January 2012 Archives

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on playing at Washington:
"They have a great home court. It's really a loud, hard place. They have great fan support that really gets their players going. I was up there a few weeks ago recruiting, and they did a good job when they remodeled it. It's loud."

On preparing to play at Hec Ed:
"As football does - and we do it to sometimes - you pipe in noise. I think it can help."

On the Huskies:
"Lorenzo has really developed a good program. They win year in year out and they play real hard. This team and last years team is a very good shooting team."

On a game like Washington's big loss at Colorado being a game to study for comparison:
"Colorado, you're up at 7,000 feet. I'm not sure Wilcox played in that game. Washington plays really hard at home, and that's why when Cal went in there and won it was a big win. You throw all that out. That has nothing to do with this game Thursday."

UCLA's Saturday matchup with Washington State will not be televised locally in Los Angeles. The open window selected by Washington State did not fit into Prime Ticket. Will be televised for those with sports packages on Root Sports Northwest.

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

I know it's a little early, but why not take a look forward.

Here is a look at UCLA's year-by-year breakdown for the 2012 season based on the team's 2012 verbal commitments as of 2 p.m. Monday, two days before signing day. Of course, there will be some surprises, and the Bruins are still in the running for a handful of uncommitted or soft verbals, including some highly coveted wide receivers, which going forward is clearly the team's biggest need on offense.

Some notes:
* THIS IS NOT A DEPTH CHART, THIS IS A BREAK DOWN BY CLASS STANDING.
* This takes the current roster as of Jan. 30. Many players on this list won't be come spring ball. Rumors about players having been kicked off or transferring are not formalized yet, so that's why the list is so full.
* As it stands, UCLA has 26 verbal commitments and 68 players listed on the official roster; the max for a college football team is 85 scholarships.

97 Damien Holmes DE RS SR
59 Keenan Graham DE RS JR
94 Owamagbe Odighizuwa DE JR
N/A Eli Ankou DE FR

90 Donovan Carter DT RS SR
98 Seali'i Epenesa DT JR
40 Kevin McReynolds DT RS FR
N/A Ellis McCarthy DT FR

3 Cassius Marsh DT JR
92 Brandon Willis DT SO
95 Brandon Tuliaupupu DT RS FR

56 Datone Jones DE RS SR
96 Iuta Tepa DE RS JR
10 Sam Tai DE RS FR
N/A Nate Iese DE FR

30 Eric Kendricks LB RS SO
14 Aramide Olaniyan OLB RS SO
48 Jared Koster LB RS SO
27 Aaron Wallace OLB RS FR
N/A Jeremy Castro OLB FR

42 Patrick Larimore LB RS SR
55 Todd Golper LB RS JR
25 Isaiah Bowens LB RS JR
44 Mike Orloff LB RS FR
N/A Aaron Porter MLB FR

17 David Allen LB RS SR
35 Jordan Zumwalt LB JR
33 Ryan Hofmeister LB RS FR
N/A Kenny Orjioke OLB FR

21 Aaron Hester CB RS SR
26 Andrew Abbott CB RS SR
23 Anthony Thompson CB RS FR
N/A Ishmael Adams CB FR
N/A Paul Perkins CB FR
N/A Jerico Richardson CB FR

4 Stan McKay SS RS JR
1 Dietrich Riley SS JR
N/A Taylor Lagace S FR

19 Dalton Hilliard FS SR
15 Alex Mascarenas FS RS JR
7 Tevin McDonald FS RS SO
N/A Trayvon Watson S FR

22 Sheldon Price CB SR
2 Brandon Sermons CB RS JR
8 Anthony Jefferson CB RS SO
N/A Marcus Rios CB FR
N/A Shannon Edwards CB FR
N/A Justin Combs CB FR

18 Jeff Locke P/PK RS SR
17 Kip Smith PK RS SO
N/A Ka'imi Fairbairn K FR

CBSSports.com released its latest 2013 NFL Draft Prospect sheet, and UCLA was very well represented.

Tight end Joseph Fauria was ranked the No. 1 tight end, Jeff Locke is the No. 1 punter, Patrick Larimore is the No. 6, Johnathan Franklin is the No. 7 running back and Aaron Hester is the No. 13 cornerback. Eight more players are ranked in the top-100 at their respective positions.

Name / Position / Rank / School / Class / Ht. / Wt. / 40-yard dash
Datone Jones DE 23 UCLA SR 6-4 275 4.76
Kevin Prince QB 23 UCLA SR 6-2 223 4.74
Dalton Hilliard FS 25 UCLA SR 6-0 200 4.49
Sheldon Price CB 34 UCLA SR 6-1 180 4.56
Richard Brehaut QB 43 UCLA SR 6-2 226 4.82
Damien Holmes DE 52 UCLA SR 6-3 270 4.86
Andrew Abbott CB 81 UCLA SR 5-09 178 N/A

I know it's a little early, but why not take a look forward.

Here is a look at UCLA's year-by-year breakdown for the 2012 season based on the team's 2012 verbal commitments as of 2 p.m. Monday, two days before signing day. Of course, there will be some surprises, and the Bruins are still in the running for a handful of uncommitted or soft verbals, including some highly coveted wide receivers, which going forward is clearly the team's biggest need on offense.

Some notes:
* THIS IS NOT A DEPTH CHART, THIS IS A BREAK DOWN BY CLASS STANDING.
* This takes the current roster as of Jan. 30. Many players on this list won't be come spring ball. Rumors about players having been kicked off or transferring are not formalized yet, so that's why the list is so full.
* As it stands, UCLA has 26 verbal commitments and 68 players listed on the official roster; the max for a college football team is 85 scholarships.

QUARTERBACK
4 Kevin Prince RS SR
12 Richard Brehaut SR
18 Nick Crissman RS SR
17 Brett Hundley RS FR
11 Jerry Neuheisel FR
N/A Devin Fuller FR
N/A T.J. Millweard FR

RUNNING BACK
23 Johnathan Franklin RS SR
28 Malcolm Jones JR
25 Damien Thigpen RS JR
2 Anthony Barr JR
6 Jordon James RS SO
33 Steven Manfro RS FR
N/A Tairen Owens FR

WIDE RECEIVER
9 Jerry Johnson RS SR
19 Shaquelle Evans RS JR
3 Darius Bell RS JR

WIDE RECEIVER
10 Ricky Marvray RS JR
88 Jerry Rice Jr. RS JR
15 Devin Lucien RS FR
N/A Fabian Moreau FR

FULLBACK
N/A Christian Powell FR

TIGHT END
8 Joseph Fauria RS SR
85 John Young RS SO
N/A Ian Taubler FR

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
56 Xavier Su'a-Filo SO
77 Torian White RS FR
73 Will Oliver RS FR
N/A Simon Goines FR

OFFENSIVE GUARD
75 Chris Ward JR
71 Wade Yandall RS SO
N/A Lacy Westbrook FR

CENTER64 Greg Capella RS JR
63 Kody Innes RS SO
54 Jake Brendel RS FR
N/A Carl Hulick FR

OFFENSIVE GUARD
62 Albert Cid RS JR
67 Casey Griffiths RS JR
55 Ben Wysocki RS FR
N/A Colby Cyburt FR

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
60 Jeff Baca RS SR
70 Connor Bradford RS SR
78 Brett Downey RS SR
N/A Alexandru Ceachir JR

Multiple outlets are reporting that massive offensive tackle Simon Goines out of Central (Keller, Texas) High has verbally committed to UCLA.

Goines - who is listed at 6-foot-8, 295 pounds - is rated as the No. 37 offensive tackle recruit by Scout.com, No. 56 by Rivals.com and No. 55 by ESPN.com. Recruiting analysts I've spoken to about Goines say that his potential is off the charts if he can grow a little more comfortable in his body. He has room to put on both weight and strength, but given UCLA's depth at the position going forward - of which I'll preview later today - there's reason to think he could see major time pretty quickly.

Goines's flip from Missouri was in the works late in the recruiting process as Adrian Klemm went after him pretty hard. Goines has offers from schools such as Arkansas, SMU, West Virginia and Kansas State. Here's a brief video of his, but watch the three straight blocks starting at the :29 second mark. Nasty.

As recruit after recruit has come pouring in for UCLA, one noticeable trend was forming.

The Bruins were getting more stout on defense and certainly bigger up front, but where were the skill players?

Mora got a good one today.

Devin Fuller, the No. 3 quarterback according to Scout.com, gave UCLA his commitment today, giving the Bruins back-to-back dual-threat quarterbacks ranked in the top-five nationally.

A year after poaching Brett Hundley out of Arizona, UCLA went all the way Old Tappan, New Jersey, to reel in Fuller, also rated the No. 3 quarterback by Rivals.com and No. 7 by ESPN.com. Fuller was likely headed to Rutgers before the surprising defection of head coach Greg Schiano to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and also heavily considered heading to Arizona under new coach Rich Rodriguez.

Fuller also had offers from most of the biggest programs in the country, including Alabama, Notre Dame and Nebraska after another brilliant season. Fuller had 2,247 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and 120 rushes for 1,326 yards and 17 touchdowns (including a 15-rush, 360-yard, four-touchdown day) as a senior, a year after completing 95-of-143 passes for 1,886 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing 191 times for 2,306 yards and 32 touchdowns. As a junior, Fuller was named New Jersey Old Spice Player of the Year.

Fuller, who told Scout.com, "I'd say I'm like a Michael Vick-type quarterback" - interesting, who did Mora coach with the Falcons for three years? - could eventually find another spot on the field with the Bruins, as either a wide receiver or defensive back. But he is an incredibly gifted dual-threat quarterback, and for a program that looked so thin at the position just a few weeks ago, the verbal commitments of Fuller, T.J. Millweard out of Texas and Class of '13 QB Eddie Printz from Georgia - which is a long way away from signing day, to be sure - has definitely changed things drastically.

Here is some video on Fuller:

Maybe it was just the shoes, but UCLA head coach Ben Howland sure did seem to have some extra pep in his step on Saturday afternoon.

Sporting sneakers to support the fight against cancer to go along with his fine suit, Howland was springier than a well-coiled slinky; still wound just as tight, but ready to let loose.

His players had a little extra bounce, too.

Playing against one of the hottest teams in the conference, it was UCLA that heated up, shooting 59.6 percent in a 77-60 win over Colorado in front of 9,253 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

"(Former UCLA head coach and current St. John's head coach Steve Lavin) went to the sneakers and stayed in them the rest of the way last year," Howland said with a smile. "I like it, too. Feels better on my feet."

