Yes we have one on our squad and his story is just as good. Meet former walk on Andrew Baumgartner who made quiet an impact in our last two games:
Andrew Baumgartner lined up wide, and when the ball was snapped, he blocked the cornerback on a typical running play.
"I thought it couldn't get any better," Baumgartner said of his first collegiate action.
Later in UCLA's opener against San Diego State, the redshirt junior receiver caught a 2-yard out on second-and-11, with the Bruins ahead by 20 points.
"Again, I thought that was as good as it would get," he said.
He wasn't close to being right. Last Saturday, Baumgartner caught a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Oklahoma, and he later snared a 22-yard catch for a pivotal first down in UCLA's win.
"Wow," said Baumgartner, smiling as he thought about it. "I never joined the team with the intent of getting a chance to play. When I first got here, I thought I'd never see the field."
[...]
Baumgartner, who received major interest while in high school only from Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia, wiggled his way into UCLA's receiver rotation with hard work and in the process worked his way into the hearts of fans with his against-all-odds story.
Great story."I thought it couldn't get any better," Baumgartner said of his first collegiate action.
Later in UCLA's opener against San Diego State, the redshirt junior receiver caught a 2-yard out on second-and-11, with the Bruins ahead by 20 points.
"Again, I thought that was as good as it would get," he said.
He wasn't close to being right. Last Saturday, Baumgartner caught a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Oklahoma, and he later snared a 22-yard catch for a pivotal first down in UCLA's win.
"Wow," said Baumgartner, smiling as he thought about it. "I never joined the team with the intent of getting a chance to play. When I first got here, I thought I'd never see the field."
[...]
Baumgartner, who received major interest while in high school only from Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia, wiggled his way into UCLA's receiver rotation with hard work and in the process worked his way into the hearts of fans with his against-all-odds story.
Baumgartner celebrating a TD with Marcedes against the Sooners - Photo: Matt Sayles/AP
What Baumgartner and other receivers are doing right now is opening up the offense providing DO more options than just keying on Marcedes Lewis. This is making the opposing DC's job to scheme around the superstar TE a tad bit more difficult.
Let's hope Baumgartner and other recievers can keep up their level of play (in the absence of Junior Taylor) - because we are going to need the all the fire power we can muster to beat up teams like California and ASU who are lighting up their opponents this college football season. And of course, we are not even going to get into "you-know-who" team we have to take on first weekend of December.