Hey guys this is Vinny Bonsignore. I’ve been poking around UCLA today and a couple of things on the football coaching search.

First of all, at the risk of summoning my inner Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the whole Jim Tressel being seen on campus thing is totally bogus.

At least according to my guy on the inside, who has been on campus all day every day for while now and didn’t see him.

And he promises me he would have seen Tressel, had the former Ohio State coach been there.

That said, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero and former NFL coach Jim Mora Jr. have definitely talked within the last few days,

Guerrero has been in New York the last few days but he is expected back in Los Angeles Thursday and he’s expected to sit down and weigh all his options at that point.

Now, before some of you guys jump off the deep end on Mora Jr., think of it this way:

Who was the last former NFL coach and defensive coordinator who was fourth or fifth on a coaching list search then got hired much to the chagrin of the fan base but ended up being one of the greatest coaches in college history??

Yeah, I think we all know who that was.

Maybe Mora Jr. fits that same bill.

Give him a chance, is all I am saying.

Anyway, Mora, 50, was 26-22 as coach of the NFL Atlanta Falcons before going
5-11 as coach of the Seahawks in the 2009 season. His also has
college coaching experience as a graduate assistant at Washington in
the 1984 season.

He is also the son of longtime NFL coach Jim Mora.

So there you go, guys,

What up Bruins fans, this is Vinny Bonsignore. I’m filling in for Jon today and we just got finished with Coach Neuheisel, who made it very, very clear the Bruins can no longer accept anything less than the type of effort they delivered against Cal Saturday. Here is a short recap:

One of the stats that rankles UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel more than others is the Bruins 0-3 record this year following wins.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out in order for the Bruins to get on roll, they have to string wins together, but that will never happen if they can’t take the effort, resolve and focus from a winning performance into the following week.

That is the objective this week when UCLA hosts Arizona State at the Rose Bowl Saturday after beating Cal 31-14 Saturday.

“It’s going to take a week of focus and resolve,” Neuheisel said at his weekly media conference Monday. “That’s what it took last week.”

The trick, of course, is maintaining that same mindset.

“We can’t go back,” Neuheisel said.

He’s counting on the Bruins now understanding the level they can elevate their game to and classifying anything less as unacceptable.

Granted, UCLA beat Cal after a bitter, embarrassing loss the previous week at Arizona in front of a national television audience. There was no shortage of anger and motivation to rebound against Cal, and the Bruins played as such.

But to deviate from that would be extremely upsetting, according to Neuheisel.

“It’s exactly what I said to the team, there’s good news and better news,” Neuheisel said. “The good news is we responded. The better news is we now know what we are capable of. And to accept anything less than that would be absolutely ridiculous on every one of our parts. Coach and player alike have to bring it like we did last week.”

(by the way, Nelson Rosario and Dietrich Riley both expect to be goes for Saturday’s game.

What up UCLA fans, this is Vincent Bonsignore, I’m covering for Jon Gold today,

I just finished up with Kevin Prince, talking about the importance of staying healthy now that Richard Brehaut is out for three weeks,

Obviously Prince never wants to get hurt, but now more than ever the Bruins need him on the field, and he seems to get it.

The trick is finding the proper balance between playing smart and still playing hard. Playing confident, not scared.

Based on our conversation, I think he appreciates that line, especially after going through so many injuries over his career.

FYI, the Bruins are off until Sunday – well, the players are, anyway. The coaches are hitting the recruiting trail in what could be a very big weekend for them to make some head way with kids.

Anyway, here my talk with Prince:

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING HARD, BUT ALSO STAYING HEALTHY

It doesn’t really change my mindset toward the game but it definitely makes me more mindful of getting out of bounds and things like that,” Prince said “But I’m not going to not hold the ball on reads, and I’m still going to run the ball and play the way I like to play.

Obviously it’s a little more important now because we don’t have an experienced quarterback backing me up, like we had with Richard.

I’ll just try to be smart and get out of bounds when I can and slide when I can and protect myself.

ON THE LESSONS HE’S LEARNED ABOUT TRYING TO AVOID INJURY

I learned pretty quickly you can’t withstand much abuse on the college level. These guys are strong and fast and great athletes.

I’m not that young kid going into Neyland Stadium trying to take on Tennessee linebackers anymore.

With experience comes a little bit of wisdom and I feel like I’m a little bit smarter when it comes to those decisions.

ON THE ART OF PLAYING SAFE

I’m not too good at it, but there’s a little bit of art to it. More than anything it’s trusting your instincts, knowing when to get down, feeling the pressure and just knowing when to avoid hits.

Richard (Brehaut’s) pretty good at it, watching him I’ve picked up some things. He does a little spin move, so I might try and incorporate it into my repertoire.

What up, Bruins fans.

This is Vinny Bonsignore, I’m filling in today for Jon Gold.

Just got off the conference call with Rick Neuheisel after the scrimmage today, and I thought you might be interested in a few things.

No, he didn’t decide on who is starting quarterback is, although he did say he’ll work through some options (presumably this weekend) and inform Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut of the outcome early next week.

He said Kevin looked sharp, but that neither really aired it out much and he’s happy with where each guy is.

The scrimmage had a definite smash-mouth feel to it, according to Neuheisel, and among the bright spots was the play of freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, who was getting his first taste of scrimmage action this fall.

Hundley wasn’t a live target, but he apparently showed a nice command of the playbook and is on target to play a role this year.

Neuheisel says to expect Hundley to play the Tim Tebow/Terrelle Pryor type role both of those guys played as freshman at Florida and Ohio State.

There were no injuries to report, and as far as guys on the mend, there was some good news to report:

Guard Jeff Baca is progressing faster than expected from the broken ankle he suffered last spring, and Neuhesiel now says there is a chance Baca wil be back by week two against San Jose State.

“He could start practicing as early as next week,” Neuhesiel said. “But we’ll be prudent as far as when he gets back on the field.”

Wide receiver Taylor Embree, who is dealing with a calf injury, went through all pre-scrimmage warm ups and should return to practice Monday.

If anything else comes up I’ll hook you guys as fast as I can.

Be sure to check out the full notebook, which should be up around 11:30 p.m. at dailynews.com tonight.

Out.