The Bruins were better off of them.

Their feet, that is, as UCLA converted alley-oop after alley-oop, putting on a show for what was certainly the best home crowd of the year at the Sports Arena. Already up seven but coming off a 3-pointer by Colorado's Nate Tomlinson with just less than 14 minutes remaining, the Bruins went on an 13-3 run, capped off by a Jerime Anderson-to-Travis Wear alley-oop dunk, stretching the lead to 17 with 8 minutes, 44 seconds to play.

"Defensive stops - whenever we're getting stops it definitely is a momentum booster," sophomore guard Tyler Lamb said. "It gets everybody up more and then you come down and score, it all starts snowballing. We were in the huddle and we were communicating in timeouts, coach Howland was asking us what we thought would work and our senior guards stepped up a lot."

Just five days remain before signing day, and new UCLA head coach Jim Mora is ready for it to be over.
Not because he is not enjoying the process - put simply, he's loving it - but because he's just ready to get pen to paper and get to work on changing some things around UCLA.
Mora sat down for a long phone conversation about the whirlwind that is January, and how the coaching staff's chemistry and energy is paying off...

What are your thoughts on overrecruiting?
"I'd never heard it, quite frankly. I know what we're recruiting - we're recruiting guys we think can come in here and win football games. We're not overrecruiting. There is natural attrition when a new staff comes in, a new set of standards - not everyone is willing to live up to those. Those are the choices of a new regime. You hope guys just jump on board. But you look at the history of college football, and that's not what happens. We have a plan in place to make sure we get the right players in here who are what everyone wants them to be, and that means coaches, fans, alumni and players."

You're always trying to get them a couple levels above it. You set a standard, you reach it, you push it higher. That's how you create success. I don't know that there will ever be a base level. It's always evolving, always expanding. I know that sounds like coach speak, psycho babble - but true competitors, and I've been fortunate to be around a lot - that's how they look at it, that it was never good enough. Standard? Then push the standard higher. That's the kind of environment we're trying to create. To be perfectly honest, when you're dealing with 115 young men, it's not realistic to think everybody is going to buy into it."

Just five days remain before signing day, and new UCLA head coach Jim Mora is ready for it to be over.
Not because he is not enjoying the process - put simply, he's loving it - but because he's just ready to get pen to paper and get to work on changing some things around UCLA.
Mora sat down for a long phone conversation about the whirlwind that is January, and how the coaching staff's chemistry and energy is paying off...

Jon Gold: How are things going as the recruiting season winds down?
Jim Mora: "It's been fun, it's been educational, it's been challenging. I've enjoyed it. As much as i've enjoyed it, I'm ready for it to end next Wednesday. I want to get these guys locked up."

JG: A new coach coming in has only a couple options: A complete attitude overhaul or maintaining status quo. You seemed to have gone with the first; did that change how you recruited?
JM: "We had a choice with this first class. We could've conceded it and focused all efforts to 2013. We chose to to attack it. If the status quo was OK, I wouldn't be the head coach here, the last guy would. Status quo is unacceptable. Rather than say, oh well, forget this year because we're a year and a half behind, that's not the makeup of this staff. We said lets go, and we've been going."

Nate Iese is a lot of things. He's a linebacker, a defensive end, a tight end and now, he's a UCLA football commit. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound athlete was offered by almost 20 schools to play one of three positions.

Iese, who is finishing up his senior year at Sheldon High School in the Sacramento area, chose to be a Bruin where he will play as a hybrid OLB-DE in UCLA's new 3-4 defense. The staff also said he would play a little tight end if needed in a pinch.

Of the schools that offered Iese, (a list that included Cal, Nebraska, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, Arizona and Arizona State) he ultimately narrowed it down to UCLA and Nebraska before choosing UCLA last week.

Iese is now one of UCLA's 25 current commitments and it would a surprise if he signed with anyone other than the Bruins next week. Here's the conversation that Inside UCLA Campus Correspondent Jacob Ruffman had with Iese:

Ruffman: You made your choice not too long ago, talk me through the decision.
Iese:" I was coming close to making a decision and I kept a couple of schools on my list. Oregon State, Nevada, Nebraska and UCLA were all recruiting me really hard and those were my top schools. I eventually called up Oregon State and told them I wanted to be closer to home. I kept Nebraska in there because I thought they were worth being that far from home. Eventually it came down to UCLA and Nebraska and they kept visiting me and coming to my school and then Cal offered, which made me think a little bit. But what happened with coach Tosh Lupoi made me second guess taking a visit out there and I made my decision to go to UCLA then."

JR: You were offered at several positions, what does UCLA want you to play?
NI: "I talked with (linebackers) coach Jeff Ulbrich and coach Mora and they wanted to see me as a hybrid linebacker who can put his hand in the dirt and rush the passer but also be able to drop back into coverage. The also told me that I'll play a little bit of tight end if they need me there."

JR: You've kept in touch with several recruits throughout the process including fellow UCLA commit Marcus Rios, Shaq Thompson and several others. Talk about the relationships you've built through the process.
NI: "It was a great experience when Marcus and I took our trip to Nebraska together. We knew each other a little bit before because we had worked out over the summer at True Grit program and then we played against each other during the season so it was really nice to go down there with someone you know. We both ended up liking the school a lot and then we decided we were going to make our decision together. A little time went by and we didn't keep in touch too much but then he committed to UCLA a little bit earlier than I did. I was really happy for him and it didn't have a major effect on me but knowing that he was there made me a little more comfortable with UCLA."

Making a cameo on the blog for what I think is a worthy tribute to John Wooden. Four coaches from Uganda were at UCLA yesterday, and they'll be here today, to soak in all things Wooden. They are using his principles to help kids who are in desperate need of it. The power of Wooden reaches all corners of the world.

Nothing quite boosts the confidence like stomping on a doormat.

The Pac-12 gave the UCLA men's basketball team a bit of a reprieve on Thursday, a quick pick-me-up after what was a weekend to forget in Oregon.

The Bruins rebounded from back-to-back losses in the Beaver State with a 76-49 win over conference cellar-dweller Utah on Thursday in front of 4,434 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

"This was a real confidence-booster for us," UCLA sophomore forward David Wear said. "To have two good days of practice and to carry it into the game from practice - we wanted to play 40 minutes without any let-down."

Heading into the matchup with the Utes, no Bruin was as blue as Joshua Smith. The hulking sophomore center admitted to being in his own head in recent games - particularly in a four-foul, four-turnover performance in a seven-point loss at Oregon last Saturday - and adding a 6-10, 315-pound behemoth to the opponent certainly can't help UCLA.

All it took to cure some of UCLA's ills was a visit by conference cellar-dwelling Utah.

The Bruins went on a 14-4 to close the half as the team's shooting improved down the stretch. That coincided with a concentrated effort to get Joshua Smith the ball.

Smith had a team-high nine points at the half on 3-of-4 shooting, with 3-of-5 from the free-throw line, in 10 minutes. David Wear added seven points and Tyler Lamb and Jerime Anderson each added five points.

UCLA's defense improved as well, as Utah shot just 8-for-23 from the field and 3-of-9 from 3-point range. Only Chris Hines (eight points) has more than three for the Utes.

I tried to set up some interviews this week with UCLA's new coaching staff, but I was rebuffed pretty quickly. "They're pretty much all on the road," is what I was told. Let's just say I haven't been told that so often in the past.

But it appears that the Bruins' new staff is full of tireless recruiters, and the results so far have proven that to be true. UCLA has already secured the verbal commitments of 14 players since Jim Mora's hire on Dec. 10, while losing a handful of formerly committed players, and closed the gap on some of the country's top recruits. With less than a week until signing day, and players such as Arik Armstead, Shaq Thompson, Bryce Treggs, Kodi Whitfield and others still up in the air, Jim Mora and Co. are racking up the frequent-flyer miles.

Why?

Call it a youth movement.

As Mora's staff started to round into form, there was a trend setting in: the assistant coaches all seemed to be around the same age. Now that the staff is complete, we have the full picture: Aside from offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and wide receivers coach Eric Yarber, all of Mora's new coaches are between 32-44 years old, with an average age of 41.8. Consider: In 2008, Rick Neuheisel's staff averaged 48 years old.

I've heard some horror stories about UCLA's recruiting the last couple years, and the lack of emphasis put on recruiting by some of the Bruins' elder statesmen. Ultimately, Neuheisel was left with a pretty big burden, and sometimes he succeeded and sometimes he failed. To have landed the '09 and '10 classes with the relative amount of help he got was a pretty big feat.

Mora, though, is no one-man army, and he recognizes that. As a first-time recruiter, he has humbled himself and accepted that so much of the game in college football is having a staff of hungry go-getters who will get out on the road and put in time to maintain relationships. In assembling a staff that is more 21 Jump Street than Matlock, Mora has brought in guys who relish some of the dirty work. Forget the ties formed between coach and recruit at each of the coach's previous schools - relationships that have paid off handsomely for the Bruins - the coaches have been hustling.

As I've written before, I've always thought that one of Neuheisel's biggest issues was his staff make-up. How is there supposed to be real staff chemistry when half the room is 55-plus, and the other half is under 38? One of the themes consistently mentioned by recruits in recent weeks is the team effort that UCLA is utilizing in recruiting, with Adrian Klemm, Eric Yarber, Angus McClure and Demetrice Martin frequently mentioned by recruits.

Here's a breakdown of the new staff and their respective ages.

Head Coach: Jim L. Mora - 50
Offensive Coordinator: Noel Mazzone - 54
Defensive Coordinator: Lou Spanos - 40
Offensive Line: Adrian Klemm - 34
Running Backs: Steve Broussard - 44
Wide Receivers: Eric Yarber - 48
Tight Ends: Marques Tuiasosopo - 32
Defensive Line: Angus McClure - 44
Linebackers/Special Teams: Jeff Ulbrich - 34
Defensive Backs: Demetrice Martin - 38

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UCLA head coach Ben Howland on Joshua Smith:
"For him at that body fat, what he did going into his summer going into his freshman year, was got up freshman year and went (to the gym) twice a day. It was rigourous. For him, it's a six-month process. It's not a two-month or three-month deal."

On Smith coming back as a sophomore:
"Part of it was such a long season the first time, going through it, so much more attention to detail, going all the way to march. All that played a difference for him. It was hard. But now he's seeing, 'If I don't do that, I'm not playing to my potential.' We all know what his potential is, but it's still what-if?
"I still think he can be dominant for us. No question."

