Three for Three with Taylor Embree

On the “revenge” factor for Tennessee:
“There definitely is a revenge factor. There are opponents who we lost to last year that I’m just waiting to play. At the same time, we have to use that to our advantage.”

On pregame hype:
“It’s something hyped up a lot, but once the game starts, it’s a war no matter who you’re playing. The opponent is trying to kill you, you’re trying to kill them. I think it’s more of a pregame hype. Shoot, they might come out flying around and try to give it to us right away, so we have to go back and fight right away.”

On preparing for three straight new head coaches:
“That was something difficult against SDSU. We didn’t have much film on them, and even with Tennessee, they played Western Kentucky, so it’s kind of hard wondering what they’re going to do. That’s when you really have to just focus on doing what you do. You can’t rely too much worrying about what the other team is going to do.”

Game. Day.

Guys, girls, the season is finally upon us.
I’m pretty damn excited to cover my first game this year; like the Bruins, I’ve seen enough practice! Time to get some real action.

I’ll be heading to the Rose Bowl around 11 and roaming the tailgate area, making some acquaintances.

I will provide some updates, highlights and quicktakes and please let me know what else you guys want today.

I will figure out how to do the chats that have become a staple of the blog, and hopefully we can get that started this week.

In the meantime, here’s a game feature preview from today’s paper.

Thanks,
JG

Embree

Embree Catching On

Embree Making a Name
Sophomore Taylor Embree, who broke the UCLA freshman record for receiving yardage and receptions last season, continues to make spectacular plays as the team’s split receiver.
Midway through practice, redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince lofted a pass to the very back of the end zone. Embree caught up to it, leapt from his feet, snagged it with one hand and tapped a toe in the end zone, eliciting a roar from the field.
Embree was not impressed.
“You get chances to make big catches like that, and obviously those are the big ones that everyone remembers, but for me, I want to be known as someone who catches every ball,” Embree said. “That’s my goal; shoot, I mean if you can make the spectacular catches but drop can’t catch a slant in traffic, what good is it?”
He has excited his coaches and offensive teammates with his performance during fall camp.
But he has earned the defense’s respect.
“Taylor Embree is an NFL receiver in the making,” redshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester said. “You can tell. He has the concentration and the hands and everything. And he handles himself like a pro. I see the maturity in his routes.”