Spaulding Roundup: UCLA's Starting QB Spot Up For Grab & Other Notes
by Nestor on Oct 26, 2009 5:37 AM PDT
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PrintLooks like the starting QB spot heading into this game week is up in the air. At least according to Rick Neuheisel's comments printed in the LA Times:
The Bruins have lost four consecutive games and the offense has failed to score a touchdown in two of the last three games.
They were in this same quarterback spot two weeks ago, after a 24-10 loss to Oregon.
Neuheisel said they would "review" the quarterback situation after that game, then said Prince would be the starter a day later.
This time, Neuheisel did not stand firm behind the quarterback who won the job in spring practice.
"We're not angry at Kevin Prince," Neuheisel said. "He's a fine young quarterback. We're asking him to do an awful lot as a freshman. I wish things were easier.
"I wish all pieces around him were flourishing and there was more experience."
More from Jon Gold in the Daily News:
"I just don't want to be knee-jerk," Neuheisel said. "Kevin Prince won the job. Richard Brehaut is a very talented youngster and I want to get him his chances. Kevin Craft has a lot of experience. They all have their virtues."
Saying they all have their virtues, however, only exacerbates what they lack. For Prince, that is consistency. For Brehaut, that is experience. For Craft, that is arm strength.
It seems that the coaching staff fully understands that each of their options has a bit of catching up to do. But despite the comments that seemed to imply a budding controversy, Neuheisel was a bit evasive when declaring his starter.
"We'll know what we're going to do by Tuesday," Neuheisel said. "But that doesn't guarantee I'm going to tell you."
Either way it is not an ideal situation for Neuehisel and Chow. Neither of them has been fan of two quarterback system:
Neuheisel said he would meet with Chow today, but also said, "There's an old coaching adage that if you're playing two quarterbacks, it means you don't have one."
I have never been a fan of two quarterback system either. I specifically wrote back in 2006 how platooning QBs is a recipe for disaster. However, right now we don't know what we have in Richard Brehaut. I understand that Kevin Prince was clearly the better QB out of spring and fall practices (over Craft and Brehaut). Yet from what we have seen from him during last few games, he is just not getting it done. He also doesn't look "ready."
As for Brehaut none of us can really make the conclusion that he hasn't proven himself during game situations because he hasn't gotten the same opportunity as Prince and Craft. I think the coaches made a big mistake by not giving Brehaut at least 2 or 3 meaningful series against Kansas State earlier this year (specifically after burning his RS during mop up time against San Diego State). At this point we know Prince looks rusty and frankly out of sync. Craft is a known commodity who is the kind of QB who at best can help "manage" the game but cannot be counted on to win it. So, it makes a lot of sense for Neuheisel and Chow to prepare Brehaut as much as they can so that he gets 2-3 meaningful serieses to prove himself against Oregon State. Otherwise, if the offense continues to look listless and uninspiring under two Kevins, it might just spiral into abyss heading into the winnable games in rest of the season. More after the jump.
Another outstanding issue heading into this game was what CRN was going to do with Randall Carroll. It looks like he has made a level headed decision after consulting with Norm Chow:
After a meeting between freshman wideout Randall Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow about the contents of a somewhat controversial Twitter post by Carroll to St.Francis of La Canada Flintridge recruit Deitrich Riley, Neuheisel said Carroll would not be punished.
This, after redshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester expressed his frustration about the handling of his return from a broken leg.
"In the midst of a four-game losing streak, there's gonna be frustration," Neuheisel said. "That's a natural byproduct. What we have to do is channel that frustration in a positive way. With respect to Aaron Hester, certainly he understands that coming off a broken leg we can't just rush him into the starting lineup. Maybe on that particular day, he didn't understand. If communication needed to be more thorough, I'll certainly take the responsibility.
"With respect to Randall, I think it's just an oversight with respect to the technology. I don't think it was intended for a public forum. He and Norm have talked and cleared the air."
Again for those who missed it over the weekend, here is what Carroll tweeted:
@driley4 man oregon, stanford, and cal should have been easy wins ,, but shyt thys nigga norm chow dnt be trustin us ,, so it is what it is8:39 PM Oct 22nd
The Trojan Times jumped on the tweet to call it a "racial epithet for Norm Chow." However, as TJ Berka explained on DN's "Inside UCLA" blog, the Trojan Times took the headline a little too far:
After all this I did some googling and found the actual slur that was used - published reports by the L.A. Times didn't mention it. It was a slur, but it was not a slur that referenced Chow's Chinese ancestry. In fact, it didn't reference any Asian ancestry at all. I'm not going to say it in here for obvious reasons, but it is commonly said in hip-hop and rap music. I'm sure you can figure it out from there.
Does this condone what Carroll did? Of course not, it was a stupid thing to say, especially on a public forum such as Twitter. But I felt that the context of the slur should be mentioned, because it changes the baseline perception of the remark. I don't think Carroll should be suspended for more than one game, if that, but I think he should be running some steps this entire week.
So given the context I think Neuheisel made the right decision (although I personally would have suspended at least for 1 or 2 games). I imagine Neuheisel and his coaches will be working with Randal Carroll very closely to help him mature and grow up in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I do think he is sending the right signal about not over-reacting during a very difficult stretch of UCLA football.
GO BRUINS.
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Right On!