On Smith's struggles:
"Not just at the offensive end. That's where we all think about him. But for him to continue to do a good job of rebounding and to use his size. That's where I thought he made a number of mistakes was on the defensive side of both the Oregon and Oregon State game."

Injury update:
David Wear practiced last two days, little soreness. But overall he's good.
Travis Wear had sinus infection on Sunday, missed practice Monday, practiced Tuesday.
Jerime Anderson bad head cold, will practice today.
Tyler Lamb knee tendonitis should practice today.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on what disappointed him the most from the weekend in Oregon:
"Just the beginning of the half, that we let them on that 9-0 run so quickly. Our mistakes. A bad foul leads to two free throws. They come back hit a three, get very fortunate on the four-point play. We fought back, eight-point lead with 10 minutes to go. But allowing the lead to slip away was the most disappointing."

On why the Bruins lost:
"Our defense was really a primary factor as to how we lost. We played well enough offensively. even on Saturday - we scored seven more baskets than the other team. But our foul team really hurt us. If we're 5-of-8 we're up 17 at the half, instead of 14, and psychologically that's huge."

On Anthony Stover:
"He played with a lot of energy, played really hard. Nice tip in, blocked some shots. We still need Stover to rebound when he's out there, to be an effective rebounder."

On Joshua Smith:
"It was reminiscent of the Cal/Stanford weekend and he had two of the best practices of his year. (The games against Oregon) were the only games that his mom and dad attended, and he didn't play particularly well. He played as poor a game as he has all year on Saturday. I think he's very motivated right now. he wants to do better."

On what's holding Smith back:
"Conditioning."

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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

It appears so...

Coveted defensive end/linebacker Jeremy Castro wrote on his Twitter feed that he flipped to UCLA from Oregon after his official visit this weekend, this as the Tampa Times is reporting that Oregon coach Chip Kelly is close to a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As if this offseason could get any crazier...

Now if the Castro conversion comes to fruition, the Bruins are going to get another solid prospect for what's expected to be a shift to be a hybrid 4/3 - 3/4 defense. Castro is ranked as the No. 21 outside linebacker by Scout.com - No. 17 by Rivals.com and No. 108 by ESPN.com - and he has offers from Oklahoma, Washington, Boise State, Clemson and several Pac-12 schools.

Castro is 6-3, 245 pounds and would help the Bruins at a position of need, with an influx of young talent needed on that edge rush. Here's a video of his junior year highlights, and I'm sure a senior video will be up soon, as he had 106 tackles and 11 sacks:

Hey guys, check out my long, long, long feature on UCLA's most glaring weakness for almost two decades and the men who set out to fix it, and fast: The Line of Demarcation

Some great stuff from Adrian Klemm and Jim Mora in here regarding the offensive line.

EUGENE - The UCLA men's basketball team has had more false starts this season than a football team starting five freshmen on the offensive line.
Case in point: the Bruins' woeful opening in their three-point loss at Oregon State on Thursday, when the Beavers jumped to an 7-0 lead.
On Saturday, UCLA stormed out of the gate, leading Oregon by nine less than five minutes in the game before taking a 13-point into halftime.
The only problem?
In college basketball there are two starts, and the Bruins could not recharge.
The Ducks went on a 15-2 run to open the second half and pulled away from UCLA with some clutch free-throw shooting to ruin the Bruins' trip to the Beaver State with a 75-68 win in front of 10,830 at Matthew Knight Arena.
"It's pretty devastating right now to lose after you have a 13-point lead going into the second half," senior guard Jerime Anderson said. "That's where we need to become a better team and grow as a team and be able to come out on top and get this win. We were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes and we weren't able to come out with it."
Anderson's foul of Oregon guard Garrett Sim during a 3-point attempt spurred the Ducks early in the half and had the crowd building on the frenzy caused during a halftime ceremony celebrating the school's Rose Bowl-winning football team. Sim hit the free throw to make it a seven-point game, followed less than a minute later with another 3-pointer, and by the time UCLA stopped to breathe, the Ducks had tied the game at 39. Oregon took its first lead with 7 minutes, 47 seconds left in the game and led for the duration.
"When they had their roll going, the crowd definitely - I don't know if it factored in for us, but for them their intensity level definitely went up," said sophomore forward Travis Wear, who led the team with 17 points. We could sense it. Unfortunately we couldn't stop it right away. They got a couple buckets and kept rolling."
Exactly what UCLA did so right in the first half, it did wrong in the second.
After forcing the Ducks into 22.6 percent shooting for the first 20 minutes with improved energy and sound defensive rotations, the Bruins wilted in the second half under the face of Oregon's pressure. The Ducks shot 50 percent in the second half, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, as E.J. Singler took control.
Singler, who had a career-high 24 points in the teams' previous matchup in last season's Pac-10 Tournament - a 17-point Oregon win - topped his previous best with 26 points, capitalizing on frequent trips to the free-throw line.
Singler hit 16-of-17 free throws and the Ducks converted 28-of-32 as a team, while UCLA tightened up at the line, making just 10-of-21.
"They really got it to Singler in some of his sweet spots on the floor," Anderson said. "He was able to work them very well. He shot 17 free throws today and we just didn't have an answer for him in the second half."
After the pivotal two-game trip left them at 3-4 in Pac-12 play, the Bruins continue to search for answers.
"Obviously this was a huge setback," Anderson said. "We're 3-4 now. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves."

UCLA fans must feel like they're watching a different team today in Eugene.

Two days after letting Oregon State shoot the lights out on Thursday in an 87-84 loss to the Beavers, UCLA clamped down on Oregon while taking a 13-point halftime lead.

The Bruins, who got off to a 13-4 lead to start the game, held the Ducks to 7-of-31 shooting in the first half - including 2-of-11 3-point shooting - while maintaining a 26-16 advantage on the glass.

UCLA had little trouble finding the basket, going 17-for-33 from the field but just 1-for-8 from the free-throw line. The Bruins had a balanced attack with four players over six points, including David and Travis Wear who paced the effort with eight points each.

E.J. Singler (1-for-6) and Devoe Joseph (2-for-8) each led Oregon with six points.

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Doing a monster story on the UCLA offensive line - centerpiecing Sunday's Daily News sports section, so it's worth the 25 cents or whatever - and I sat down for a while with Adrian Klemm. I asked him one specific question I wanted answered - give me your recruiting pitch - and here was his answer. And answer. And answer. And answer. And answer...

Adrian Klemm on.....
"From an academic standpoint, you're talking about one of the finest institutions in the country. A very diverse campus, and you're in the middle of one of the most famous, safest areas, where the people you'll rub elbows with can be beneficial to you even in life after football. A lot of times I tell people, it's not a four-year decision, it's a 40-year decision. This is going to dictate how the rest of your life is, whether you have success on or off the field, while you're playing or if you go into the business world. You're going to meet a lot of people here who will be beneficial to you once you do something else.

"Like I tell a lot of guys - even if you make it into the NFL, at some point you're going to have to work. Very few guys go in there and play 15 years and I don't think kids realize that sometimes. The average player plays 2.5-3 years, and really if you're only playing 2.5-3 years, you're not making that much money. You're not making millions like people think. Every year in the draft, people think everyone's making $15, $20 million out of the gate. Maybe 15 or 20 guys get that. The rest are in the low-hundreds; a lot of money, but when you take training into account, living in different places, paying agents, new money to family members - that can go pretty fast. You want something to fall back on. But then if you're a guy who makes a ton of money and you don't have to work but you want to invest, you want to have that network you can reach out to, also.

"You don't want to go to some place just because of the uniform or just because of the stadium or just because of an individual coach. You want to go to a place that sets you up to have the best success, whether that's on the field or off the field. You'd like to have the combination of both, and here at UCLA, obviously you get a great education, but from a football standpoint, too, you have a number of guys with a tremendous amount of experience, whether that's coaching or playing. A lot of us have NFL experience - obviously Coach Mora has more than anybody else - and he's a guy that, if you're trying to get to that level, who better to get you to that level than a guy who has evaluated people up there and knows exactly what they're looking for? If you want to be the best at your position, there's a number of guys on this staff that can tell you how - not because they were the best at the position but because they've done it, they've made mistakes, they know what works and what doesn't work and they can tell you exactly what it takes. At this level of football - Pac-12, SEC, Big-12 - everybody is a good coach. There's not a lot that separates guys. But from the standpoint of the little things, the intangibles, there are some things that maybe guys like myself, Jeff, Coach Mora can add to the table. Not much more but a little more.

"I just try to sell that. It's all about relationships when it comes down to it. It's about who can set you up for the best future and it's about relationships. Who is going to take care of you when you get there? Who is going to look out for you? Who is going to make sure you graduate? Who is going to keep your parents involved? Kids are leaving home and a lot of times now you're seeing kids branch out across the country. It's not just kids staying local. When they go out there, if a kid leaves California and goes to a Texas or a Florida halfway across the country, who is going to look out for them? More than likely it's the guy who has established a relationship with the kid and his family. I just try to build trust, try to always be honest and I think everyone on the staff tries to do the same thing. You just hope that in the end, the kids appreciate that and they realize what's best for them, and their parents are a stable support system, and they're guided in the right direction."

On aggression:
"The first play of the game, they had the ball and they got a second shot. We just were not agressive enough, the way we need to be. They got a second shot off a missed shot because we did a bad job closing the back side, and then they scored."

On Oregon's 17-point win over UCLA in the 2011 Pac-10 tournament:
"We played them three times and the last time they really handled us. I haven't watched that game yet, but what i remember is we came off a long road trip and we played like we were tired in that game. We just didn't play well."

On Joshua Smith coming off the bench:
"I can't speak for the rest of the season, but right now, yeah. Josh has to help us more than he's helped us defensively. He has zero blocked shots in conference so far. He has to be more of a presence for us on the defensive end of the floor. We need him to step up and play better defense."

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on the team's defense against Oregon State:
"It's just disappointing. When you watch it on film, our stance off the ball, our help, there was no sense of urgency. Our intensity wasn't where we needed it to be.

On today's light practice:
"We have a number of guys who played major minutes. We watched film for about an hour. Hopefully we'll learn from that. And we'll obviously go through Oregon stuff. These early games on Saturday are tough because you don't have the preparation time."

On Thursday's unexpected defensive lapse:
"We've been getting better defensively. Especially the last three games, we'd done a good job defensively. To turn around and not have the kind of defesnvie showing we'd had the last two weeks was disappointing. The main thing is giving great effort."

