsburg and De La Salle, and he was just crushing those guys. And those are solid defensive linemen. Once Fresno State was interested, Reno was in and word kind of spreads."

Gold: What should UCLA fans expect from him?
Haagenson: "Will is just a charming kid. Looks you in the eye, he smiles. I'm sure hes a breath of fresh air for recruiters. His upside is huge. He's really starting to love football, and he is going to be something."

A friend who works for a newspaper up north is telling me that Will Oliver, a 6-foot-8 OL from Heritage High in Brentwood (Northern California), has decided to switch his commitment from Sacramento State to UCLA and will sign an LOI on Wednesday.

There is not much information about Oliver, but I found a few videos: Check out one here

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Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

Today is my birthday, I'm taking the day off. See you tomorrow.

Today is my birthday, I'm taking the day off. See you tomorrow.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland called it a great win, and his players followed suit, everything hunky-dory in the Bruins' locker room.

This, after UCLA needed overtime to defeat a downtrodden Arizona State squad, just 1-8 in Pac-10 play, after holding a 15-point lead.

Great sure means something different for these Bruins.

UCLA eked out the 73-72 overtime win on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena, moving to 6-3 in Pac-10 games, despite letting the Sun Devils catch fire in the second half.

"Absolutely it's a great win," Howland said. "Absolutely. 100 percent. Every win is great. Every win is hard-fought. Every win you get in the Pac-10 is a great win, trust me."

The Bruins took a 32-19 lead into halftime against Arizona State, putting their best defensive performance of the season forward.

Or is it the Sun Devil offense?

ASU is shooting 6-of-30 - 20 percent - and its 19 points are a season-low for a half. UCLA, meanwhile, is 12-of-24 and has outrebounded the Sun Devils, 24-14.

So why only a 13-point lead? UCLA had 11 turnovers in the first nine minutes by my count, though the official score has 10 for the half.

The Bruins went small to start the game, starting with a three-guard lineup for the first time this year.

Zeek Jones leads UCLA with 11 points, Reeves Nelson has eight and five rebounds, and three Bruins have four points. Trent Lockett has seven points and Rihards Kuksiks five for ASU, and three have two points.

A UCLA official has informed us that UCLA sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt has flu-like symptoms, but will attempt to play today against Arizona State. Honeycutt has had trouble keeping food down all morning and is moving kind of gently in pre-game.

Join the chat inside...

The Bruins once again lost out on a top target, as chose USC over UCLA and Arizona State earlier today.

#3 LB Tony Steward
Odds: The latest news is that the Bruins are very much in the mix for Steward, though I still believe it's a FSU/Clemson battle. Stranger things have happened, though.

#24 DT Kevin McReynolds
Odds: McReynolds still has UCLA in his top four, but its a bit too earlier to tell which way he's going.

#44 WR Devin Lucien
Odds: Lucien's offer came a bit later than expected, but the Bruins are definitely in the mix for the Crespi star, if not the favorites.

I've been told by people close to Blair Holliday that he intends to stick with Duke, meanwhile, but the Bruins are expecting a visit from long-time USC commit Jalen Grimble this weekend.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward and former UCLA star Kevin Love has had a sensational season, but now the T-Wolves are making one final push to get him into the All-Star Game.

One absolutely hilarious push.

Introducing: NUMB#RS, a cologne by men, for men.

Love this

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TUCSON-
Ben Howland raced out onto the McKale Center court less than a minute into the second half, wearing a look of pure, unadulterated disgust.

He didn't walk onto the court, he stomped onto it, equal parts frustrated and angry, and with good reason.

A five-point Arizona half-time lead turned into 10 in the first 40 seconds of the second half, and UCLA was on the ropes.

The Bruins swayed a bit, mustered a couple punches in return, but ultimately could not recover in an 85-74 loss that snaps a four-game winning streak.

"We were down five at the half, and then they score five unanswered to go up, and it was (Derrick Williams) both times," Howland said. "Maybe I should've started Anthony Stover in the second half."

UCLA dropped a crucial Pac-10 game to the Wildcats, falling behind by as much as 18 - its largest deficit of the season - before eventually losing 85-74.

The Bruins defense was just awful at times against Arizona, which has won five-of-six. The offense might have been worse.

Aside from Reeves Nelson's 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting, the Bruins made just 14-of-46 shots, including just 2-of-15 3-pointers.

Arizona, meanwhile, got 22 points from Derrick Williams, 17 from Lamont Jones and 14 from Kyle Fogg, who got into the lane with ease.

I'll post my gamer later tonight.

Something tells me UCLA v. Arizona used to be a lot prettier.

The Bruins and Wildcats combined for 21 first-half turnovers in the first half as the Wildcats took a 38-33 lead into the locker room.

The lead would've been bigger if not for Reeves Nelson.

The lead would've been smaller, if not for Derrick Williams.

Nelson had 17 points and five rebounds in the first half and Williams had 12 to pace the Wildcats, but Arizona got nine points from guard Lamont Jones while Nelson got little help from his teammates.

Lazeric Jones and Tyler Honeycutt combined for just two first-half points, though Honeycutt had a game-high seven rebounds and Jones a game-high five assists.
.

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McLEAN, Va. - UCLA has been ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Preseason Poll, as announced on Thursday afternoon. Earlier that morning, the Bruins were listed No. 2 in Baseball America's preseason top-25 poll.

UCLA was the runner-up to national champion South Carolina at last season's College World Series. The Bruins went 51-17 overall, posting their highest single-season win total in school history.

The coaches' poll features TCU, Florida, Vanderbilt and Clemson rounding out its top five selections, respectively. No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 TCU each collected nine first-place votes, while No. 3 Florida secured seven votes, No. 8 South Carolina tallied five and No. 4 Vanderbilt earned one. The remaining top 10 spots include, in order, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Cal State Fullerton and Oregon. UCLA defeated Florida once and TCU twice at the 2010 College World Series to advance to the best-of-three championship round.

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From UCLA:

DURHAM, N.C. - UCLA has been selected No. 2 in Baseball America's preseason top-25 poll, the national publication announced on Thursday. The Bruins finished the 2010 season as the runner-up to national champion South Carolina at the College World Series.

Florida has been ranked No. 1 in Baseball America's preseason poll. Texas Christian, Vanderbilt and Florida are tabbed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Texas, South Carolina, Cal State Fullerton, Connecticut and Clemson round out the preseason top 10 selections, in order.
 
UCLA defeated Florida once and Texas Christian twice at the 2010 College World Series to advance to the best-of-three championship round.

No. 4 CB Stephan McClure just announced that he will be attending and playing for Cal next season, a big recruiting blow in what has become an off-season of big recruiting blows for UCLA.

McClure was long rumored to be a UCLA lock, and only in the last week has the buzz around the Bears picked up. Earlier this week, recruiting experts gradually saw the shift in tide, changing even a 60/40 UCLA lead to 50/50, and ultimately, many ended up predicting Cal.

While UCLA appears pretty set at the cornerback season for the next couple years, McClure is a special talent, and there is little doubt that new Cal coach Ashley Ambrose played a major factor in his decision.

At this point, most of UCLA's top-10 targets are either off the board or looking elsewhere, though the bright spot has been the reemergence of the Bruins as a player for long-time USC lock Jalen Grimble. Grimble will visit this weekend.

After watching SDSU get handled by the BYU Jimmers, I had to jump on the blog to give UCLA guard Malcolm Lee some more credit.

A few weeks back, I tore Lee to shreds because of his lack of scoring earlier this year, going as far as saying I thought Lee should lighten up a bit on defense.

Boy was I wrong.

I just saw Jimmer Fredette absolutely shred the Aztecs for 43 points on 14-of-24 shooting, 5-of-8 on threes and 10-of-11 free throws. This was his third 40-point game in his last four.

In UCLA's 86-79 win over the Jimmers - the Jimmers lone loss of the season - Lee held Fredette to 25 points and seven turnovers, including 17 points in the last 35 minutes (thanks to ultra-twitterer TheMightyBruins for that stat).

Lee has kept it up, shutting down Washington State's Jared Cunningham, Cal's Allen Crabbe and Stanford's Jeremy Green in recent games.

He deserved better from me, and I was wrong.

UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith practiced in full today and has been medically cleared to play tomorrow against Arizona.
That's the good news...

The bad news?
Sophomore power forward Reeves Nelson was again limited in practice today and is will be a game-time decision against the Wildcats.

From UCLA:

PAC-10 BASKETBALL HALL OF HONOR TO INDUCT 2010-11 CLASS

Six Players from the 90's Head the List of 10 Former Student-Athletes

The Pac-10 Conference will honor 10 former student-athletes with their induction into the Pac-10 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2011 Pacific Life Pac-10 Men's Basketball Tournament.

