Johnson not treating bowl as personal showcase

The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl may be a one-game showcase for interim head coach Mike Johnson, but he doesn’t look at it that way.

The former UCLA offensive coordinator is not expected to be retained by Jim L. Mora even though the two worked together with the Atlanta Falcons. Johnson was up for the head coaching position at his alma mater, Akron, but the job went to Terry Bowden.

“I’m not going to do anything drastic to make me look good,” Johnson said. “I’m not putting myself in front of the team at all. I’ll go in, coach the team, do my best and give us the best chance to win.”

The bowl game is not just a showcase for Johnson, though, but the players.

For a 6-7 team – one that has a chance to become the first 6-8 team in history – and one with a new incoming head coach, this is either Game 14 of the 2011 season or Game 1A of the 2012 campaign.

“The guys who are coming back, they’re looking at this going forward; the seniors are trying to go out on a positive note,” Johnson said. “If you have tremendous pride you’re going to go out and try hard and end your career on a positive note.”

Bell, Crissman take similar rocky roads

Darius Bell cannot point to any one specific patch of the City College of San Francisco turf, but he can certainly recall the last time he played in the stadium.

“The only thing I really remember about this field is our last game; we played (American River) and I started the game 0-for-3,” Bell said. “(Oregon head coach) Chip Kelly was in the stands, and I was pretty nervous because that was the school I thought I would go to, and I ended up completing my next 23 passes with five touchdowns. That’s my last performance for this school, and it’s a memory I keep with me.”

It’s been an eventful – and much anticipated – week for Bell.

First, his older brother, former UCLA running back Kahlil, had his first career 100-yard game on Christmas Day for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. Then the Bruins headed up north to prepare for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, with practices at Bell’s former college. But Bell had to shake both distractions off to compete with junior Nick Crissman for the backup quarterback duties behind Kevin Prince, with Richard Brehaut suspended for the game for a violation of team rules.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while,” Bell said. “This is a place that has done so much for me, and so much for other kids across the country. Kids come from everywhere to play here to get another chance. Sometimes all kids need is a second chance.”

Bell, who practiced as a wide receiver for much of the year on scout team, was lightly recruited out of San Francisco’s Riordan High and even after a standout season for CCSF in 2009, his only offer aside from UCLA was from San Jose State. But Rick Neuheisel saw Bell as a potential fit for the Pistol offense and came calling.

“I’ve never looked at myself as a JC guy; I just looked at this place as a stepping stone,” Bell said. “I know at least 10 guys from this junior college alone who are in the NFL. The Jeremiah Massolis, the Aaron Rodgers, and look, Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL right now.”

It has been a winding road for Crissman, as well, one also filled with potholes.

The No. 9 quarterback prospect in the class of 2008 according to Scout.com – for comparison, three-year starter Kevin Prince was the No. 40 quarterback recruit in the same class – has battled myriad right shoulder injuries since his freshman season, missing both the 2008 and 2010 seasons.

“It’s been a really long, tough road,” Crissman said. “Any chance I can get to get out there and play football again is awesome for me. At the expense of another teammate, you never want that, but it’s the nature of the game. I’ve learned to never give up.”

Gutbusters
Johnson said on Tuesday that he was unsatisfied with the team’s conditioning after their return to practice from a lengthy layoff, and that he wanted to do additional running on Wednesday, but the Bruins did not do much extra.

“I think we’re going to be in OK shape,” Johnson said. “The way we’ve been practicing will get us in the conditioning and shape we need to be in. We want them fresh on Saturday.”

Bumps and Bruises
UCLA junior cornerback Andrew Abbott suffered a right ankle sprain during Wednesday’s practice, but Johnson expects him to be ready for the bowl.

Quick chat with Marcus Rios

Jim L. Mora’s first commitment came from 4-star cornerback Marcus Rios on December 18th, just a week after Mora was hired. Rios, a one-time Boise State commit, was a near lock to UCLA following his official visit in September and the Mora hire just solidified his decision even more.

Rios stands at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, so he will need to put on weight to compete at a Pac-12 level, but he is still one of the top-five corners on the west coast and is ranked as the No. 19 and 20 corner in the nation by Scout and Rivals.

He said he is planning to enter UCLA as an early entry student in March in time for spring practice.

Here is a quick chat that Inside UCLA Campus Correspondent Jacob Ruffman had with Rios, about his commitment.

Ruffman: You committed to Boise State in March, what was the decision to end the process so early?
Rios: “I was really comfortable with the people and the program at Boise. I actually trained with one of the cornerbacks there and it made it a little bit easier because I knew their technique and I knew what their DB coaches were asking for. I had already been down there about five or six times already and I was really familiar with them.”

JR: What made you want to look at other schools?
MR: “My dad told me that I should check out all of my options and all of my offers to make sure I was doing the right thing. Then I got to UCLA and I liked it a whole lot better and I just knew it was the place for me.”

JR: How did you handle all of the coaching changes going on at UCLA? Did that effect your decision?
MR: “The process didn’t really change. I was going to there whether Neuheisel was there or not. I wanted to go to UCLA no matter what, it didn’t really have a major effect on me.”

JR: So what are your thoughts on coach Mora?
MR: “I met coach Mora a couple of weeks ago and he seems like a really good coach. He’s coached in the NFL so I know that the program is going to change a lot and it’s going to become a lot stronger than it was in past years.”

Continue reading “Quick chat with Marcus Rios” »

UCLA injury update

From UCLA:

Senior point guard Lazeric Jones and freshman guard Norman Powell both suffered left ankle sprains yesterday in practice. However, both guards returned to practice today and will play in the Pac-12 opener at Stanford on Dec. 29.

Zumwalt ready to step up

Jordan Zumwalt doesn’t smile all that much any more.

As a freshman, he was all grins and awe shucks, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

When called upon to start at middle linebacker after the season-ending losses of both Patrick Larimore and Steve Sloan, he was greener than a global warming activist and twice as rabid.

He scurried all over the field with his eyes darting to and fro, wider than saucers, the highly touted freshman simply playing, as he calls it, “on hype.”

A year later, he is calmer, more serious and, he believes, more prepared to assume starting middle linebacker duties once more with Larimore all but ruled out with a right thumb injury.

“I’m way more equipped to handle it,” said Zumwalt, who ranks fifth on the team with 50 tackles. “I understand how to handle situations better, rather than just going off emotion. I know the defense well, too – a lot better than last year, that’s for sure – so I have confidence in my play now.”

Clark Lea, UCLA’s linebacker coach, has confidence as well.

With the Bruins linebacker corps decimated by injury and ineligibility – in addition to Larimore, senior outside linebacker Sean Westgate (concussion) and junior middle linebacker Isaiah Bowens (academically ineligible) are out – Lea is expecting Zumwalt to play like he did during a three-game stretch late last season when he had 20 total tackles and two sacks.

“As a competitor, he wants a bigger piece, and that’s something that’s earned through work,” Lea said. “I know he wants to finish strong, and just through his own personal pride and competitive spirit, he’ll come out and play his butt off.”

At middle linebacker, Zumwalt is going to have to do a little more than that.

With the UCLA defense missing several players in its two-deep lineup, Zumwalt will be called upon to be a unifying presence on the field.

“Now going out there, I know what to expect,” Zumwalt said. “It’s not just going in and playing off emotion and hype. Now I go in, I have my cool with me, calm, collected, and I’m relaxed.”

Heck, he might even smile.