On Anthony Stover playing more:
"Stove did a good job when he was in there. He's played some minutes in each of our last games. It's definitely siomething I need to look at."

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CORVALLIS, ORE. -

Jared Cunningham's resounding slam dunk less than three minutes into the first half of UCLA's matchup with Oregon State on Thursday night gave the Beavers a quick eight-point lead and got the Gill Coliseum crowd off its feet.

But the play that immediately preceded the Cunningham dunk?
More indicative of how the game went for the Bruins.

Senior point guard Jerime Anderson, facing a frantic pressure defense by the Beavers, hurled the ball six feet over 6-foot-10 David Wear's head.

Pretty much sums it up.

Oregon State capitalized on UCLA miscues and benefited from some hot shooting performances to halt the Bruins' three-game win streak in an 87-84 win in Corvallis on Thursday.

Much of UCLA's effort was a study in offensive mismanagement, the Bruins doomed both early and late.

There were errant passes that seemed to be destined for nobody - at least nobody in blue - and steamrolls disguised as drives to the basket that resulted in offensive fouls as Oregon State scored 20 points off 13 UCLA turnovers.

"That's their game; you can tell they're a run-and-gun team, and they did what they're supposed to do," senior guard Lazeric Jones said. "When people turn it over, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to capitalize on it."

With a zone defense that frequently caused the Bruins fits, the Beavers got off and running.

UCLA forced 12 turnovers itself, but was unable to get into the fast break, finishing with just five points off Oregon State offerings.

Never was the mismatch in tempo more evident than a short stretch midway through the second half, with the game still very much undecided.

After Bruins center Joshua Smith tied the game at 51, Oregon State went on a 7-0 run to regain control as UCLA committed three straight turnovers.

"They hurt us by speeding us up," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "We got sped up; one time we had a 3-on-2 and instead of attacking the basket, we're pulling up for a three and Jerime (Anderson) threw it away to (Tyler) Lamb. We made some mistakes like that when we were going faster than we were used to going. We let the pressure get to us."

Added Anderson: "That was definitely the turning point in the game. It gave them a little momentum and they carried it until the end of the game. We were never able to get all the way back, close to even tying."

ou allow a team to get confident and get going, and you see what happened tonight."

There was a time when leading the Pac-10 in scoring meant a little something.

Then again, there was a time when the Pac-10 was producing five NCAA Tournament teams.

Last year, Washington State's Klay Thompson parlayed a conference-high 22.3 points per game into a first-round draft selection by the Golden State Warriors. The two players who followed him on the league scoring chart fared pretty well, too - Derrick Williams of Arizona went to Minnesota at No. 2 and USC's Nikola Vucevic went No. 16 to Philadelphia.

Now, even with the league growing, adding two new teams in Utah and Colorado, the Pac-12's best scorer barely registers on a national scale.

A direct result of the conference's struggles, the Pac-12's leading scorer, Oregon State's Jared Cunningham, is hardly a household name, not even listed on most first- and second-round NBA mock drafts.

He's quite familiar to UCLA, which travels to Corvallis for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Beavers tomorrow, and not just for his 17.6 points per game.

"I've been playing against Jared Cunningham for a long time - high school, AAU," said sophomore guard Tyler Lamb, who will match up with him in UCLA's man-to-man defense. "He's really worked on his game and gotten better. I think he's underrated nationally. He doesn't just go out there and score, he helps his team win."

It appears that Noel Mazzone is doing some recruiting of his own.

The UCLA offensive coordinator reeled in one of his former Arizona State pledges on Tuesday night as All Saints' Episcopal School (Fort Worth, TX) quartebrack T.J. Millweard verbally committed to the Bruins.

UCLA's 2012 class may be filling up faster than a model at a buffet, but given the team's precarious depth at the quarterback position going forward, getting one in this class was important to the staff.

Millweard's rankings differ greatly among Scout, Rivals and ESPN, though the quality of his beard is considered top-notch. Millweard is ranked 6th nationally at his position by ESPN.com, 25th by Rivals.com and 32nd by Scout.com, and he becomes UCLA's second quarterback verbal this week, as Eddie Printz of the Class of 2013 verbally committed.

Not a ton of video out there on him, but here's one in which he shows some good athleticism and recognition skills: Rivals Video

UCLA's search for a defensive coordinator lasted weeks and weeks last season, finally landing on a coach straight from the United Football League.

Jim Mora's search didn't go much faster, but roughly five weeks after his hire,
he poached his man from the NFL.

Mora announced on Tuesday the hiring of former Washington Redskins linebackers coach Lou Spanos as the Bruins' defensive coordinator, filling the UCLA staff at nine assistants.

"I am thrilled a coach with Lou's NFL background and defensive pedigree has agreed to join our staff," Mora said. "Now that our coaching staff is complete, I'd like to thank Dan Guerrero for his support as we sought to bring the finest coaches in football to UCLA. We have a collection of men that will not only be mentors to our student-athletes, but given their experience at the highest levels of football, will also be able to provide them a blueprint for competing and winning, and reaching their athletic potential."

Spanos spent two seasons with the Redskins, helping lead London Fletcher to an NFL-high 166 tackles and a spot in he Pro Bowl, a year after he helped Fletcher and Brian Orakpo to the all-star game. Spanos arrived in Washington after 15 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he helped guide the team to three Super Bowl appearances. His hire gives UCLA a total of 90 years of NFL experience staff among its coaches, as players or coaches.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland said that he expects De'End Parker to transfer closer to home to help care for his mother, who is battling health issues.

Parker, who has been sidelined for much of the year with a knee injury, returned to San Francisco during Christmas break and stayed for an extended period. He returned to UCLA to take classes in order to ensure a smooth transition.

"De'End went home from Christmas and I think we're going to try to help him try to petition to try to transfer to get closer to his home, to his mom," Howland said. "She's more comfortable with him around. I'm hoping we can get that worked out. He's in school, he's attending classes, and he's trying to make that move. The NCAA has been pretty good about helping kids who have extenuating circumstances like that."

UCLA's recruiting over the last few weeks has been an absolute blur. With an almost entirely new coaching staff, the Bruins have been collecting verbal commitments like stamps, some from players whom the team wasn't even heavily involved with as recently as as a few weeks ago.

The latest verbal commitment is not one of those.

UCLA fans have known about Ellis McCarthy for a long, long time.

The hulking Monrovia High defensive tackle - rated No. 2 nationally by Scout and Rivals and No. 4 by ESPN - verbally committed to the Bruins on Monday night after the news that Cal defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi had accepted the defensive line position at Washington. UCLA offensive line coach and recruiting beast Adrian Klemm took to Twitter once more to clue fans in on the news, with a nod to new Bruins' defensive backs coach DeMetrice Martin, "8 CLAP!!!!! My boy Meat doin' work!"

McCarthy, who verbally committed to the Bears at the US Army All-American Game, is a dominant figure on the line, when he wants to be. Mora and his new defensive coaches will be entrusted to get the McCarthy's full potential - Mora has preached to me that he wants kids who love football - and if he can help foster that kind of intensity, McCarthy could be one of the premier defensive players in the Pac-12 in a few years.

Just got the confirmation from Datone Jones that he is returning for his senior season.

Jones finished with 41 tackles, three sacks and 6.5 tackles-for-loss as a redshirt junior, a year removed from a broken foot suffered early in training camp. Jones struggled out of the gate but seemed to find a home as a hybrid end/tackle, using his big frame in the interior to help free up the perimeter during UCLA's late-season surge.

Jones, along with running back Johnathan Franklin, explored leaving for the NFL Draft, but the deadline for entry was yesterday. Franklin said last week that he would return to play for Noel Mazzone, but Jones' status was undetermined until recently.

It will be interesting to see how UCLA uses Jones next season, as the Bruins have more returning at end than at tackle. Damien Holmes, Keenan Graham, Iuta Tepa, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Aramide Olaniyan and Sam Tai coming back at defensive end and Cassius Marsh, Donovan Carter, Brandon Willis and Seali'i Epenesa back at defensive tackle.

UCLA's 2012 recruiting class seems to be overflowing, with the Bruins picking up another verbal commitment this weekend from speedy running back Fabian Moreau.

It's 2013 group, though, is just getting started.

First Westlake High's electric running back/defensive back Dashon Hunt. Now it appears he'll have a backfield mate.

Lassiter (Ga.) High quarterback Eddie Printz has verbally committed to UCLA, flipping from SMU, where he was recruited by Adrian Klemm. Klemm took to Twitter once more with an 8-clap - his Twitter has been pretty busy recently - but undoubtedly Printz' high school teammate, UCLA linebacker commit Kenny Orijoke, had some sway as well.

Printz, who has several offers from SEC schools and others along the East coast, has a very fluid throwing motion and should be a fit in the Noel Mazzone offense. On his most recent film, which has no sound (awkward), he delivers two perfect deep out routes, a difficult throw in terms of timing and accuracy.

He could be a good one. Plus, you know, he was really good in I Know What You Did Last Summer.

It appears there is going to be a massive shift on the recruiting front.

Cal's can-sell-ice-to-Eskimos defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi has signed on with Steve Sarkisian and Washington, whose new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox is putting together one heck of a staff.

The move could ultimately benefit UCLA, as the Bruins seem to go head-to-head more often with the Bears than the Huskies. It could also create some epic recruiting battles between Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin.

It will be interesting to see how it affects the mammoth class that Cal is/was putting together. Will we see a mass exodus? Can UCLA sway guys like Ellis McCarthy and Jordan Payton now? This is definitely the biggest news of the recruiting season in the Pac-12, from a coaching standpoint.

Here's the Washington release on the news.

Lazeric Jones insists he was just trying to show some love to his family.

He maintains that the kiss he blew the Galen Center crowd after his second consecutive basket late in the first half of the Bruins' 66-47 win over USC on Sunday night was all love. No hate.

The glint his eyes said something different. The sneaky smile that crept on his face confirmed it.

"I feel like I'm part of the rivalry now," said Jones, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. "Every time we scored I got really excited. ... That's how it's going to be. That's how it's always going to be. I was watching games a week ago, previous games (in the rivalry), and they were chippy then. Who am I to break the rivalry?"

If Jones provided the flash in the Bruins' blowout win, the Wear twins provided the dirty.

Sophomore forward Travis Wear had 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and brother David Wear added 13 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes as he battled foul trouble.
Even with UCLA center Joshua Smith limited to just six points and five rebounds in 14 minutes, the Bruins had 30 points in the paint and 12 second-chance points and made up for 14 turnovers.