Those individuals to be inducted include: Michael Dickerson (Arizona), Isaac Austin (Arizona State), Bob McKeen (California), Charlie Warren (Oregon), Charlie White (Oregon State), Brevin Knight (Stanford) Don MacLean (UCLA), Harold Miner (USC), Todd MacCulloch (Washington) and Ray Sundquist (Washington State). The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 12 during the Pac-10 Hall of Honor breakfast.

From UCLA:

UCLA offensive tackle Sean Sheller has been granted an additional season of competition by the NCAA.

Sheller, who started 11 games at offensive left tackle in 2010, missed the entire 2006 season due to a knee injury and the 2008 season due to knee and ankle injuries.

The Bruins now have two returning starters from this season's offensive line (tackles Sheller and Mike Harris) plus two returning starters from the 2009 season - center Kai Maiava, who missed 2010 due to injury, and guard Jeff Baca, who missed the year due to eligibility issues.

Offensive tackle Sean Sheller has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, a huge break for the Bruins.

Sheller's return gives UCLA crucial depth on the offensive line, which loses Ryan Taylor, Micah Kia and Eddie Williams.

The depth chart could end up looking something like this:

LT: Sean Sheller / Brett Downey
LG: Jeff Baca / Stan Hasiak
C: Kai Maiava / Greg Capella
RG: Chris Ward / Wade Yandall
RT: Mike Harris / Brett Downey

The top reserves should be Hasiak, Yandall and Capella, though I know coaches have been pleased by Downey.

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UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith and Reeves Nelson are listed as day-to-day and will be game-time decisions for UCLA's matchup at Arizona on Thursday.

Smith had what school officials called a "head injury" after hitting his head on the floor against Cal in the first half last Thursday, while Nelson suffered a sprained left ankle against Stanford on Saturday.

Both returned to practice in a "limited" capacity, UCLA said in a release, with Smith involved in contact drills and Nelson held from them.

Howland said Smith would come off the bench on Thursday if he can play, with Anthony Stover continuing to start.

Much was has been written about Joshua Smiths' play in Oregon and Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt's last weekend, but UCLA junior point guard Lazeric Jones is going a bit under the radar.

Jones leads the conference in free-throw shooting at 84.1 percent, and he's slowly becoming the clutch finisher that Darren Collison was for UCLA during its big run, when he was one of the top free-throw shooters in the country.

I chatted extensively with Jones about his success at the line this season - particularly striking compared to the rest of his team, which is shooting 63 percent on free throws - and he has a great anecdote about one of his big games last season in junior college (and I'll have the video up later today) and how it prepared him for this year.

Jones came up big against Cal and Stanford, hitting 20-of-23 free throws on his way to a combined 41-point effort in the two wins. He still needs to improve on his passing and decision-making - he has no more than three assists in any of the last six games, after his 11-assist outburst against Washington State.

But it's clear to see that a major reason for the Bruins' 13-6 record has been Jones in the clutch.

This is a couple days late, but here's Jill Painter's feature on Malcolm Lee: Check it out

Jill gets some great stuff from Malcolm on his relationship with his older sister, who coaches at West Point. Definitely worth a read.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland said during his press conference today that freshman center Joshua Smith would hopefully be able to practice today. He's had "test upon test," but he passed everything yesterday.

Reeves Nelson hadn't seen the trainer as of noon, after spraining an ankle against Stanford. He's been walking around in a boot, but we'll find out if he practiced later today.

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Earlier this morning, Scout.com's Tracy Pierson reported that sources close to recruits have been told that Randy Shannon has been hired as UCLA's defensive coordinator.

Shannon, the former Miami head coach, interviewed for the position on Sunday, and at that point, I was told UCLA had more interviews planned for the following week.

I'm getting conflicting answers from sources; assorted players and parents have said they've heard the same, but a source very close to the program says that it's premature and that there are still more interviews to come.

I've tried to reach UCLA officials, but no luck yet this morning.

Will be updating as information comes in.

Steven Manfro
verbally committed to UCLA today on his official visit, pledging his commitment to Rick Neuheisel on the spot.

"It was this morning when we were eating breakfast," Manfro said by phone today. "He took me outside and he was just saying that he was really impressed with me, that I could help the program and he was offering me a full athletic scholarship."

It did not take long for the long-time UCLA fan to commit, as he told Neuheisel soon after that he would accept the offer.

Manfro's recruitment has been relatively light, but his production at Valencia certainly was not.

Manfro had 75 touchdowns the last two years for Valencia as a dual-threat running back.
In fact, it was Manfro's receiving abilities out of the backfield that he thinks led to his offer.
"I got a call a few months ago from Coach Neuheisel saying that they were interested," Manfro said. "He loved that i had the catching ability and the running ability, being a dual-threat helped. Whenever we talked he said I was a taller Danny Woodhead."

Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

Rick Neuheisel pointed to chemistry issues and a lack of success as the catalysts in the decision to replace Norm Chow as offensive coordinator at UCLA.

Then he pointed to the man sitting to his left, Chow's replacement Mike Johnson, lightly tapped him on the arm, and assured reporters that the new man in charge of the offense would ignite a unit that has fallen to tremendous depths.

Neuheisel formally announced the hire of Johnson as UCLA's new offensive coordinator on Saturday morning; by Saturday night, Utah formally announced the hire of Chow as its new offensive coordinator, bringing to a close a three-year stint that started with ample promise and ended in disarray.

"I think dysfunction may be too strong of a word, but when it's not functioning at the highest level it leaks down into the program," Neuheisel said to reporters during halftime of the Bruins' men's basketball game against Stanford. "It isn't anybody's fault, but it is correctable and it has to be corrected and that responsibility falls on me."

And so, it seems, will a large portion of the UCLA offense in 2011.

Neuheisel said that he will play a substantial role in the play-calling going forward - though he said that it would be a collaborative effort - and would coach the Bruin quarterbacks, while Johnson would serve as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Johnson was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers last season and previously coached with the San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons, where he helped groom Michael Vick early in his career.

Johnson was officially hired on Thursday and has been acting in the capacity of a coach since then, including on the recruiting trail, where the Bruins have been struggling in recent weeks. Neuheisel said Johnson's recruiting abilities as an assistant coach at Oregon State piqued his interest when he was head coach at Washington in the early 2000s, and that he tried to acquire Johnson's services then.

"Down the road at Washington, I became very aware that there was somebody kicking our tail in LA in the recruiting department, and it was Mike at Oregon State," Neuheisel said. "In that game where Oregon State played Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, I think 16 of 22 starters for the Beavers that day were Mike Johnson recruits. I tried to steal him away from Oregon State at that time."

Johnson said he was excited to embark on the recruiting trail before reuniting with the offensive staff to determine how to resolve an offense that has been inconsistent at best, sometimes downright awful, during Chow's tenure. Neuheisel and Johnson both said they needed to discuss the viability of the Pistol offense, which debuted to disastrous results in 2010 as the Bruins finished 104th nationally in scoring offense, after finishing 109th and 94th in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

"Now that I'm here, I'm excited; next week and a half I'm going to go out and beat the streets of Los Angeles and see if we can get a couple guys in our boat," Johnson said. "Once that process is over, we're going to sit down and get started on the offense, and develop an offense that can be effective, be diverse, be multiple, both running and passing, and make sure we can marry the two in detail."

As late as Saturday morning, Neuheisel and UCLA officials were mum on Chow's destination, even after a report in the Salt Lake Tribune during the week that said Chow had reached an agreement to return to his alma mater.

Chow agreed to a buyout of a roughly $1 million two-year contract extension that was agreed upon during the summer but delayed until December, though details were not made available.

"We reached a mutual agreement on terms of separation," a UCLA spokesman said. "The agreement allowed for a smooth transition, was satisfactory for both parties and was amicable."

The agreement ended a long standoff that drew the ire of UCLA fans and the national media, a process that began with speculation of Chow's departure as early as November, when Neuheisel would not commit to his return.

Now Neuheisel turns his attention to the Bruins' two remaining coaching vacancies, the defensive coordinator spot left open when Neuheisel fired Chuck Bullough - along with wide receivers coach Reggie Moore - on Dec. 18, and the newly opened additional offensive spot, created by the loss of Chow.

Sources close to the program said that Neuheisel is scheduled to interview former Miami head coach Randy Shannon for the position today.

"It's a process, and there are some things that have to be dealt with as you try to put pieces in place," Neuheisel said. "It takes a great deal of thought and careful deliberation before you come up with the perfect formula. I didn't anticipate it taking this long, but to get it right, it's worth waiting."

The Titanic was sinking, the band queuing up "Nearer, My God, To Thee," the hull busting at the seams, the stern and the bow about to snap.

And it did snap, right back into place, the crew righting the ship and moving on its merry way just as quickly as it fell apart.

UCLA overcame a disastrous start against Stanford on Saturday morning at Pauley Pavilion to come from 14 behind on its way to a 68-57 win in front of 8,772.