Notwithstanding the street language, I think Randall Carroll made a good point. The point – Whether or not these guys are freshman, if they have earned the right to go into the game, they have earned the right to try and make plays. Carroll named Chow for a reason. Chow has given him the impression, right or wrong, that they are not being given the chance to show what they can do. Again, a strike against poor communication which CRN also admitted with respect to Hester. I say that if they are in the ball game, they should have equal status as any other player on the field to be allowed to make a play. That should be emphasized this week. Trust your players on the field until they show they can’t be trusted on the field.
Wrong.
Like it or not, you have to respect the chain of command. Stepping outside that protocal demands disciplinary action. Look, this isn’t something major like whistle blowing at Public Polluter, Inc. There are times when you chuck your orders aside and do what’s right. This is a game. He doesn’t like the plays he’s getting, there is one sure fire way to get more. Play better. And if you still feel you aren’t getting the opportunities you deserve, you go face him man to man and make your feelings known. What he did was tantamount to a spoiled kid going around dad’s wishes by appealing to mom or Grampa. That’s childish.
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden
I know I questioned if "Chow still has it" but...
I was premature. After looking at the big picture, I’ll take Chow’s side over Carroll’s.
Actually, I’m on both sides – I’ll betcha Carroll’s comments were made more out of emotion and frustration than a rational assessment of how much they can do vs. how much they’re allowed to try. He wants the coaches to turn them loose – and all of us would love to see some wide open plays – good players always want to go for it (that’s part of what makes them good players).
Coaches have to use their heads more then their emotions. E.g our conservative play calling has some virtues, not the least is protecting the QB. We’ve been killed by QB injuries in recent seasons (including this one) – this year our OL line is ‘decent’ which in the Pac-10 is not quite good enough. (I won’t quote the paragraphs of analysis written about our team’s experience)
Yes. It sucks to be a Bruin fan these days. The past couple of games have reminded me of the days of Dorrell and our team appears to be in crisis. This is a test of Neuheisel’s management skills to keep team morale up and keep them working together – keep up the team building. If CRN can keep things from falling apart during this tough time, then he (we) will have something solid to build upon – no matter how this season turns out.
If anything, we fans need to show more support right now, so the team knows that win, lose, or tie – we back them 100%
It sucks to lose,
but it never sucks to be a Bruin fan.
Through thick and thin, I’ll take my Bruins over any other.
Support
Agree on the support.
Cross your fingers and hope one of our qb’s can take it to another level.
Brehault Needs to Play
At this point of the season, it’s time to look to the future. If that future is going to include RB, then we need to find out sooner than later. I would give him significant time in one of more games remaining this season; the Washington State game is a great opportunity.
Brehault came into Westwood with great potential and from the limited time he’s been on the field I think he has better tools than Prince. The only area where Brehault is behind Prince is experience. Now is the time to see if he has what it takes to become the QB of the future.
No matter who wins the job we have a situation where one will probably transfer. I think one of the biggest miskakes CRN made last year (and he’s admitted to much) was not giving Prince game-time experience. I hope he learns from his experience with Brehault.
richramus
Not just experience
but practice time as well, including spring training.
If Brehaut had shown anything that would have warranted him winning the job, especially with KP already struggling, I think it would have happened.
Now CRN has said that they will re-evaluate QBs again.
I for one never bought into Coach Chow saying KP would win the Heisman. I think he told him that to boost his confidence. That being said, I still think it was the right choice to make him the starter…because, well, the coaches were the ones who made the choice.
Really, in the history of college football, how many times have the fans been right about the backup QB?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Major Applewhite over
Chris Simms. So, there’s one I can think of off the top of my head.
Major Applewhite
Hadn’t he previously been the starter, before Simms arrived. Seems like a slightly different scenario.
by SuperBruinMan on Oct 26, 2009 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions
But how many times
has the backup QB taken over from the starter and done much better? I’m sure it has happened but it is extremely rare.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Yah and a a True Frosh backup at that
Brehaut needs to adjust to the speed of D-1 football. D-1 players were the elite of High School ball – the biggest strongest and fastest … and in college they get bigger, stronger and faster. He needs to adjust to D-1 blitzes or he’s going to get injured – especially with our protection.
Brehaut
exhibits everything you typically see in freshman quarterbacks: he holds on to the ball way too long. This is largely a result of his lack of knowledge of the playbook, routes, and the reads required in the offense. He also is going to be very erratic, I am sure. That said, he has some nice zip on balls when he has time to plant his feet and eye completely through a read.
I think many of us are excited to see him, but his potential limitations are not good ones for this offense: holding on to the ball too long is exactly what we do not need our quarterback to be doing behind a younger O-Line.
All that said, I’d like to see him play at this point.
RE: Caroll’s comments, there’s a time and a place to make your frustrations known. Twitter is not one of them. We’d all be fired for doing the same things at our day jobs. I understand Randall’s only an 18-year old freshman, but these are the types of lessons you need to learn.
And what better time to learn that lesson than college
I’m split on whether RC should suffer some sort of consequence for this because while it is a form of insubordination, CRN rightly points out that there is no precedent for a pervasive technology like Twitter. I’m also not convinced that having him sit out games teaches him any greater or more enduring lesson than the attention it has already drawn has.
I think it’s pretty clear that as far as physical gifts, Brehaut is the guy that has it. Like you, I have been impressed when he makes a decision to throw. I’m scared for the kid though, considering that opposing defenses have just been teeing off on him and it would be a shame if that got him injured. It hasn’t helped him that he only gets inserted into the game when there’s almost no threat of a run play, but enduring an entire game’s worth of shots like we see when he gets in is a troubling prospect.
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