"It's our execution," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "We're getting better at getting the reads and the second and third options off of our sets. We're still not executing as well as we'd like, but we're moving definitely in the right direction. That's huge for us."

So was Anthony Stover.

The Bruins backup center had three blocks and three rebounds but altered several shots and was an active presence in man-to-man defense, which the team has relied heavily upon during its three-game winning streak, which followed back-to-back losses to Stanford and Cal to open Pac-12 play.

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

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When UCLA fans spot an 8-clap on offensive line coach Adrian Klemm's Twitter account, they know something good has happened.

This must have been an extra-special Tweet for Klemm, then.

Sources confirmed that Mission Viejo offensive lineman Colby Cyburt has verbally committed to UCLA, becoming the team's 24th current verbal or soft verbal commit, and its seventh on the offensive line.

Cyburt was thought to be headed to Stanford if he gained acceptance, but he cancelled a trip north and picked the Bruins over the Cardinal, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and a host of other schools.

After bringing in just two offensive linemen in 2010, UCLA signed six last season and is looking to load up in 2012 as well.

Here's what appears to be the latest video of Cyburt:

Last weekend, UCLA hosted an impressive group of recruits.

This weekend, it's more of the same.

UCLA will host nine players for official visits including Scout.com's No. 3 quarterback, Devin Fuller.

Fuller has UCLA in his top four, along with Rutgers, TCU and Nebraska, and the Bruins can definitely make a big impression this weekend on one of the East coast's top prospects. You can bet that Jim Mora will highlight his time with Michael Vick as a major selling point, as well as UCLA's thin depth chart at the position going forward.

UCLA offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo arrived in 2009 to much fanfare, the team's highest-rated offensive line recruit in more than a decade.
His return from a two-year mission, though, might be even more crucial to the Bruins.
I sat down with Su'a-Filo for an hour to talk about faith and football, about how he's changed in two years, and more importantly to UCLA football fans, how he's stayed the same. So, to clarify: He is 310 pounds, grew a little taller, worked out on his own quite often, and he expects to be rounding into shape come spring football, with a target goal of getting to his post-freshman level by the fall.
More importantly to him, though, was his change from boyhood to manhood during what was a trying two-year period of his life.
Check out our chat below...

JG: Which coaches went out to see you when you got back, and what did that feel like?
XSF: Man, it made me feel great. (Recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach) Angus McClure called and said he was bringing Coach Klemm and Coach Mora to introduce themselves to me, and I was very excited. Those were the two guys I wanted to meet, naturally. When they told me they were coming over, then I got to sit down and my parents got to sit down and feel comfortable with coach Mora and coach Klemm. I was really able to connect with them and build a different relationship than I had with coach Neuheisel and coach Palcic. They're completely different coaches. But I still felt comfortable with them. It was nice. It was comforting to know that my coaches, who hadn't met me yet, flew out to come and see me as soon as I got home because they were excited and want to meet me and still wanted me to come and play."

JG: How do you stack up to 19-year old Su'a-Filo?
XSF: "I think I'm more of a man. A man's body. I'm still starting to fill in muscle-wise, in terms of density. But I'm still raw man. I haven't sat down like I will this next year - this winter, spring, summer, fall - that I'll be able to train hard for football. Where I stack up? I'm still me. I got a little taller. I'm about 310, 312. I'm out of shape a little but I'm getting back into it. I feel good. I feel like when I lift, I'll be able to have man strength, and not boy strength. My freshman year, I really struggled with that. I played, but after every game, not a little people know that I was beat up, man. I was beat up. I was in that ice bath hanging out in the training room. Icing, icing and resting. Those games, being 18 years old and playing against those men was tough.

UCLA offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo arrived in 2009 to much fanfare, the team's highest-rated offensive line recruit in more than a decade.
His return from a two-year mission, though, might be even more crucial to the Bruins.
I sat down with Su'a-Filo for an hour to talk about faith and football, about how he's changed in two years, and more importantly to UCLA football fans, how he's stayed the same. So, to clarify: He is 310 pounds, grew a little taller, worked out on his own quite often, and he expects to be rounding into shape come spring football, with a target goal of getting to his post-freshman level by the fall.
More importantly to him, though, was his change from boyhood to manhood during what was a trying two-year period of his life.
Check out our chat below...

Jon Gold: A lot of former missionaries are tempted to transfer to BYU or Utah because they get so comfortable being around people of their faith; did that thought cross your mind?
Xavier Su'a-Filo: "Yeah, a little bit. Not for a football reason. There were a lot of rumors I guess speculating if I would be back. I always wanted to come back to UCLA. I was a little bit skeptical when coach Neuheisel got fired. He was the guy who gave me my scholarship. He was my coach. When he was fired, naturally I looked into other options. Just started thinking about them, if it wouldn't work out, if UCLA wouldn't take me. I wasn't sure if coach Mora would want me. I wasn't sure. A lot of people think I'm dumb for thinking that, but it was realistic. I was thrilled to find out when Coach Mora got hired, he still wanted me back at UCLA. I was thrilled I didn't have to sit out.
"I can understand after serving a mission, I can see why guys will transfer to BYU or Utah after. I can see why they want to surrounded by that. It's a nice thing to have, to be around by those with your with your beliefs. I've actually met quite a few people here who are already members of the church, and a lot of friends and people have asked me about it and it's great to be able to share my beliefs and start conversations that way. I just wanted to come back to UCLA, and when I found out I could, I was thrilled. I really feel comfortable here. I feel like I'm here it's a decision I made before and I loved it. I love the boys on the team and I think we can be good."

JG: Were you constantly thinking about football?
XSF: I always cared about football. It was hard because a lot of people would meet me on my mission and say, 'Hey, you're a big boy. Did you play football?' They'd ask me all these questions. At first I got a little tired of it because that's not why I was there. And it wasn't helping because I did miss football. I'd try to change the focus, "Yeah, I used to play ball,' and it wouldn't get past that. I would have some companions say what do you mean, and I'd tell them I played at UCLA, and down in Alabama, Florida, they're not huge fans. I hung out with Florida State fans the most - down all the members are Florida State fans, Alabama fans and Auburn fans. They were Roll Tide. When they found out I played at UCLA, they were like, 'Oh...that's neat. That's good. Good for you.' But I met a lot of good people there making the connection with football. When I was my mission I missed football a lot, but I knew it wasn't why I was there."

UCLA offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo arrived in 2009 to much fanfare, the team's highest-rated offensive line recruit in more than a decade.
His return from a two-year mission, though, might be even more crucial to the Bruins.
I sat down with Su'a-Filo for an hour to talk about faith and football, about how he's changed in two years, and more importantly to UCLA football fans, how he's stayed the same. So, to clarify: He is 310 pounds, grew a little taller, worked out on his own quite often, and he expects to be rounding into shape come spring football, with a target goal of getting to his post-freshman level by the fall.
More importantly to him, though, was his change from boyhood to manhood during what was a trying two-year period of his life.
Check out our chat below...

Jon Gold: Have you noticed fundamental changes in you? Personality? More patient? Quieter?
Xavier Su'a-Filo: "No, I don't think so. Definitely not quieter. It's more like, before I couldn't wait to talk. I listened, but I couldn't wait to say what I had to say. Now I'm still me, I'll still talk it up. If you ask any of my friends I'm still me. But I guess I'm more analytical. I listen to people. Really being able to hear people. On a mission you meet people with life's problems, who've been through different situations. When you have the opportunity to zero in and listen to them, to hear them and figure out what's going on, that takes a lot of patience and understanding. So if you asked my parents, my friends, everyone if I'm the same me, yeah, I have the same personality. But it's better. I have the ability to listen. To pay attention."

JG: The biggest thing you do as offensive lineman is open doors. Your job as a missionary was to open doors. Little different, but tell me about the hardest day you had out there, because you're not someone who likes those doors shut.
XSF: "The hardest day, whew. There are a lot of different ways that missionaries judge their success. Some missionaries unfortunately judge their success by the number of baptisms. Some by the amount of people they talk to, some by service hours they had. But realistically, success of a mission comes from your personal diligence and your success in working in a companionship, getting closer to the Lord, helping people. When those things are interrupted, it's hard and it's easy to think negative.
"My hardest day on my mission was probably one day when I was serving in second area, in Foley, Alabama. We were serving in an area with a small community of Hispanics in a trailer park area. There had been missionaries there for so long, same old people had been run into. When you were knocking on doors, they already knew who you were. They were not interested. My companion and I were tracting - knocking on doors, which wasn't the most effective thing to do but was what we had to resort to. Earlier that day, two of our top investigators, people we were teaching, had dropped us. They told us for whatever reason they're not interested, they don't want us to come back. It was really disheartening. We could see how much they were progressing, see how much they were changing. For something to suddenly happen without any explanation ... they just all at once told us we don't want you to come over anymore
"It was real discouraging, but we kept going on. That was early, around 1. We were tracting, meeting people, they were nice to us but not wanting the message. Later in the evening, a good friend we had met had a heart attack in the hospital, and she was a very old woman, and it was damaging to her. We went to the hospital, but then later in the evening, we had another person we knew get robbed at their home. She called us, not knowing what to do, kind of almost casting the blame on her starting to meet with us. She thought now she had bad luck. So that whole day, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was raining, too, and we got soaked all during the day. It was just a tough day."

(I don't want to clutter the page, so check out more quotes after the jump...)

UCLA offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo arrived in 2009 to much fanfare, the team's highest-rated offensive line recruit in more than a decade.
His return from a two-year mission, though, might be even more crucial to the Bruins.
I sat down with Su'a-Filo for an hour to talk about faith and football, about how he's changed in two years, and more importantly to UCLA football fans, how he's stayed the same. So, to clarify: He is 310 pounds, grew a little taller, worked out on his own quite often, and he expects to be rounding into shape come spring football, with a target goal of getting to his post-freshman level by the fall.
More importantly to him, though, was his change from boyhood to manhood during what was a trying two-year period of his life.
Check out our chat below...

JG: Tell me who you were in December 2009 when you decided to leave for your mission, and tell me who you are now?
Xavier Su'a-Filo: "Then I was Xavier Su'a-Filo. I had just finished my freshman season of football for UCLA and I was preparing for my mission for the LDS church. Two years later, I'm still the same me, I'm still the same guy. But the mission experience I had was one that changed my life and really helped me in a variety of ways: to be a better man, to become a better person, to be humble. To know how to shape my life better."