"I kinda felt it in the warmups that we were a little sluggish," UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee said. "But once we really got it going, we were really getting it going. Not only on the offensive side, but defensively."

It was a catastrophic start, or maybe a catatonic start, as the Bruins simply appeared asleep for the first dozen minutes.

A minute and a half in, the Bruins trailed by eight, quick 3-pointers by Stanford's Dwight Powell and Jeremy Green setting the tone early.

Eleven minutes in, the deficit was 14, UCLA had eight points, six turnovers and five rebounds, and things were getting worse and worse.

"Boy this is disappointing," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said he was thinking 12 minutes into the game. "What I was really thinking I can't say it out loud. It's an 11 a.m. game, we're coming off a quick turnaround, didn't know (freshman center Joshua Smith) was or wasn't going to play until 10 a.m., they're come off a disappointing loss, come out fired up.
"A lot of things played in to it."

The saga ends.

Former UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow has been hired for the same position at Utah, ending the long standoff after what felt like months.

Here is UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel's official statement:

"Norm is a fine man and an outstanding coach and I have enjoyed working with him. He will do a great job at Utah.

"I thank him for his contributions to our program and wish Norm and his family well in the future."

Sources have confirmed that UCLA will interview former Miami Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon for it's defensive coordinator position tomorrow, but has more interviews lined up with more candidates next week.

Rick Neuheisel is staying mum on the issue, only stating that he had interviewed other candidates and had more lined up.

UCLA is hosting its last big recruiting weekend of the season this weekend, with six recruits in for their official visits:

OG Cyrus Hobbi

TE Raymond Nelson (verbally committed)

DE J.B Salem (committed to Stanford)

WR Blair Holliday (committed to Duke)

QB Jerry Neuheisel

RB Steven Manfro

Hobbi is clearly the biggest target of the group, literally and figuratively. Hobbi is down to a top three of UCLA, Arizona State and USC, but he says there's no order.

From UCLA:

UCLA head football coach Rick Neuheisel announced today that Mike Johnson, who spent the 2010 season as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, has been named offensive coordinator at UCLA. Johnson and Neuheisel will be reunited after working together with the Baltimore Ravens in 2006 and 2007 and he is one of five Bruin assistants with NFL experience.

In addition to serving as the offensive coordinator, Johnson will coach the wide receivers and Neuheisel will coach the quarterbacks.

"During my assessment of our program, I felt it was necessary for me to be more involved in the day-to-day operation of the offense," Neuheisel said. "I decided that going forward, I will coach the quarterbacks and will be more hands-on in the area of play calling with a new coordinator.

"Mike is a great addition to our staff. He has a background with a multitude of offensive schemes, has coached several different positions and has experience in our conference as well as in the National Football League. Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and adds versatility to our offense and I can't wait to get in the film room and start planning for 2011 and the Pac-12.

"In addition, Mike is a dynamic and tireless recruiter who is familiar with the Pac-12 area and, in particular, southern California. He will be a great plus for our program in this important area."

More from the UCLA release after the jump...

UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith will not dress out for today's matchup with Stanford, which is about to tip off.

Team officials are not labeling it a concussion, but rather a head injury, and the team doctors said they are taking every precautionary measure.

He is being monitored daily and is day-to-day.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland said that freshman center Joshua Smith would be a game-time decision for the Bruins' matchup at 11 a.m. today at Pauley Pavilion.

Smith hit his head on the court after a first-half fall during UCLA's 86-84 win over Cal on Thursday night, returned briefly in the first half, but was then benched for the second half for precautionary reasons after complaining of a headache and neck stiffness.

Howland said Smith suffered a mild concussion - Smith passed a verbal concussion test but had a "glitch" in the physical test - and would be reevaluated on Saturday morning.

"You can't make up for what Josh had given us," Howland said. "He was on his way to a great performance again yesterday. He was going to do some big things for us, and if he can't go, it'll be a big blow."

Howland said he was pleased with the performance of redshirt freshman Anthony Stover, who started at center in place of Smith because of foul concerns, and sophomore power forward Brendan Lane. Stover had four rebounds, a block and a steal in 15 minutes, and Lane added seven points and three rebounds before fouling out in 14 minutes.

Howland said he made the decision to start Stover on Thursday morning and added that Smith would come off the bench for the rest of the season.

"I made it after thinking about it yesterday in the late morning," Howland said. "We wanted to get off to a good start defensively. Anthony hasn't had as many minutes as Brendan, but I thought he did a good job in his 15 minutes."

Howland said Smith had no problems with the change - "It's no problem," Howland said, "None." - and that the change was made solely because of Smith's penchant for foul trouble. Smith's recent comments about Pac-10 officiating after the Bruins' loss to USC on Jan. 9 drew a public reprimand for the league and may have made an even bigger target on his back.

"I don't want him getting one in the first three minutes," Howland said of Smith's foul trouble. "Early in the game, officials are always setting the tone of the game. Because you're the biggest guy, it can be a problem."

It's Friday night, and the wait goes on.

Still no official word on exactly which job former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will fill at UCLA, but he's apparently already starting to do some work.

Johnson has been meeting with players and out recruiting for the Bruins, Ramona Shelburne writes.

Sources close to the situation say that Johnson will become offensive coordinator and could split play-calling duties with Rick Neuheisel, but Norm Chow remains on staff at this point.

As reported, Johnson was on UCLA's campus on Tuesday and took a tour of the facilities, meeting several players, and more players had individual meetings with Johnson on Thursday.

Chow, who reportedly has had talks with Utah to become its offensive coordinator, remains on the UCLA staff and continues to recruit for head coach Rick Neuheisel.

Johnson coached with Neuheisel with the Baltimore Ravens in 2006-07 and was quarterbacks coach for the Michael Vick-led Atlanta Falcons from 2003-05. He also served as wide receivers coach and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State in the late 90s.

Chow agreed to a two-year contract extension worth roughly $1 million during the summer of 2010 that was finalized late in the year, after Neuheisel had publicly expressed his displeasure with the offense. Neuheisel at times was non-committal about Chow's return as early as November.

UCLA's offenses have finished 109th, 94th and 104th in scoring nationally during the last three seasons, out of 120 FBS teams.

Johnson last coached for the 49ers, where he was promoted midseason from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.

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UCLA head coach Ben Howland said on his conference call with reporters that freshman center Joshua Smith is a game-time decision for tomorrow's game against Stanford at Pauley Pavilion.

Smith crashed to the ground and banged his head on the court, and he suffered a mild concussion and experienced neck stiffness last night. Howland said there was no issue in the verbal concussion test but that there was a glitch in the physical test. They haven't made a decision on the issue, Howland said, and they'd see how he felt tomorrow morning.

Howland hadn't talked to Smith by 2 p.m., so he couldn't give a final answer.

Brenda Gazzar of the Daily News' sister paper, the Pasadena Star News, has an update on the Rose Bowl renovations: Check it out

ESPNLA's Blair Angulo made this fantastic video of Reeves Nelson's tip-in last night, which gave UCLA the 86-84 win over Cal: Check it out

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UCLA head coach Ben Howland said Joshua Smith has a mild concussion and will be reevaluated tomorrow. He will be a game-time decision on Saturday against Stanford.

Reeves Nelson bounded down the court with the greatest of ease, just a few steps behind Tyler Honeycutt but in perfect position.

On a body covered in tattoos, the only one missing was the Superman shield.

Nelson came from nowhere to tip in Honeycutt's missed shot from the free-throw line with two
seconds left, giving UCLA the 86-84 win over Cal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.

After freshman Allen Crabbe hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to tie the game for the Bears, who came back from a 15-point deficit with nine minutes to play, Honeycutt took the inbounds pass and sprinted down the court.

The Cal defense collapsed on the Sylmar product near the free-throw line and Honeycutt was forced into an awkward shot attempt.

But there, to the rescue as he had been all night, was Nelson.

"They hit a three to tie it and I saw Honeycutt dribbling, and I knew he was probably going to take the shot," Nelson said. "It just popped in my head to run in on the offensive glass if he missed it. The ball came out on the right side."

It was that kind of night for Nelson, and he needed it.

The UCLA sophomore power forward had 24 points and 10 rebounds, none more important than the last. This, after finishing with zero points and three rebounds in only 15 minutes in the team's 67-59 win over Oregon last Saturday, his first scoreless game as a Bruin.

With freshman center Joshua Smith sent to the bench for the entire second half for precautionary reasons - Smith banged his head and neck on the floor in the first half and will be reevaluated today - UCLA needed every last basket from Nelson.

"I'm really excited that Reeves is the one that tipped that in," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "For him to get that tip, to not give up, to not quit, to run the floor and get that play, that was exciting."

Nelson made nine-of-13 field goal attempts with an array of low-post moves but did most of his work in transition. Nelson had three steals himself that led to transition dunks, and his cunning-and-running kept the Bears at bay even when they made their charge.

UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith hit his head on the court in the first half and is being held out of the second half of UCLA's matchup with Cal.

The Bruins lead 47-41, and Smith had four points and five rebounds in six minutes, despite not getting the start. Anthony Stover started at center for the Bruins.

Readers: Post your final score prediction and vote in the poll. Closest to actual score with correct winning team gets to give me 10 questions to ask a basketball player of their choosing, within reason, for an upcoming video.

To clarify: Winner is based on total final score margin, then based on closest actual score. For example: UCLA wins 85-75. Someone guesses 85-76. Someone guess 85-60. Someone guesses 82-72. Someone guesses 80-70. The 82-72 guess would win.

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The UCLA mens basketball game tomorrow night against Cal at Pauley Pavilion is not live at 7:30 but tape delayed until 9:30 on Prime Ticket.

From UCLA:
 
 
Athletic Director Dan Guerrero announced today that UCLA will reduce the Wooden Athletic Fund donation levels required for priority seating at Men's Basketball games in the renovated Pauley Pavilion. Over 11,000 seats will be affected by this change while, as previously stated, 2,100 public seats will not require any donation.
 
"We are happy to announce that due to the enormous generosity of hundreds of donors during our Campaign of Champions, all per seat Wooden Athletic Fund donation requirements throughout renovated Pauley Pavilion will be reduced by 20 percent from the previously-announced levels," said Guerrero.  "While this campaign is not yet completed, we currently have $65 million committed in cash and signed pledges plus $22 million in proposals under consideration as we drive towards our overall goal of $100 million. Based on feedback, we believe that this reduction will be welcome news to our fans and supporters.
 
"We also anticipate generating additional funds through sponsorship and naming rights opportunities. There has been a concerted effort by many in pursuit of this goal and there is still more work to be done. We are convinced that members of Bruin Nation will continue to answer the call.  I am confident that we will surpass our targeted campaign total."
 
Earlier today, the Campaign of Champions leadership committee met to review the status of the campaign and discussed the decision to reduce donation levels.
 
"The leadership committee was very pleased to hear about the reduction in the yearly Wooden Athletic Fund donation levels for seating in the renovated Pauley Pavilion", said Matt Pauley, co-chair of the Campaign of Champions. "We would like to thank all of the current donors to the Campaign of Champions, as it is through their generosity that the Athletic Department was able to make this reduction.  As a Campaign, we set out with a goal of raising $100 million in private funds and have achieved almost 70% of that goal.  We look forward to exceeding that goal over the next 18 months."
 
Construction of Pauley Pavilion is well underway. The contractor has begun to install the steel frame of the exterior concourse and the facility remains on schedule to open for competition in the fall of 2012.
 
Arrangements for the interim venue for the 2011-2012 men's basketball season are being finalized and should be announced by mid February. Season ticket renewals for that year will be mailed out later this spring with a deadline of June 1st, 2011. In accordance with this adjusted renewal timeline, the new Bruin Priority Point Program lock-in date for seat selection in renovated Pauley Pavilion will also be June 1st, 2011

Tyler Honeycutt's x-rays on his right elbow came back negative this afternoon, and he will play as scheduled tomorrow against Cal.

Honeycutt has been hampered since UCLA's loss at Kansas, as his scoring has dipped to just 10.9 points per game since then.

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Just to quiet a rumor that is out there, I have just confirmed that UCLA sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut is not playing baseball for the Bruins this season. Brehaut is a former baseball star and from what I hear, probably could, but he is not.

Oh, and this comes from John Savage. He would probably know.

Sources close to the situation have confirmed that former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will join the UCLA offensive staff, though his role is undetermined with offensive coordinator Norm Chow's future still in doubt with the Bruins.

UCLA officials say that a hire has still not been made, but Johnson was on UCLA's campus on Tuesday and took a tour of the weight room, where he met several players who said their interaction with Johnson was brief. Chow, who reportedly has had talks with Utah to become its offensive coordinator, remains on the UCLA staff and continues to recruit for head coach Rick Neuheisel.

Johnson has extensive NFL experience as a wide receivers and quarterbacks coach, and he and Neuheisel coached together for the Baltimore Ravens in 2006-07. Johnson was quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons from 2003-05, working with current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick, and previously served as wide receivers coach and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State in the late 90s.

Chow, meanwhile, continues to dangle in the wind, though sources indicate a resolution could come soon.

Chow, who came to UCLA with much fanfare in 2008 but whose offenses have foundered in three straight seasons, had a two-year contract extension approved late last year, and UCLA would be on the hook for the full amount if Chow was fired.

While UCLA's offensive staff appears to be taking shape, the Bruins remain without a defensive coordinator less than three weeks before signing day.

From UCLA:

R. "Red" Sanders Award for Most Valuable Player at the Annual UCLA Football Awards Banquet, held Tuesday evening at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel.

Franklin became the first Bruin since Chris Markey in 2006 to rush for over 1,000 yards. He finished with 1,127 yards, the highest total by a Bruin since 1997. He ranked fifth in the Pac-10 in rushing and earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors from the league's coaches.

Ayers, one of the most versatile defensive performers in the country, earned second-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation. On the year, Ayers ranked fourth on the team with 68 tackles, first (tied) with 4.0 sacks, second with 10.0 tackles for loss and second with two interceptions.

Dye led the team with 96 tackles in his 12 games and his average of 8.00 tackles per contest ranked fourth (tied) in the Pac-10. He also led the Bruins and ranked seventh (tied) in the league with 10 passes defended (nine passes broken up and one interception). He earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention from the league's coaches.

The complete list of winners after the jump...

A source close to the program has indicated that UCLA middle linebacker Steve Sloan has decided to graduate in four years and will end his college football career.

His absence next season could be costly if UCLA runs into any injury issues in the LB corps. With Akeem Ayers leaving for the NFL and Patrick Larimore working back from a shoulder injury, the Bruins go into spring ball with Jordan Zumwalt, Sean Westgate and Glenn Love as the primary options, though linebacker coach Clark Lea is very optimistic about Eric Kendricks and Isaiah Bowens.

UPDATE: From what I've been told, this is a completely personal decision. Sloan just wants to move on to the next phase of his life. I'm told he was not forced out, nor was his decision a reflection of the coaching staff, he just felt like it was time to move on.

UCLA sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt had an x-ray today on his elbow, which he hurt against Kansas. Ben Howland said results are not available yet, but he seemed to believe it's not a major issue.

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Check out Scout.com's new UCLA recruiting rankings, with jumps for Brett Hundley and several other Bruin targets: See here

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Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

The Pac-10 officials for today's game had countless huddles, and there was much confusion on so many plays. Josh Smith was reprimanded by the Pac-10 for calling the officials ''terrible'' after the USC game. Reeves Nelson hinted at his displeasure with the officiating - he was called for three fouls in the first half and fouled out without scoring a single point - but he didn't make it official.
``It's not like I have trouble against smaller players,'' Nelson said. ``I have my own opinions about how the game went, but I'm not trying to get in trouble like Josh did. Other than that, I'm really proud of my team. Everything was against us, and we still came out with a win on the road.''

Ben Howland on Jerime Anderson: ``Jerime Anderson was the player of the game. He did a great job offensively, settling guys down. It was the best game as a Bruin. He had a huge game.''

Reeves Nelson wasn't happy after the game but not because of his scoreless night (the first of his career).
Asked if he was frustrated, Nelson said:
``They were just doing a lot of cheap shots. If that's what they have to resort to to try to get me out of my game, I guess yeah. I only retaliated really one time and they caught me on it. (E.J.) Singler is probably the dirtiest of them all. That's on me. I have to learn to control that all the time.''

UCLA completes the Oregon roadtrip sweep with a win over the Ducks. Malcolm Lee had 18 points on 7 of 13 shots. The Bruins' Nelson was just taunting Oregon fans, jumping up and down and all around and waving his twoel after the game. He fould out and was a non-factor with five minutes left. Josh Smith got a technical foul for allegedly taunting with 1:50 left but it didn't matter.

Josh Smith starts the second half, and Reeves Nelson, who picked up three fouls in the first half, starts the second half on the bench.

The Bruins went on an 11-2 run to end the first half after falling behind by 12 (25-13) early. All Reeves Nelson did in the first half was pick up 3 fouls in six minutes. He didn't even take a shot. The Ducks are playing a very small lineup without Joevan Catron, and instead of exploiting that, UCLA was settling for outside shots and took nine 3-pointers in the first half. Not sure why the Bruins don't feed Josh Smith every trip down the floor. The Bruins allowed Oregon to grab nine offensive rebounds and trail 19-16 in the rebounding department.
Still, UCLA trails by only three.

Joevan Catron, Oregon's leading scorer, is out for the UCLA game. He's in street clothes.

