We have a lot of football related notes to wrap up from this weekend's scrimmage and the NFL draft. Let's start with the scrimmage. We heard all about BO and PC last few days. Let's hear from the QBs who took most of the snaps at the Rose Bowl on Sat night. According Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterrpise, Craft was indifferent wrt his performance:
"I don't think I helped or hurt myself at all," Craft said. "I just had to come out today with what I had and I feel like I have a lot of room for improvement. There is a lot of work that I have to do in the off-season.
"It takes time to adjust to an offense. We have a lot of time from now to our first game. I'm more excited that I have all that time to work."
Craft is also adjusting to playing under center. He worked mainly out of the shotgun at San Diego State and Mount San Antonio College and said its an adjustment that takes some time getting used to.
"I haven't done any drop back stuff since high school," Craft said. "It is an adjustment, but I have from now until our first game. It is an adjustment and I am getting used to it. Seeing the field is different."
Meanwhile, Forcier according to Pearson "looked sharp":
"It takes time to adjust to an offense. We have a lot of time from now to our first game. I'm more excited that I have all that time to work."
Craft is also adjusting to playing under center. He worked mainly out of the shotgun at San Diego State and Mount San Antonio College and said its an adjustment that takes some time getting used to.
"I haven't done any drop back stuff since high school," Craft said. "It is an adjustment, but I have from now until our first game. It is an adjustment and I am getting used to it. Seeing the field is different."
UCLA's Chris Forcier finished 4-for-6 for 52 yards in the spring game and looked more like a passer. He has shown a tendency to tuck the ball and run too quickly but looked more like he wanted to be in the pocket instead of being a run-first quarterback.
Forcier led a stretch where the UCLA offense gained three first-downs in a four-play stretch and had completions of 18 and 19 yards on the drive.
"I had a couple of good series in there and the one series we drove down the field I had a couple good passes and it boosted my confidence," Forcier said. "That's the biggest thing for me is staying confident."
Hmm. I am interested in hearing from you guys re. Forcier because we now have conflicting reports from CPBruinfan at Bruin Roar and Pearson above. Not really a big deal though. But I would love to hear takes from those of you who were at the Rose Bowl re. how we can reconcile the inconsistent repots on Forcier "looking sharp" v. coming up w a "mixed bag."Forcier led a stretch where the UCLA offense gained three first-downs in a four-play stretch and had completions of 18 and 19 yards on the drive.
"I had a couple of good series in there and the one series we drove down the field I had a couple good passes and it boosted my confidence," Forcier said. "That's the biggest thing for me is staying confident."
As for CRN he is feeling good about the spring camp as he thinks it will get his players in the right mindset this off season, getting them ready for this fall:
"I think guys understand that we're at a different tempo, and that you have to bring it,'' he said. "Hopefully, that will mean we'll have a great offseason in the weight room, and in our speed development, and that we'll come back a stronger, more physical team on Sept. 1. We'll need to be if we're going to compete with the Tennessee Volunteers."
Meanwhile, the weekend also wrapped up with some good news in the recruiting department as UCLA picked up two commitments over the weekend: La Puente Bishop Amat cornerback Sheldon Price and Narbonne High receiver/defensive back Byron Moore Jr.As UCLA was getting commitment from future Bruins, few current ones were getting their tickets punched for the NFL. Davis is going to be a Steeler, Slater a Patriot, and Horton a Redskin. As usual the most interesting comment came from Bruce Davis, who had some choice words re. his former coaches at UCLA:
"I'm done with school so I can this: I hope I never see Larry Kerr again,'' Davis said. "People say, 'Hey, he can end up being your coach.' No, he can't. He will not be."
As for former Bruins coach Karl Dorrell, Davis also had an opinion.
"Karl Dorrell one day will be a great NFL offensive coordinator. The way he sees the game and the way he understands things on the field ..."
Hmm ... I guess Davis doesn't think much of Dorrell's ability as a head football coach, which is interesting because he had choice words for folks who were criticizing him while he was here.As for former Bruins coach Karl Dorrell, Davis also had an opinion.
"Karl Dorrell one day will be a great NFL offensive coordinator. The way he sees the game and the way he understands things on the field ..."
Anyway, I wish Davis luck. But in some ways I will always think of Davis as the Earl Watson of Bruin football. Earl in his days was the biggest defender of Steve Lavin. Both great athlete who had some great moments during their careers as UCLA players, but never reached the status of Bruin legends. In my book to achieve the status of Bruin legend for a football player, it involves beating Southern Cal and at least getting to the Rose Bowl, and for a hoops player it involves at least winning the Pac-10 conference and getting to the Final-4. Unfortunately for Davis just like Watson he was shortchanged because of an incompetent coaching staff (by his own admission). Let's hope he (and other Bruins such as Slater and Horton) taste that ultimate team success at the next level.
GO BRUINS.