JG: Tell me about the moment you made the decision to leave on your mission...
XSF: "I decided that I was going to serve a mission when I flew back from DC from the bowl game to go home. I realized I wasn't going to go back. It hit me when I got home, like, 'Wow, man, I am making this decision. I am going to go.' I had a lot of support so that made it easier. It hit me right then that I had decided what I was going to do, and I felt good about the decision."

(I don't want to clutter the page, so check out more quotes after the jump...

Tell me who you were in December 2009 when you decided to leave for your mission, and tell me who you are now?
Xavier Su'a-Filo: "Then I was Xavier Su'a-Filo. I had just finished my freshman season of football for UCLA and I was preparing for my mission for the LDS church. Two years later, I'm still the same me. Still the same guy. But the mission experience I did have was one that changed my life and really helkped me in a variety of ways. To be a better man, to become a better person, to be humble. To know how to shape my life better.

Tell me about the moment you made the decision
As soon as I decided that I was going to serve a mission was when I flew back from DC frmo the bowl game to go home. I realized I wasn't going to go back. It hit me when I got home -like wow man, I am making this decision. I am going to go. I had a lot of support so that made it easiedr. It hit me right then that i had decided that it wasnt that i was giong to do it and i still felt good about the decision

At what point int he journey was it thnak god i did this, had i not done this...
There are a lot of pooints like that. It had its ups and downs. It was really hard. ... but it was also fun. We had some rough days. We didnt have so much success. it was challenging. Really pushes you to see how dilignet you could be. then youd have some good days, some success. You'd be able to find somebody or help somebody or serve somebody who was really appreciative of it, and you could see the change in their lives. That made it all worthwhile.
In the beginning,, when i first got there - they send you to a training center before you go to the field - a few weeks into the training center, it really hit me. Man....wow. This is what I'm going to be doing for two years. Various times throughout the mission, i sat and contemplated, thikning this is exactly where i need to be. This is exactly what I need to be doing. Because I wouldn't have learned...this."

not what it couldve been, but it is now. two years is done, in the past. Is this the kind of decision do you have thet comntemplative nature or will it hit when your 35, and if i hadnt have done it
I think its already started to do it with me. Just for being faithful that way, we're promised blessings. Flor a lot of people, thsoe come immediately, 10 years later, 5 years, 30 years. But I've already seen a change in myself. Going to class, my study habits, just the eway i talk to people, wat im ablek toi present myself in front of people. Little things I've noticed about myself, tiny little disciplinary things that came from serving a mission. I've noticed them myself, but People around me have noticed a change. i'm still me, though, obviously. Just the little things. being more organized, being on time for things - things that an 18-19 year old kid out of high school would struggle with. i was able to fine tune thise in a little bit and really really I was able to put things into perspecitive on what was moth important in life, which reflected everything. Now i'm at this stage, it's school, back in football, my relationships with famjily and loved ones, things that are really important, I'm able to zero in on them, have a balance and really focus. Im able not to be so distracted

parallel between serving two years a mission and prison time. in both ways end up changed. have you noticed those fundamental changes in you? peronality? more patient
Quieter?
No, I don't think so. Definitley not qiueter. It's more like, before I couldn't wait to talk. I listened, but I cuoldn't wait to say what I had to say. Now I'm still me, I'll still talk it up. If you ask any of my friends im stil me. But I guess I'm more analytic and listening to people. Really being able to hear pepole. On a missuon you meet people with life's problems, diff sithch. When you have op to zero in and listen to them. To discen and hear them and figure out what's going on, that takes a lot of patience and understanding. So if you asked my parents, my friends, everyone if I'm the same me, yeah, i have the same personality. But it's better. I have the ability to listen. To pay ttention.

thing you do as OL is to open doors. Your job as a missionary was to open doors. Little different, but tell me about the hardest day you had out there, bceause you're not someone who likes those doors shut.
The hardest day, whew. There are a lot of different ways that missionaries judge their success. Some missionaries unfortunately judge their success by the number of baptisms. Some by the amount of people they talk to, service hours they had. But realistically, success of a mission comes from your personal diligence and your success workings in a companionship, getting closer to from the lord, helping people. When those things are interrupted, it's hard and it's easy to think negative.
My hardest day on my mission was probably one day when I was serving in second area, in Foley, Alabama. We were serving in an area with a small community of Hispanics in a trailer park area. There had been missionaries for so long, same old people had been run into . When you're knocking doors, they already knew who you were. They were not interested. My companion and I were tracting -knocking on doors, which wasn't the most effective thing to do but was what we had to resort to. earlier that day, two of our top investigators, pepole we were teaching, had dropped us. They told us for whatever reason theyre not interested, they dont want us to come back. It was really disheartening. We could see how much they were progressing, see how much they were changing. for something to suddenly happen without any explanation, they just all at once told us we dont want you to come over anymore. i twas real discouraging, but we kept going on. that was early, around 1. Tracting, meeting pepole, nice to us but not wanting message. Later in the evening, good friend we had met had a heart attack in the hospital who we had met, and she was a very old woman, and it was damaging to her. We went to hospitali, but then later in the evening, we had another person we knew get robbed at their home. They called us, not knowing what to do, kind of almost casting the blame on her starting to meet with us. She thought now she had bad luck. So that whole everything that could go wrong did go wrong. it was raining, too, and we got soaked all during the day. It was just a tough day.

What was the next day like?
Pretty much the same thing...just not the heart attack and the robbery. Lot of days like that, where you try and try and try meet people, and its not happening. Then you wonder sometimes, was it us? Was it what we were doing? Sometimes you don't have success, there are people out there waiting. God is testing if youre diligent enough. The whole week was pretty bad like that, but on the last day, we got one phone call from a member who gave us a referral. I have a good friend, been talking about the church, they want a copy of book of mormon and they want to meet w you, can you come over? we were like, yeees, we'd love to. We set up an appointment that next week and went over and taught her, and after a whole week of griding through rough and tough hard work, we were rewarded with one call with a referral and a little bit of success. you know what, had we not worked hard eearlier in the week, I don't know if we would have. as much as it was for the other people, it was for us, too. To really see how faithful we are ourselves.

thats what its supposed to do. why you do that for two years. Do you thikn about what you couldve veen doing instead? Now you're a 21 year old kjid and youve been through this, at what point do you have to say im keeping that with me or im letting it go and moving on to next phase of life. lot of people become defined byt hat mission for two years and cant let go of the experience
A lot of guys ive met, that;s all they think about. they wish they were back there. But its int he past. Those two years are gone. You have to live life now. you have to go to school, continue on. Its not worth living in the past, living in your mission. Its great to take everything you learned, to remember the hard times and experiences and apply them to life now, but you cant dwell on them. when i came home, i decided with coming back to LA, alrihght my mission was great. I learned a lot of things. it was hard, very humbling, overall a great experience, now what can i take from it good and bad so i can ensure success in college, in life? Obvy i dedicated two years to the Lord serving Him, and I know he'll take care of me and bless me, but i still have to do my part. A lot of people who do their mission, expect to be blessed and forget to do there part. I know that blessings from God are conditional. As long as you do your part, he'll bless you. I made the decision right before I came back, I couldn't sit on the fence. I'd be on one side or the other. Making that decision will effect the rest of my life, and I'm committed to doing that.

tempted to go to byu, utah and to continue
Yeah, I was a little bit. not for a football reason. There were a lot of rumors I guess speculating if I would be back. I always wanted to come back to UCLA. I was a little bit skeptical when Coach New got fired. He was the guy who gave me my scholarship, he was my coach. when he was fired, naturally i looked into other options. Just started thinking about them, if it wouldn't work out, if UCLA wouldn't take me. I wasn't sure if coach Mora would want me. I wasn't sure.. A lot of people think I'm dumb for thinking that, but it was realistic. I was thrilled to find out when Coach Mora got hired, he still wanted me back at UCLA. I was thrilled I didn't have to sit out. I can understand after serving a mission, I can see why guys will transfer to BYU or Utah after. I can see they want to surrounded by that. Its a nice thing to have,to be around by those with your with your beliefs. ive actually met quite a few people here who area lready members of the church, and a lot of friends and people have aske

* UCLA took three days off and will return to practice today.

* David Wear has soreness in his left calf after it was hit during the Arizona State game.

* Ben Howland on Joshua Smith turning the corner:
"It was one game, but I thought he had a good week going into that week - I was disappointed he couldn't play against Arizona. We need Josh to play as he did saturday. He was very inspired. He played really hard, with a little animation."

* Howland on the play of the Wears against Arizona/Arizona State:
"Just more physical on both ends of the floor. Defensively, (they were) bumping bodies and blocking out agressively. I thgought the same thing about them posting up, they did a real good job of posting up and being really agressive going to the basket."

* Howland on the advantage of playing so close to USC so often:
"Yeah, but we haven't been playing at the Galen Center. It's a big difference. They're going to have all their fans there and we're going to get what, a couple hundred tickets?"

* Howland on Norman Powell's inconsistency:
"He's a freshman. He's learning and he's figuring things out. You get to conference, and it's a different level. The level is raised even higher because of intensity."

* Howland on Powell's dunking abilities:
"I don't care about that, but he is definitely our best dunker. He really is. He has a great body. One thing about being a freshman, he's learning a lot - but he also has this body that doesn't wear down. He has this live, active body."

A day of change continues for UCLA.

UCLA head coach Jim Mora announced the hires of wide receivers coach Eric Yarber and football strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi, the first time the football program has had a strength coach of its own.

It wasn't only a day for new hires, though, but a shift of current responsibilities, as former tight ends/special teams coach Angus McClure will coach the defensive line and maintain recruiting coordinator responsibilities, while former defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield moves to football operations.

"These coaches are all important elements to us moving our program forward," Mora said. "We welcome them, as coaches and teachers on and off the field, to the UCLA football family."

Yarber's hire leaves only one opening on the staff - defensive coordinator - which Mora hopes to have in place by the end of the week. Yarber comes to UCLA after a stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as wide receivers coach, and he previously coached for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL and Arizona State and Washington in the college game.

Alosi, meanwhile, spent most of his career with the New York Jets as special teams coach, though he also spent one season with Mora in Atlanta.

With the verbal commitment of No. 19-rated center Carl Hulick of Esperanza High yesterday, UCLA now has five solid offensive line verbal commits - OG Lacy Westbrook, OT Alexandru Ceachir, OG Isaiah Folasa, OG Mario Yakoo and Hulick - and a sixth soft verbal, Hiva Lutui.

Only Westbrook and Lutui are highly rated. In fact, Folasa, Yakoo and Hulick are considered two-star recruits on Scout.com.