Here's an official video from UCLA regarding the new weight room: Check it out

Josh Smith will come off the bench for tomorrow's game at Oregon for the second consecutive game. Ben Howland made the move so Smith wouldn't have an opportunity to pick up an early foul.
``It's better for him psychologically to not get a foul in the first three minutes of the game,'' Howland said.

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UCLA will have a tougher time making it back-to-back wins over Houston.

Multiple outlets are reporting that quarterback Case Keenum was granted a sixth-year medical hardship waiver and will return for the Cougars.

Keenum tore his knee against the Bruins in UCLA's 31-13 win last season and was lost for the year.

UCLA only has one player waiting on a medical hardship, Sean Sheller, whose application was recently submitted, with the results likely available in March.

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While I stand by what I wrote following the USC game about Malcolm Lee's offensive struggles - and he struggled again Thursday night, finishing with nine points despite seven in the first half - I would be remiss if I didn't mention his great defense on Jared Cunningham.

Oregon State's leading scorer at almost 15 points per game, Cunningham went 1-for-9 and didn't score his first points until just 8:37 remained in the game. Cunningham had a little spurt in the second half where it looked like he rejuvenated, but Lee once again put the clamps on him, and he finished with five points.

Lee was very good on-ball and even off-ball on Cunningham, and his defense was a real key for UCLA to pull out what even seems like a disappointing win.

The bright side: Washington and USC both lost, to Stanford and Oregon, respectively, and everything is wide open in the Pac-10.

UCLA basketball players walked off the court with sullen looks and slumped shoulders, barely mustering enough gumption to lift their arms for the post-game handshakes.

And this, after the Bruins had just won.

However it's difficult to call UCLA's 62-57 victory over Oregon State anything more than a win in the ledger, as the Bruins let a 17-point lead slip away through a series of chaotic moves in the second half.

A 37-22 halftime lead, spurred by a 9-0 start, gave the Bruins momentum heading into the second half. Several players had impressive first halves for UCLA, with Lazeric Jones leading the way at nine points and Malcolm Lee with seven. Even Tyler Lamb got in the act with five points.

An early second-half spurt by the Beavers cut the lead to 11, but the Bruins held strong, stretching the lead back to 17 quickly and keeping Oregon State at bay, maintaining a 16-point lead at 49-33 with just over 13 minutes left.

And then it got uglier than a warthog beauty pageant.

The Beavers cut the lead to 13...11...9.
Turnover, miss, foul, turnover, turnover. It was a broken record that sounded all too familiar.

Pretty soon UCLA led by just three, two and eventually, zero, as Oregon State tied it up at 51 with 6 minutes, 23 seconds left. Roughly 1:30 later, the Bruins appeared to be gaining team once more, taking a four-point lead.

Oregon State's Jared Cunningham, though, hits a long rainbow three - his first field goal of the game - with 4:57 left. Then Roberto Nelson continues his hot hand and hits another three, the Beavers taking their first lead with 2:47 remaining.

It was gut-check time for UCLA, and Ben Howland went to his biggest gut.

Freshman center Joshua Smith, who was benched for Brendan Lane after being publicly reprimanded by the Pac-10 for his comments regarding officials after UCLA's loss to USC, had two crucial rebounds and hit all four free throws with less than two minutes left.

The Bruins eked out of Corvallis with a win and now slip over to Eugene to square off against Oregon on Saturday for their first game against the Ducks at the new Matthew Knight Arena.

A 21-4 run spurred by UCLA turnover after UCLA turnover has closed a once wide-open game.

Just about everything that could go wrong for the Bruins has early in the second half.

Missed free throws, foul issues - including back-to-back fouls by both Brendan Lane and Joshua Smith that has both saddled with four - and poor defense has the Bruins reeling.

Despite a desperation, over the back semi-hook shot by Oregon State's Angus Brandt, the Bruins have to feel good heading into the locker room up 15, with big contribution from some unlikely sources.

Zeke Jones with nine points while Malcolm Lee has added seven. More surprisingly, freshman guard Tyler Lamb has five points, including a key 3-pointer, and five points at the half.

Joshua Smith has four points and five rebounds off the bench as Brendan Lane got the start. No word yet on whether that was because of his public reprimand from the Pac-10, but he got 10 minutes and has only one foul.

Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt each have four points, but Jerime Anderson has struggled with three turnovers.

UCLA has absolutely shut down Oregon State offensively, holding the Beavers to 23.3 percent shooting, while shooting 62.5 percent. Oregon State made a mini-run toward the end of the quarter, but the Bruins held them at bay and look on their way to snapping a two-game losing streak.

The Bruins have jumped out to a 28-12 lead at Oregon State, and it appears that Lazeric Jones is shaking off the ill-effects of a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger.

Jones has seven early points on 3-of-4 shooting while Malcolm Lee has six on 3-of-7 shooting.

Brendan Lane started in place of Joshua Smith; we'll find out later if it was a consequence from his public reprimand from the Pac-10 after his officiating comments.

I'm watching the game from Los Angeles as Jill Painter is up in Oregon; unfortunately, USC's late start dictated that she be at USC vs. Oregon, though she'll be at UCLA v. Oregon on Saturday.

I'll be following along here and on Twitter and the Inside UCLA Facebook page.

I caught up with UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel with the OC Register's Adam Maya at the Morgan Center today. Here's what he had to say...

On Mike Johnson being hired as OC:
"All that went out yesterday was premature. Nothing can happen fast. I have a wide receiver job open and a defensive coordinator job open. I've talked to some coaches and certainly made a lot of calls and some ideas on the way things can work. And I've also talked about a redistribution of assignments within the coaching staff. I'm still toying with that idea. In trying to get this right I'm willing to look outside the box. With respect to Norm, Norm is a coach on our staff."

On considering Chow as QB coach:
"I'm considering a lot of different ways to put the offensive staff back together as well as the defensive staff. Norm is a very talented coach. He can coach lots of positions. What's best for us as I put the thing together is still to be determined."

On running the pistol next season:
"Too early to tell. Too early to tell. There were lots of positives from the Pistol, in terms of the rushing yardage. But there's also other talented guys in the program that need to be found ways to get the ball to. But how that will figure itself out will require a lot of guys that now know their roles, fitting together, putting it together and coming up with the best possible plan for our team. But again, I'm thrilled with what we have to work with. Whoever assumes the role, or assumes the roles, will be excited about who they get to coach."

On announcing Mike Johnson as new offensive coordinator next week:
"No, that's very, very premature. I've talked to Mike Johnson. Mike Johnson and I go way back. We coached together in Baltimore. I taught him how to throw a speed out years ago when I was playing in the USFL and he was trying to become a quarterback at Arizona State. Mike and I are old friends and we've had conversations and he's interested in this wide receiver position. But it hasn't been determined in what role he'd coach and how that would all get pieced together. And he's still got a contract with the 49ers that he has to make sure he protects himself and his family. Those are things that cause this to be very, very premature."

UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith was reprimanded by the Pac-10 for his comments regarding officiating following the Bruins' loss to USC on Jan. 9.

"While we are appreciative of the fact that he has since apologized publicly for his remarks, all of our student-athletes must adhere to Pac-10 policy that prohibits them from making public comments about officiating," Commissioner Larry Scott said in a release. "In these circumstances, Conference rules require a public reprimand."

A UCLA spokesman said there would be no additional repercussions on the matter.

Here's a video of the comments in question: Smith

Had a chance to chat with Scout.com West Recruiting Analyst Brandon Huffman, who's working his way back from a brutal two-week stretch of just an insane amount of work. Props to Huffman for talking even though his voice still sounded like Vito Corleone. Eh, whatever, I made him offer he couldn't refuse.

Here's a breakdown of some of UCLA's remaining targets: Check it Out

Gold: Not a lot of time left, and UCLA went 0-for-4 during the all-star games; should they have braced themselves for this?
Huffman: "I don't think they were expecting a class like last year or the year before, just from a pure number standpoint. They don't have a lot of scholarships to give. I dont think they ever expected a top-10 class or anything. But where they're hurting is losing guys. You take Marc Mustoe. Not a killer loss, not a SoCal kid. Losing Brandin Cooks hurts, he was their first commitment, a guy in a position of need where they haven't had a lot of good talent at. They didn't do a good job recruiting there the later Dorrell years. It's a position they have a lot of bodies at, but Cooks was the guy I thought could be an impact guy. Now they have to try to hold on to Torian White. (Those are) guys you wouldve thought were locked. But it just looks like they're not getting the elite guys, and there aren't a lot left."

Gold: Yeah, but after two 4-8 seasons in three years, that can't be too much of a surprise...
Huffman: "You're absolutely right. Based upon what they've done on the field, you wonder how they're able to pull in these elite guys. He pulls in an Owa on signing day, Marsh in the 11th hour, Josh Shirley late. They get some guys that you'd expect the 10-2, 11-1 teams to get. When it gets down toward signing day, it's not a surpirse they're not in it for a lot of those guys."

