Check out the latest batch of weekly answers…
1) How is Prince’s rehab coming along? Will he be 100% by the start of practice in August? – Kolb Ate 10 Eggs
He is fully cleared and participating in 7-on-7s with his teammates.
2) When will Baca be game-ready? In his absence, what will the OL look like? Slide Sheller to OT and put Hasiak at guard? Or are Connor Bradford, Brett Downey, or anyone else legit replacements at tackle? – Kolb Ate 10 Eggs
First off, I’ve been trying to figure out your name for a while. Is this a pun? I’m stumped. Also: Baca is probably out until October, like the initial estimates, and I’d assume with Hasiak gone that Bradford slides into left tackle and Sheller to guard, but I need to see Albert Cid first. He might be able to move straight to left guard.
3) Both Strasburg and Gerrit Cole were RHP and first overall pick in the MLB draft. Who is/was a better overall prospect, the Aztec or the Bruin? – San Diego Therapist
I’ll take Trevor Bauer.
4) Jon, can you PLEASE ask RN why he isn’t actively pursuing more lineman (OL) and (DL). And when I say pursuing, I mean like, that’s the only thing I sincerely believes matters at this point, especially with usc being so weak on the line, they are going to be using their caps on needs. I understand we’re doing okay on the defensive side, but the fact remains the reason we have stunk besides not having a qb, is our Lines are too weak to make any dent in protection to prevent pressure, and on the other side, to weak to apply it. It just doesn’t make sense how many other positions we are going after when it all starts in the trenches? Thanks for the great coverage, and getting other people involved to keep up the information here. – D
Look, I agree with you. One of the knocks on Neuheisel going back to even his Colorado days was that he values style over substance, skill players over linemen, at least in recruiting. Look no further than the class of ’08, which only had Baca and Bradford in Neuheisel’s first class. I would’ve gone guns-blazin’ for a few more lower-level linemen prospects, just because of cases like this, where UCLA will again be thin. The last few years, the OL recruiting has been decent, but this is a huge year for linemen out west, and UCLA needs at least three of the better ones.
5) I understand the wishes of Howland and UCLA fans for Lee to have stayed one more year, but I cant really fault him for leaving. Individually I dont think college offered too much more, he’s become a great defender, his offense will always be a work in progress, no better place to work on it than in the NBA when all your focus is on hoops. The potential class for 2012 is absolutely loaded. While most of these players are younger their “potential” (the magic word that rules the NBA draft) are far greater than Malcolm’s. Malcolm’s best chance to get drafted (the highest possible) was in this draft, not next year. I hate to see him go but I think his workouts will land him in a great place to succeed. Thoughts? – Anonymous
I don’t know, I’m a little torn on that. My argument for Honeycutt leaving is because I don’t know he’d boost his stock too much with another year, even a successful one. He’s not going to look to score, his handles aren’t that great, and he couldn’t get much better than leading the conference in blocks and averaging 7-plus boards. Essentially, he is who he is, and another year of college wouldn’t have done much in terms of his draft prospects. Lee, though, with a slight boost in scoring, maybe to 14.5-15 per game, combined with a possible conference DPOY award, along with a decent run in the Tournament? That’s a first-rounder, for sure.