The question is...does it matter?

UCLA's current class and 2011 class of offensive linemen will be an intriguing case study on the merits of the star system, as the Bruins have assembled two classes worth of mainly three-star-or-below prospects. Most are considered "projects," simply unrefined or needing to put on weight or strength, but undoubtedly several of them will need to perform for UCLA at some point.

Programs such as Boise State, Oregon State and even Oregon have had incredible success recently despite bringing in class after class of unheralded offensive linemen, and I wonder if it's because there is really no way to tell how an 18-year-old 300-pounder will look at 22. Will he be 300 pounds and cut? Will the 275-pounder bulk up?

UCLA, which had a pretty good run in 2009-10 on the offensive line, will be very interesting to watch up front for the next few years. Is there a diamond in the rough?

Here's a video on UCLA's newest offensive line recruit, Hulick, who flipped from SMU on Sunday:

The first three axes have fallen.

UCLA head coach Jim Mora announced the dismissal of three football players - rising senior wide receiver/defensive back Randall Carroll, rising sophomore tight end Raymond Nelson and rising redshirt sophomore defensive end Wesley Flowers - on Monday morning, soon after holding his first team meeting of the new year.

"At UCLA, we have a high set of standards that we expect every student-athlete to adhere to," Mora said in a release. "Unfortunately, these three gentlemen choose not to do so."

Carroll, who converted to defensive back from wide receiver late in the season, was one of the highest profile recruits of the Rick Neuheisel era, but is no longer enrolled at UCLA because of a failure to "meet academic requirements," a school release said. Carroll had 15 receceptions for 242 yards as a true sophomore in 2010, coming on strong toward the end of the season. He had a standout spring session but seemed to lose confidence during fall camp and finished with just three catches for 34 yards this season. The No. 13 wideout in the class of 2009 - who spurned USC to pick UCLA - finished his career with 21 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns.

Nelson and Flowers, meanwhile, were both dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules. Nelson, who was sent home early from the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, played in eight games as a true freshman, while Flowers has not seen any action.

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

ANAHEIM -- Just filed my game story on UCLA's 75-58 win over Arizona State on Saturday so look for that in Sunday's LA Newsgroup papers or at dailynews.com

A few optimistic observations from Saturday's game:

--Josh Smith showed yet another flash of what kind of help he can be to this team when he wants to be, scoring 18 points in 21 minutes and avoiding a foul-out after picking up two quick ones. It may have seemed easy to say the Bruins looked better without him in their win over Arizona on Thursday but open layups were abounding when he was working within the offense in the second half. Everyone, including Smith, spoke at length after the game about how his aggression opened lots of looks up.

"His energy level was up," Howland said. "I'm pleased for him because he played aggressive and he looked to score. That's what we're going to continue to expect out of Josh."

--Believe it or not, Smith's conditioning is improving. He went up strong and with purpose more times on Saturday than he probably has all year and Howland said his weight is down to the "best it's been in a year." Part of that could be because he didn't play Thursday. He had to return to Westwood this morning to pass concussion protocol and didn't start Saturday but played well in the second half.

"I feel a lot better," Smith said. "That's probably why I've been playing a little better, playing more minutes. I've been in better shape this season than I was last year. As long as I stay out of foul trouble, I feel I can play more than 20 minutes."

--Arizona State is not as good as UCLA made them look early on. The Bruins had no business letting the Sun Devils hang around but they were making some tough shots. Credit senior guard Jerime Anderson who alerted Howland that UCLA should press ASU as their two point guards were left home because of suspensions.

--Sophomore forwards David and Travis Wear finally seem to be turning into the players that UCLA fans hoped they would be. The twins combined for 58 points and 26 rebounds against the Arizona schools. Howland, as he's wont to do, reminded naysayers that the Wears and Smith are still young.

"We're talking about three sophomores, he said. "I thought they had a great weekend. They're playing with a lot of physicality and it's helping us. This was a good step. 42 points out of that front line was nice."

ANAHEIM -- Sam Strong here filling in for fellow fat guy Jon Gold (get well soon, Gold) in Anaheim.

Not much to report in the early proceedings other than that Josh Smith is dressed out and warming up.

Luckily for UCLA fans, the Pac-12 continues to be terrible in basketball so the Bruins' opening weekend losses may be less of a problem than originally thought. UCLA is now one of five Pac-12 teams with two or more conference losses. UCLA could drag ASU down to those ranks with a win over Herb Sendek's Sun Devils tonight.

As reported Thursday by friend of this blog and ASU expert Doug Haller, Sendek suspended two starters and a reserve guard for the L.A. road trip.

That left ASU with just six scholarship players and in the wacky world of Pac-12 basketball, that was enough to beat USC by nine on the road with just two subs. The Sun Devils still have leading scorer Trent Lockett and third leading scorer Carrick Felix who poured in 22 against the Trojans.

A reminder to follow me on Twitter for in-game updates.

Two more in, just two more to go.

UCLA announced the long-expected hiring of Noel Mazzone as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach on Friday morning, along with the hiring of special teams/linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich.

Mazzone turned Arizona State's passing game around almost overnight with the rapid improvement of little-known Brock Osweiler, who helped lead the Sun Devils to a No. 10 national ranking in passing offense and No. 26 in total offense in 2011. In 2010, when Mazzone was hired, Arizona State improved to 15th in passing and 29th overall, a year after the Sun Devils finished 61st in passing and 89th overall.

"Noel is an astute offensive strategist who has run numerous offenses in his 30-plus years in football," UCLA head coach Jim Mora said. "We look forward to giving him the opportunity to tutor our student-athletes day in and day-out, especially at the quarterback position."

The well-traveled Mazzone also had stints in the NFL, with both the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets, and several college football stops, including offensive coordinator positions with Mississippi, Auburn, Oregon State and North Carolina State.

Ulbrich, meanwhile, has just one coaching gig on his resume after a 10-year playing career. Ulbrich arrives from the Seattle Seahawks, where he joined Pete Carroll as an assistant special teams coach in 2010 after playing 10 years for the San Francisco 49ers, where he became very familiar with Mora, who served as his defensive coordinator until 2003.

"I had the pleasure of coaching Jeff for part of his playing career; he was always one of the most dedicated and hard-nosed players on the field," Mora said. "On the day I met him, he told me he wanted to be a coach, and I am proud to help him accomplish that dream."

The hiring of Mazzone and Ulbrich gives UCLA seven of its nine assistant coaches, as the duo joins offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, running backs coach Steve Broussard, tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo, defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield and defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin. UCLA is expected to bring in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receivers coach Eric Yarber, but the Bruins are targeting a defensive coordinator as well. San Diego Chargers linebackers coach John Pagano, who was reported to have accepted the defensive coordinator position at UCLA, instead was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Chargers.

Offensive Coordinator: Noel Mazzone
Running Backs: Steve Broussard
Wide Receiver: Eric Yarber?
Quarterbacks: Mazzone
Offensive Line: Adrian Klemm
Tight Ends: Marques Tuiasosopo
Defensive Coordinator: ???
Defenslve Line: Inoke Breckterfield
Linebackers: Jeff Ulbrich
Defensive Backs: Demetrice Martin
Special Teams: Ulbrich
(note: only nine assistants per staff, so some positions will double-up)

Last season, Rick Neuheisel's search for a defensive coordinator dragged on for week after week, the former UCLA head coach circling back to Joe Tresey.

Things are not moving much quicker this time around.

San Diego Chargers linebackers coach John Pagano was reported earlier this week to have accepted the UCLA defensive coordinator position, but he was promoted to the same position with the Chargers on Thursday after San Diego fired former defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.

New head coach Jim Mora said that he had hoped to have completed his staff shortly after the new year, but no announcements have been made, though sources have said that the Bruins are expected to bring in Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Jeff Ulbrich.

UCLA has locked up roughly half its staff, including offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's, whose hiring has yet to be announced.

Playing without center Joshua Smith - out with a concussion suffered in Wednesday's practice - UCLA was down yet another body. A big one.
The Wear brothers made up for his absence.
Travis Wear had 12 points and David Wear eight in the first half as UCLA took a 37-30 lead.
The Bruins are working at both ends, shooting 53 percent while holding Arizona to just 31 percent shooting, and UCLA has displayed some fine interior passing.
Jerime Anderson added seven first-half points and Lazeric Jones chipped in six, while Jesse Perry (eight points) and Josiah Turner (seven) led Arizona.

UCLA center Joshua Smith is a no-go against Arizona tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim after taking a knee to the head in practice Wednesday. UCLA did not reveal the injury until just before tip off.

Smith's status for Saturday's game against Arizona State is unknown.

UCLA sophomore center Joshua Smith will not play tonight in the Bruins' pivotal Pac-12 matchup with Arizona. Smith suffered a concussion and is in street clothes for the Wildcats.

Chat inside

Here is my story in today's Daily News about UCLA's season-in-review and look-forward: Check it out

RECORD: 6-8
SEASON GPA: D

QUARTERBACKS
D
The training camp battle between Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut was a farce, and neither gained solid footing. Prince handled scrutiny like a pro, but cannot ignore that Bruins finished 81st in passing, 88th in scoring.

RUNNING BACKS
B-
Between Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman, the Bruins had one really good running back. Problem is, in the Pistol offense, you need two, and Franklin and Bash were rarely "on" at the same time.

WIDE RECEIVERS
C
Fans will always wonder "What could have been?" if Nelson Rosario had been pushed harder, but give him credit: four 100-yard games, and five more with 74 yards or more. Between Joseph Fauria, Shaq Evans, Devin Lucien, there are brighter days ahead.

OFFENSIVE LINE
C
Just about played up to its potential, but then you realize how little potential the unit actually had. Loss of Sean Sheller was brutal, but the line held up relatively well. Xavier Su'A-Filo's return next season will take group to next level.

DEFENSIVE LINE
F
Unquestionably the most disappointing unit after impressive training camp raised expectations. Team ranked 112th in sacks and 87th (tied) in tackles-for-loss, and teams ran right up the gut. There is talent, but needs better management.

LINEBACKERS
C
The guy who played the best (Eric Kendricks) didn't play enough, and the rest of the unit was steady if unspectacular. With plenty of talent returning and ready to thrive, group could take a big leap in 2012.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
B-
The Bruins ranked 65th against the pass and 75th in pass efficiency defense, but that was a product of a passive scheme rather than poor play. The emergence of Andrew Abbott was something to behold, Aaron Hester and Sheldon Price improved and Tevin McDonald looks like a budding star.