Hey guys,

Sorry for the radio silence, but I was working on two non-UCLA related features/columns for the Daily News today that kept me out all day. I'll have a column from this morning on the Dodgers tomorrow; if interested, check Twitter.com/TheCoolSub tomorrow.

Here's where we're at:

This morning, Scout.com's Tracy Pierson wrote that UCLA has come to an agreement with former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Johnson to take the same job with the Bruins.

As of now, UCLA is denying that a hire has been made, but sources have confirmed that that is the plan, and that the reason for the delay of the announcement was because of the uncertain future of Norm Chow.

Attempts to reach Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow have been unsuccessful. I spoke with Chow's agent, who said that he hasn't been advised of anything regarding Norm Chow by Rick Neuheisel or Dan Guerrero, nor spoken to them in quite some time.

Yahoo.com's Tom Reinhardt is reporting that Chow will accept the offensive coordinator position at Utah, but I've also been told that San Diego State was interested in Chow as well.

INSTANT REACTION:
I don't think Chow got a fair shake at UCLA given what he's had to work with, but I understand why a change was thought necessary. I really wouldn't be surprised if Chow had success once more - particularly at San Diego State, where he'd be working with fantastic QB Ryan Lindley - but things clearly are not/were not working with Neuheisel.

Regarding Johnson, he is an established offensive coach who most recently took over as 49ers offensive coordinator midway through the season, with middling results. Johnson has had several stops on his relatively brief coaching career, including stints as quarterback coach for Michael Vick with the Atlanta Falcons from 2003-05 and with Oregon State in the late-90s.

Johnson is said to be a talented, energetic recruiter, something that UCLA sorely needs right now.

Once the hire is official, I'll have more thoughts.

Ben Howland on Lazeric Jones play against USC:
"It's two games, really, because it affected him against Washington when he hurt it. That one you understand, because he was uncertain about what took place. In this last game, he was pressing a little bit early. My whole thing is for him to understand that his affect on the team is much more than just growing points. Most kids growing up judge themselves on scoring or not scoring; point guards can't do that in terms of evaluating themselves.
"It's not healing any time soon here."

Howland on Malcolm Lee:
"Malcolm always has the responsibility of guarding the other team's best player. That immediately takes an incredible amount of energy. He didn't have one of his better games offensively against USC. Prior to that he'd averaged 17 points over his last five or six games. I think he'll bounce back. We're going to see all zone this week - against Oregon State either the 1-3-1 or their 2-3 matchup - so he's going to get open shots. He has to look plays off the dribble and penetrate."

Howland on the comments on officiating:
"His comments about the officiating were totally in poor judgement. I admonished him for that. You cannot do that. That was really, really bad. As I explained to him, there's only one foul that wasn't a foul that was called on Josh.
"The other fouls were all fouls. They were all good fouls."

Howland on Brendan Lane
"He's got to give us better minutes. One rebound in 20 minutes....

Howland on the Bruins having scoring droughts:
"Going to Washington State, I thought our whole first half was suspect. We let the game get away from us against Washington just in those last five minutes of the first half. Mistakes become that much bigger when they come against big teams. As I look and watch our teams in the league; Washington State is really good. No question when we play Washington State, it was really to our benefit that they were on the road for about 12 days. Our league is much better than it's being given credit for.
"In terms of our lulls, the last two games we really struggled on offense. Eighteen and 19 baskets. First half we shot 57 percent against USC and did a good job, second half, not nearly as good."

Howland on Mac Court:
"Mac Court, my memories go all the way back to being a player there. I have great memories of Mac Court. That's really a special venue, and in many ways, you're sad to see it go."

Lazeric Jones and Ben Howland agreed three of the first four shots he missed were bad shots. Jones, who has a ruptured tendon in the middle finger of his right hand, said his confidence hasn't taken a hit. He was 0-for-7 from the field against USC.
``It's all about confidence,'' Jones said. ``I'm going to try a different way to tape it. I just have to keep shooting. The finger will heal on its own. I'm trying to tape it so I get more feeling in the ttip of my finger.''

I was just told that Sean Sheller's appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility will be sent in this week, and they hope to know by March. Getting Sheller back would be absolutely huge for the football team, which stands to have four of its five offensive linemen set between Kai Maiava, Jeff Baca, Mike Harris and Chris Ward.

From UCLA:

Mobile, AL. (Jan. 10)--The 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl will feature some of the nation's top specialists, including UCLA All-America place kicker Kai Forbath and long snapper Christian Yount. In addition, LSU kicker Josh Jasper, Florida punter Chas Henry and Nebraska punter Alex Henery and Virginia long snapper Danny Aiken have all accepted invitations to the senior showcase event, it was announced today. Jasper, Henry and Aiken will play for the South while Forbath, Yount and Henery will suit up for the North. The 2011 game is scheduled for 3pm (CT) on Saturday, January 29th in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game and all practices will be televised live by NFL Network.

"This is an outstanding group of punters and kickers and we really feel good about bringing them to Mobile to showcase their skills," Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale said. "This group has such great versatility with Jasper, Henry and Henery having performed both punting and kicking duties for their respective squads, and I really think that will benefit those guys here later this month."

Forbath followed up his sensational junior campaign with another solid year in 2010. The 2009 Lou Groza award winner (nation's top kicker) has a school-record ten kicks from 50 or more yards. He also set an NCAA record by kicking two or more field goals in a game 31 times and booted three or more in 12 games. Forbath was 13-of-18 on field goals this season and a perfect 27-of-27 on extra points.

The four-year starter finished his career tied for the Pac-10 and UCLA record with 85 made field goals (85-of-101), two shy of the NCAA record. His career field goal percentage of .842 is the second-best in UCLA history and he leaves school ranked second in career scoring with 357 points.

Yount served as the long snapper for all four years of Forbath's career. In addition, he also handled the snapping chores for the Bruin punt unit for each of his four seasons on the team.

From UCLA:

Freshman quarterback Brett Hundley from Chandler (AZ) High School has attended his first class at UCLA and is now a member of the Bruin football team.

"Brett is a great addition to our program," said head coach Rick Neuheisel. "He is a multi-dimensional quarterback who possesses the ability to beat opponents with his arm and his legs. It's great to have him here already and we are looking forward to watching him compete with our other quarterbacks during Spring Practice."

Hundley played in last Wednesday's UnderArmour All-Star Game, throwing a 58-yard touchdown pass in the contest. He also won the passing competition at the UnderArmour All-American Skills Challenge.

Hundley is a member of the Rivals100 (No. 95). He is rated the No. 5 among all quarterbacks by Scout.com and ESPN.com and No. 5 as a dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com, earning four stars from all three organizations. As a senior, he completed 61.8% of his passes for 2,348 yards, 23 touchdowns and just two interceptions and ran for 856 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt.

Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

* A lot of people said that the UCLA v. Washington game on Dec. 31 was a revealing game, but the real revelation was in the Bruins' loss to USC on Sunday night. And the revelation is a scary one for UCLA fans: This team is just nowhere near mature enough to consistently play at a high level.
I'm talking mature in both emotions and physical ability, because the Bruins lacked both on Sunday.
In the second half when UCLA faced any adversity from USC, it caved. Simply caved. Blame the coaches, blame the players, blame whoever. There's enough to go around. Ultimately, it lies with Ben Howland as the architect of the program, but he's not on the court. He can't will Tyler Honeycutt to box out Alex Stephenson on an absolutely crucial offensive rebound and put-back. He can't jump inside Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee and get them to penetrate to the basket. He can't defend for Joshua Smith, who doesn't seem able to defend for himself at times.

* Back to maturity, and we'll start with emotional maturity.
UCLA beat writers have written ad nauseum about the team lacking a senior, much less a senior leader, but the point is still valid. This team has no one, not a single player, who commands the huddle, who rises above and wills the team to follow him.
I thought Tyler Honeycutt could become that even as a sophomore, but he has not shown that instinct yet. Malcolm Lee doesn't appear to be the vocal type. Reeves Nelson's issues have been well-documented, but I also think they've been blown out of proportion, and he gets too much blame for his "attitude." Zeke Jones is still fighting the uphill battle of being a relatively lightly heralded junior college transfer, and his backup, Jerime Anderson, still can't get over the hump.
With a coach like Ben Howland, there needs to be at least one or two guys - and in the past, there were a lot more than one or two - who can get in a huddle and take control. Howland is a demanding coach to play for, but a coach can only say or do so much; he needs a player who commands as much respect as he does, and he does not have that now.