SPECIAL TEAMS
D+
If not for Jeff Locke, this grade drops to an F-. Locke single-leggedly kept UCLA in some games even after he was thrown off rhythm by early kicking duties. Tyler Gonzalez was a nice story, but not more than that, and the return game was absolutely dreadful.

COACHING
F
Discipline, discipline, discipline. Bruins rarely played well, even in wins and week in, week out inconsistency was only one symptom of system-wide failure. Suspensions, brawls, dropped passes - they all stem from the same place.

As reported earlier today by ESPNLA's Blair Angulo, UCLA junior running back Johnathan Franklin will return for his senior season. I caught up with him briefly, and his return boils down to one thing: He wants to win. Franklin spoke to Jim Mora yesterday about the specific plan the new UCLA head coach has to turn things around, and Mora made it quite clear that his goals are not to take baby steps.

In 2011, Franklin narrowly missed out on becoming UCLA's first back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher since DeShaun Foster, finishing with a team-high 976 yards with five touchdowns. After the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Franklin said he would make his decision this week and said that he never filed NFL Draft evaluation paperwork. Now the Bruins wait on the word of junior defensive lineman Datone Jones, who receives his draft evaluation this week and has until Jan. 15 to declare for the draft.

Here's our brief chat:

JG: How close were you to actually declaring for the NFL Draft?
Johnathan Franklin: "It was pretty much a 50-50 decision. I was ready to go. I met with coach Mora yesterday, talked to a couple teammates, and I ended up changing my mind. I sat down with my mom, talked to my dad, and they convinced me to stay."

JG: I know so much of this decision to even test the waters was because of your frustration with losing; what did coach Mora say regarding his desire to not just turn things around, but do it quickly?
Johnathan Franklin: "Coach Mora wants to win. He's going to do whatever he can to win a championship. He's not worried about a Rose Bowl. He wants a championship. He wants to turn this program around. He's going to bring in the right players, create the right philosphy, install the right discipline."

JG: If you had to boil UCLA's issues down to one thing...
Johnathan Franklin: "The problem is a lack of leadership. Even speaking from my perspective. I need to step up as a leader. The seniors need to step up as leaders. This program has lacked a great leader. Regardless if coach Mora is here or not, we need great leaders."

JG: You look at what a new coach can do in one season - look at Michigan, and what Brady Hoke has done there so quickly - so what's the goal for you now? I know you're not looking to go from 6-8 to 7-5...
Johnathan Franklin: "Nope; 12-0. It's hard work, commitment. Leadership. We need leadership. And that doesn't come from one guy. Leadership is plural. We need every guy buying in to being great. The whole team wanting to win. We have to want these things and believe in these things."

JG: UCLA's incoming offensive coordinator, Noel Mazzone, is known for using his running back out of the backfield; are you looking to boost your stock by being a more complete back? Was that a major reason for your return?
Johnathan Franklin: That would defintley be great. Before I get to the NFL, I want to win for UCLA. Although I want to be an early round pick. I want to win. I want to be 10-2, 12-0. I want to do whatever I can to help this team win now."

JG: You mentioned speaking to some players about your return, whom did you talk to and why?
Johnathan Franklin: "I talked to Kevin Prince, Brett Hundley, Jerry Rice, Shaq Evans, Patrick Larimore and Aaron Hester. Guys who have played a pivotal role in the past, in terms of playing time, guys i know I can trust on the field and off the field to do the right thing."

For the first time since 2002, UCLA will not end its regular season with cross-town rival USC next season.

The Bruins' 2012 schedule was released on Wednesday, with the team set to play seven home games for the first time since 2008, including non-conference matchups with Nebraska and Houston.

UCLA will also host Oregon State, Utah, Arizona, USC and Stanford, with the Cardinal finishing off the season on Nov. 24.

The Bruins begin the 2012 campaign at Rice on Sept. 1 before back-to-back visits by the Cornhuskers and Cougars, who beat UCLA 38-34 in Week 1 this season.

UCLA is schedule to play exclusively on Saturdays, but all 12 games are expected to be broadcast live nationally by Fox, ESPN and the new Pac-12 Network.

2012
Sept. 1 at Rice
Sept. 8 Nebraska
Sept. 15 Houston
Sept. 22 Oregon State
Sept. 29 at Colorado
Oct. 6 at California
Oct. 13 Utah
Oct. 20 BYE
Oct. 27 at Arizona State
Nov. 3 Arizona
Nov. 10 at Washington State
Nov. 17 USC
Nov. 24 Stanford
Nov. 30 Pac-12 Championship

No player in the Pac-12 has rendered more game film irrelevant over the past few years as Derrick Williams.

The former Arizona forward's defection to the NBA after his sophomore last year last season has made the Wildcats almost unrecognizeable from one year to the next.

UCLA has had to catch up quickly on their new-look opponents, who head to the Honda Center tonight for the first game of the Wooden Classic.

Williams took his 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft behind Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, and now the Bruins need a crash course on Arizona's vastly different offense.

"Last year you could tell that their whole offense was centered around Derrick Williams, and our whole defense was centered around Derrick Williams," senior point guard Lazeric Jones said. "They've played a couple games this season that we've seen, and now their offense is much more well-rounded. We probably can't watch any film from last year, because everything was so about Derrick."

Consider: Williams scored 741 of the Wildcats' 2,905 points last season, or 26 percent, and no other Wildcats scored in double-figures.

This year? Arizona has four players scoring between 10.4 and 12.1 points per game, with do-everything forward Solomon Hill leading the way.

If anyone has assumed Williams' mantle for the Wildcats, it's the Fairfax High product, who also paces the team with 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

"Arizona is a very hard team for us to matchup because it's basically like playing against five guards," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "Solomon Hill is having a great year, leading them in assists, leading them in scoring, and he's a particularly hard matchup."

Someone at UCLA was going to have to follow a legend, and that man would be Gene Bartow.

The coach who took over for Coach died on Tuesday evening in Birmingham, Ala., after a two-year fight with stomach cancer, survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth Huffine Bartow.

Bartow assumed the head coaching duties at UCLA in 1975-76 after the retirement of John Wooden and led the Bruins to back-to-back Pac-8 titles before joining the University of Alabama-Birmingham as athletic director and head coach.

"The UCLA family has suffered a great loss today with the passing of former Bruin men's basketball coach Gene Bartow," UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said. "Gene had the unenviable task when he arrived at UCLA of following the greatest coach in college basketball history, John Wooden, and did so admirably. In fact, he led each of his Bruin teams to the Pac-8 title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, including a Final Four appearance in 1976, and compiled an astounding 52-9 overall record. More importantly, he was a wonderful man and a pleasure to be around, both during his time on campus and after. He will be sorely missed. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Bartow family."

Bartow, who was survived by his brother, Russell, his daughter Beth B. Long, sons Mark and Murry Bartow and eight grandchildren, led UCLA to a 28-4 record and the Final Four in his first season after Wooden abruptly retired, then followed with a 24-5 record in 1976-77 behind senior forward and team captain Marques Johnson.

Bartow arrived in Westwood after a one-year stint at Illinois, which followed previous stops at Memphis State (now Memphis), Valparaiso and Central Missouri.

"Everyone in the Bruin family is saddened by the loss of Gene Bartow," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "We celebrate the life he lived, which he did so in exemplary fashion. He was a wonderful person and an outstanding coach and family man and will be dearly missed."

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on:

On Anthony Stover:
"Anthony really gives us good effort defensively, blocking shots, altering shots. We need Anthony to rebound better for us and utlizie him in ways that will help our offense a ltitle more."

On rebounding from the first conference games:
"We've got to excute better on the ofensive end and do a good job at getting back in transition defense. Our transition defense at times against Cal was not very good, and thats something that Arizona does - they just push it at you."

On making the NCAA Tournament:
"What we're going to have to do to make the tournament is win the Pac-12 tournament. That's very clear.

On making it by winning the regular season:
"No, not with our RPI right now."

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on:

On foul shooting:
"We've got to get to the line more. I was telling (David and Travis Wear) that they've got to get to the line more. They're good foul shooters and they're not getting to the line enough."

On Lazeric Jones and Norman Powell's sprained ankle:
"He was a little sore ysterday, but he practiced the whole practice. And Norman is just fine."

On the Wears:
"They've got a lot of room where they can grow. Great attitudes, and they're going to keep getting better. It's almost like they're playing their freshman year. They haven't played in real games in two years, really, night in and night out."

On Norman Powell:
"Norman had a tough weekend this weekend. He's learning. He's learning on the job, that's how a freshman is in most cases. He saw the film where he made mistakes in the Cal game, and he'll keep getting better."

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on:

On Arizona:
"Arizona is a very hard team for us to matchup because it's basically like playing against five guards. Solomon Hill is having a great year, leading them in assists, leading them in scoring, and he's a particularly hard matchup."

On the Pac-12 start:
"We're 0-2 and I'm disappointed. We had a chanc to win on Thursday night if we made our free throws. We had five or six wide open shots we weren't able to capitalize on."

On Joshua Smith:
"He did some extra running on Sunday and again yesterday. Slowly but surely. Yeah, we need to him to play more minutes. We need him to get more shots. Right now he's sixth in shots attempted and I invisioned he'd be in top two in that category."

On Smith's offense:
"He's got to slow down. I think he's gets sped up some. That's his biggest thing. People are doubling and he has to read that. ... He's got to realize if he just holds on to the ball when people are doubling, people can't take it from him. He's too big and strong."

RESULT: Illinois 20, UCLA 14
RECORD: 6-8
BOWL GPA: D

QUARTERBACKS
D
Terry Hawthorne's critical quick-pick-six of Kevin Prince completely shifted momentum.

RUNNING BACKS
F
Against a ferocious front four, Bruins failed to find footing.

WIDE RECEIVERS
D
Early drops killed Prince's rhythm and cost UCLA plenty of points.

OFFENSIVE LINE
F
Hard to be too critical when even the Dallas Cowboys might struggle against the Illinois D-line.

DEFENSIVE LINE
C
Gap control plagues Bruins up front as QB Nate Scheelhaase rushes for 100-plus.

LINEBACKERS
B
Question has to be asked: How good could Kendricks/Zumwalt have been with more time?

DEFENSIVE BACKS
B-
One blown coverage, but overall a good effort by thing DB corps.

SPECIAL TEAMS
C+
Jeff Locke once again the best, most important Bruins on gameday.

COACHING
D
Offense ill-prepared to handle Illinois; defense ill-prepared all year.