* And on to physical maturity, which is becoming evident.
As I wrote about the UCLA football team this year so often, this basketball team lacks savvy. Basketball so often is a game of nuance, particularly when two teams are matched up well in terms of talent.
I can't count how many times the Bruins were out of position for rebounds, terribly behind on defensive rotations and a step slow on offense.
Smith may get called for some ludicrous fouls, but he also picks up one or two per game that are just baffling. Brendan Lane may some day learn how to seal off a defender or get open, but he just doesn't now. Even guys like Honeycutt and Nelson, who are perhaps the two craftiest players on the team, don't have the know-how of a Vucevic or an Alex Stephenson.
Then there's Malcolm Lee, who has regressed tremendously this season. I think Lee is expending much too much energy on defense, but with so many defensive issues on the team, he sort of has to. Problem is, his offensive skill set has taken a step back, it seems. He scored just five point against the Trojans, and in UCLA's five biggest games this season - against Villanova, Kansas, BYU, Washington and USC - Lee has scored 43 points, or about 8.5 per game. In the Bruins' other nine games, he's averaging 14.2 ppg.
He just could not drive to the basket against the Trojans, who were saddled with backcourt foul trouble that went unpunished. I remember him driving right into the defense last season, with courage, albeit sometimes reckless abandon. None on Sunday.

The Bruins took their first lead late in the half and maintained a close advantage over USC, going into the half up two.

Reeves Nelson has been a force early, picking up 12 points with an array of deft inside moves. His touch has simply been on tonight.

However, he's the only Bruin with any offensive rhythm, as fellow starters Joshua Smith, Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones have a combined 15 points at halftime.

USC's Nikola Vucevic has led the Trojans early with eight points, with Brendan Lane playing pretty good defense on him. Alex Stephenson has five points and six rebounds for USC.

The Bruins need to get Joshua Smith more involved in the second half and needs to avoid turnovers, as they had nine in the first 20 minutes.

Moving this inside...

Check out the latest batch of weekly answers...

Check out the first batch of weekly answers...

UCLA lost out on targets Wayne Lyons, Colt Lyerla and Donovan Smith at the US Army All-American game on Saturday, as the three verbally committed to Stanford, Oregon and Penn State, respectively.

I'm hoping to chat with Scout.com West Recruiting Manager Brandon Huffman in the next couple of days to get a clearer picture of UCLA's recruiting finish. Signing Day is 25 days from today.

Here is a look at some remaining targets for UCLA (using Scout.com rankings), though I wouldn't be shocked if Rick Neuheisel pulled off a surprise or two by signing day:

#1 LB Tony Steward
Odds: Steward likes UCLA and really enjoyed his trip, but I'm told he wants to stay closer to home, and it looks like Florida State is going to get him.

#7 CB Stefan McClure
Odds: Huffman has long thought that McClure would end up at UCLA, and that sounds about right.

Odds: Hobbi has UCLA in his top three along with Arizona State and USC, and says he favors academics and a chance to play early. That plays in the Bruins favor, as does the fact that his final official visit is in Westwood on Jan. 21, but the home-state Sun Devils will be hard to beat.

#17 DT Christian Heyward
Odds: After being heavily in the mix for a long time for Heyward, UCLA's on the outside looking in, it seems. He has an official visit with UCLA planned, and he says he's waiting on the new defensive coordinator, but it's not looking good.

#19 DE Brennan Scarlett
Odds: Scarlett has UCLA in his top five and really enjoyed his visit, but Neuheisel will have to fend off a trio of Pac-12 rivals - USC, Cal and Stanford - as well as Notre Dame for his services

#22 DT Kevin McReynolds
Odds: McReynolds has consistently lauded UCLA and the Bruins have put a lot of work in for him during and after his Dec. 3 visit. UCLA is still in play.

#45 WR Devin Lucien
Odds: Lucien's offer came a bit later than expected, but the Bruins are definitely in the mix for the Crespi star, if not the favorites.

From Jayson Allmond, who is transferring to Idaho:

"I'll always be a Bruin until I die. I just want the fans to know that I love them and I thank them for always being there through the good and the bad, my love is always with them and the Rose Bowl."

I weighed in on a very heavy issue for UCLA basketball today. It's worth a read: Check it out

I was able to spend some time on the phone Rahim Moore today about his decision to enter the NFL Draft.

Gold: Just talk about the decision in general, when you started thinking more about it...
Moore: "There were times where I thought about it throughout the season, but I never wanted to focus on it a lot. I wanted to focus on the season. When people would mention he can go to the NFL, it was, 'Wow, I can?' As I was getting dressed for USC, I just started crying. My tears were a little different. I realized this might be the last time I ever where these pants. I thought I don't want to end it right now.' But I prayed on it, talked with my mom about it, my family, and I had to make that decision. I don't want to leave UCLA because I love it so much. But you have to some day, you have to leave. I didn't want to leave Dorsey High because I love it so much, and I had to leave. You have to leave someday."

Gold: When did you really know?
Moore: "I would have to say it was when I first turned in my evaluation. I was sure about my answer. I understand why guys stay their senior year. I told Coach, I have no problem staying. But I've been waiting 20 years for this. I have the opportunity to go play in the National Football League, why not take it? I don't want to focus on what people think I can't do; I'm going to be playing against the best. I'm not going for money, fame, I'm going for a career. I want to be the best I can be. I think I can be special in the NFL, once I get my feet wet and understand the game."

Gold: Decision made, bags packed, already in Florida...nervous at all? Scared even?
Moore: "I'm nervous, but I'm ready. I'm ready. I've been in this situation before - having to be able to make a decision. When I was a freshman in high school, I could've stayed on JV, but I wanted to play varsity. When I went to college, I could've redshirted, but I ended up playing. I had to be a big boy about everything. I feel like I'm ready. I know it will be tough. I know it will be challenging.
"The one thing that I want UCLA fans, people to understand - people don't understand that I really put a lot into this football. I'm going to be one of those guys where they say be there at 8, I'll be there at six. They say we're done at 5, I'll be there til nine. Whatever team wants that, they'll get that out of me."

Just got official word from Jayson Allmond that he intends to transfer, and he said it looks like Idaho will be the destination, either at running back or linebacker.

With Rahim Moore and Akeem Ayers officially declared for the NFL Draft and having already procured agents, the bigger question for UCLA: What now?

Here's how the defense should look next year now...

DE: Datone Jones
Returns from missing the entire season with a broken foot.

DT: Cassius Marsh
A good freshman season where he showed a ton of potential.

DT: Nate Chandler/Brandon Willis/Seali'i Epenesa
With David Carter gone, the Bruins will need to find a suitable No. 2 DT.

DE: Owamagbe Odighizuwa/Damien Holmes
Owa is more suited for rush end, but his talent could for UCLA's hand.

OLB: Sean Westgate
Undersized, but for the most part stayed true to gaps and performed well.

MLB: Patrick Larimore
Budding star showed flashes of greatness before season-ending shoulder injury.

OLB: Jordan Zumwalt
Bruins didn't expect to have to turn to him so early, but he handled the responsibility well.

CB: Sheldon Price
Called UCLA's best cover corner by coaches, still needs to put on weight.

SS: Tony Dye
Made the biggest leap in 2010 and poised for a big year next year.

FS: Dietrich Riley
Big hitter was just itching to see field more. Now he gets his turn.

CB: Aaron Hester
High-risk, high-reward cornerback will be heavily relied on next year.

Junior safety Rahim Moore has officially declared for the NFL Draft, choosing to forgo his senior season at UCLA, along with recently declared linebacker Akeem Ayers.

Moore led the nation in interceptions as a sophomore with 10, but defenses did not throw his way much in 2010, and he finished with just one. However, Moore's tackle numbers rose from 45 as a sophomore to 77 last year as he became more active in the run defense.

Here is his official statement after the jump, and I'm working on getting a hold of him now...

Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

Looks like the commenting is back up on the blog and we're back at full go.

We'll have a new Q&A tomorrow morning.

Thanks for hanging in there.

From UCLA:

UCLA senior defensive tackle David Carter has been selected to play in the 86th East-West Shrine Game.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., kicking off at 1 p.m. PST and will be televised by the NFL Network.

Carter wrapped up his Bruin career with a fine senior season, providing leadership on the defensive line.

He started all 12 games and ranked third on the team with his 3.5 sacks and tied for third with his 5.0 tackles for loss. His 41 tackles ranked first among the defensive linemen and tied for fifth on the team. He made five tackles, including 3.0 sacks for 18 yards against WSU and he made a career-best eight tackles and forced a fumble against Arizona.

From UCLA:

LOS ANGELES - UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero announced today that assistant head coach B.J. Snow has been named the new head coach of the UCLA women's soccer program effective immediately. The move comes following the departure of Jillian Ellis who, after 12 very successful seasons in Westwood, has decided to embark on a new phase of her career by accepting the job of Youth Women's National Team Development Director for U.S. Soccer. Snow becomes the fourth head coach in program history, following Joy Fawcett (1993-97), Todd Saldana (1998) and Ellis (1999-2010).

"I am thrilled to announce that B.J. Snow will guide our heralded women's soccer program," said Guerrero. "B.J. is an outstanding coach and has played a major role in the incredible achievements of our program over the past five years, clearly demonstrating a passion for UCLA and an unsurpassed desire to excel. B.J.'s integrity, knowledge of the game and recruiting acumen are all qualities that will make him very successful as our head coach. On a personal level, B.J. is an exemplary leader who connects with student-athletes and strongly supports UCLA's commitment to academic achievement and service to the community. In total, I am confident that B.J. will carry on the legacy of excellence that has defined UCLA women's soccer under Jill Ellis."

Senior associate athletic director Ken Weiner, who oversees women's soccer at UCLA, added "Jill has established a great tradition at UCLA and we certainly thank her for her contributions and wish her well with U.S. Soccer. Our program is in great hands with B.J. at the helm. He has been instrumental in our recruiting success over the past few years and was a key factor in four consecutive appearances in the College Cup. The transition will be seamless."

Snow, who arrived at UCLA in 2006, is widely regarded as one of the top coaching talents in America. He quickly rose through the coaching ranks in Westwood, going from volunteer assistant to full-time coach in the span of just one year. He was then promoted to assistant head coach in 2009. During his time at UCLA, the Bruins have compiled a record of 97-18-7, reaching the NCAA College Cup from 2006-09. UCLA also won consecutive Pac-10 titles from 2006-08.

Hey all,

Just wanted to see the consensus on Andrew Luck staying at Stanford and choosing to forgo the NFL Draft.

Fontana WR Devon Blackmon just announced he will be attending Oregon on ESPN during the Under Armour All-American game, picking the Ducks over UCLA and USC.

Blackmon had been Oregon's to lose for a while, but some said he'd been mentioning UCLA much more recently.

UCLA's biggest WR target now is Devin Lucien from Crespi.

UCLA got a late holiday gift today with the announcement that freshman Eric Jaffe was eligible after transferring from Cal following the program's elimination.
I caught up with UCLA coach John Savage for a few minutes today, and obviously he's quite excited about the edition of the hard-throwing Jaffe, who should slide into a retooled bullpen.

Gold: So how did this go down?
Savage: "It went down, obviously, unexpectedly. You never think a program is going to announce that they're dropping the sport. Eric was a guy who felt it was in his best interest to leave now. He appealed the NCAA, and they voted in his favor to make him eligible right away. We're very fortunate to have Eric. He gives us another power arm out of the bullpen. A guy who was a draft pick of the Boston Red Sox. A strikeout pitcher in highschool, and a guy who can make an immediate impact."

Gold: So he goes bullpen? So you have your rotation set?
Savage: "We don't. (Gerrit) Cole will go Friday, (Trevor) Bauer Saturday, and then it's a fight right now between (Scott) Griggs, (freshmen Adam) Plutko, (Zach Weiss) and (Nick) Vander Tuig. Jaffe will give us another major arm out of the bullpen."

From UCLA:

Freshman right-handed pitcher Eric Jaffe has enrolled at UCLA in the Winter Quarter and will be eligible to compete for the Bruins in 2011. Jaffe, selected in the 19th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, was a three-year varsity baseball letterwinner at Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School.

Rated the nation's No. 86 prospect in his class by Baseball America as a senior, Jaffe starred at Bishop O'Dowd both on the mound and at the plate as a power-hitting first baseman. He went 8-1 with a 0.83 ERA in 2010, recording 98 strikeouts and 36 walks in a team-leading 57.2 innings.

At the plate, Jaffe batted .442 with seven home runs, six doubles, 20 RBI and 28 runs. The two-way standout helped lead Bishop O'Dowd to a 21-5 overall record, along with a 14-2 mark in the Hayward Area Athletics League (HAAL) last spring.

Jaffe secured first-team All-HAAL honors as a junior and senior and was named a first-team All-State baseball selection by Cal-Hi Sports at the end of the 2010 season. He captured first-team All-East Bay honors from the Bay Area News Group as a senior.

As a junior, Jaffe went 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA on the mound, allowing 11 hits and recording 47 strikeouts in 33.0 innings. He batted .471 for Bishop O'Dowd, belting eight home runs and registering 25 RBI in 2009. Jaffe was selected a first-team Underclass All-America selection by Perfect Game USA as a junior.

Jaffe becomes the fourth true freshman right-handed pitcher on UCLA's roster in 2011, joining classmates Adam Plutko, Nick Vander Tuig and Zack Weiss.

UCLA opens its 2011 schedule with a three-game series against San Francisco, beginning Friday, Feb. 18. Game time at Jackie Robinson Stadium is slated for 6 p.m.

Fontana WR Devon Blackmon is announcing his college choice tonight, and it appears to be down to UCLA and Oregon, though with Blackmon's recruitment, nothing is for certain.

I was told a couple weeks ago that Blackmon was all Oregon at that point, then I had people who talked to mutual friends say that Blackmon told them he was going to UCLA. At this point, Blackmon is the only one who really knows. We'll find out in a few hours.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland said Lazeric Jones shot the ball well during practice on Tuesday and that he'd be back for USC despite a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger.

Hey guys,

Now more than ever is a reminder to follow Inside UCLA on Twitter and Facebook, given the recent major blog issues. We're trying to fix the blog issues, and it appears all that's being held up is the commenting. If you have any questions for the Weekly Q&A, email them at jon.gold@dailynews.com

Thanks for the patience, folks, I know it's been frustrating.

Twitter: @thecoolsub
Facebook: Inside UCLA page

From UCLA:

UCLA junior All-America linebacker Akeem Ayers has decided to forego his senior season and apply for the 2011 NFL Draft.
"I want to thank my coaches, teammates and everyone at UCLA for all of their help the last few years," said Ayers. "I have had a great experience at UCLA and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend such an outstanding school.
"I will miss playing with my UCLA teammates next year but I feel that the decision to go to the NFL is what is best for my family. I will always be a Bruin."
"Akeem has been a big-play performer throughout his career at UCLA and we support his decision to move to the next level," said head coach Rick Neuheisel. "Who will ever forget his interceptions against Oregon and Temple that he turned into touchdowns or his many sacks? We will miss Akeem, but we look forward to watching him make those same types of plays on Sundays in the NFL."
One of the best and most versatile defensive players in the nation, Akeem earned second-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation in 2010.
Ayers was one of five Butkus Award finalists (he finished third in voting). He was a Lott IMPACT Trophy quarterfinalist and a Phil Steele Mid-Season All-American and was on the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Rotary Lombardi Award pre-season watch lists. He was also selected All-Pac-10 first team by the league's coaches.
Ayers started all 12 games in 2010. He was fourth on the team with 68 tackles, first (tied) with 4.0 sacks, second with 10.0 tackles for loss and second (tied) with two interceptions. He was T-24th in the Pac-10 in tackles (5.67), T-14th in interceptions (0.17), T-14th in fumbles forced (0.17), T-eighth in fumbles recovered (0.17), T-16th in tackles for loss (0.83) and T-20th in sacks (0.33).
Ayers closed out 2009 by making 30 tackles, including 4.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and a fumble return for a touchdown, in the final four games. He was named honorable mention All-Pac-10 and first-team Sophomore All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com. He led the team with four forced fumbles (T-3rd in Pac-10), was second with 6.0 sacks (T-10th in Pac-10), third with four interceptions (T-4th in Pac-10), second with 14.5 tackles for loss (5th in Pac-10) and third with 75 tackles. He tied a UCLA season record with two touchdowns on interceptions and scored three defensive TDs.

UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers has announced on Twitter that he has decided to forgo his senior season at UCLA and declare for the NFL Draft. I will try to get in touch with him as soon as possible.

Hello, hello out there?
I think we're back in business. How long it holds up is anyone's guess, but sorry for the blog issues. Apparently they've originated from our main offices and have affected every blog on the server.

The latest updates:
* From what I've been told, Norm Chow's office has not been cleaned out, there are still pictures all in his office, and he was in a staff meeting this morning. Attempts to reach both Chow and his agents have not been successful.

* DE Sam Tai and LB Aaron Wallace have enrolled at UCLA as scheduled and begun with the football team, while quarterback Brett Hundley is participating in the Under Armour All-American game and will enroll next week.

* There has been a lot of speculation about potential hires, but as I've written, Rick Neuheisel is waiting to see how some things play out over the next several days before making any decisions. There already appears to be a chain-reaction taking place at several colleges and even in the NFL ranks, and Neuheisel is in a good position with his wait-and-see approach.

Fire away with questions for this week's Q&A. Please don't post new questions on the answers section, because I don't always check the comments. Save them for next week.

Thanks
Jon

Hey guys,

I really don't know the technical breakdown of what killed the blog over the last few days, but it appears that we're past it. I kept posting while it was down, so you should be able to catch up.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years, happy and healthy, and enjoy some football. Thank you loyal readers for continuing to visit the blog often, and I appreciate the readership and interest.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and here's to a 2011 that's 2011 times better than 2010.