[UPDATEx2]Reggie Carter, Logan Paulsen & Bruin Seniors Let Down UCLA Football

This is unreal:

The UCLA players decided not to practice today. They didn't tell anyone. Certainly not the coaches.
They jumped over the wall on the side of Spaulding Field and took off.
So, no practice update today.

If this is true Reggie Carter, Logan Paulsen - the captains of this team - and the entire senior class should be ashamed of themselves. This was a ridiculously, stupid tradition established during Donahue era, that epitomized UCLA football for being mediocre, mentally soft, and lazy. After the shenanigans from CRN's first year the senior "leaders" of this team swore it wouldn't happen again. Here is Reggie Carter in the DN last April (emphasis added):

"We were 4-8 last year. We can't afford to miss a practice," Carter said Friday. "Some guys argue it's tradition. Well, tradition started when they were winning. … Coach Neuheisel talked to me, and I said, `You don't have to worry about it. We're not going to do it.' If some guys try to slide away and organize it and do it anyway, we'll just go back in the locker room, rally them up and get back out here and practice, and deal with them after practice."

And Logan Paulsen:

When the Bruins did it last spring, the coaching staff was visible upset. Paulsen was one of the most upset about it, and has been a proponent of abolishing it this spring.

"My mentality regarding the wall is I enjoy coming out here (to practice)," Paulsen said. "Every one of these practices is special to me, and I don't want to be wasting an opportunity. I understand there's a lot of things that go into the wall, a lot of tradition, a lot of camaraderie and team building, but in my opinion these spring practices are too valuable to pass up on."

Well I'd like to hear from them what happened this time around. What changed guys? So were you guys lying back in April? Hey, here is a news flash Reggie and Logan. You are 6-6. We gave you benefit of the doubt and took encouragement as sign of progress. However, here is a news flash, you guys still haven't established any kind "winning" tradition yet and not living up to your own words is not going to help you either. This only makes you look like a total joke and full of hot air.

If I were Neuehisel I'd make sure to sneak in some two-a-days in next two weeks. This sends a pathetic message from this football team to rest of the world. It deservedly makes them look like bunch of phonies without any kind of substance.

The way it looks from outside, it doesn't look pretty and sends wrong messages from a program that is trying so desperately to get back on track. Again, Carter, Paulsen, ATV, Austin and the entire senior class should be embarrassed of themselves. This is not the way to go out and set examples for the underclassmen. Just pathetic. It will be interesting to see how Neuheisel treats this development.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Neuheisel has made statements and frankly he sounds underwhelming:

Opening thoughts:
"A deal's a deal. When they were talking about it in spring practice, I said, 'Listen, the wall thing started in bowl practice. You get to bowl practice, then you can start to thinking about things like this.' So they did."

On the players keeping it quiet (as Kai Forbath walks by smiling):
"They did a nice job of this one, keeping it under wraps. Look at Forbath with the big grin. I do compliment them on the choice of days. When you're still in kind of the get-back-into-football mode, and young guys are getting their chances to work, I think it was a wise day to pick. I'm pleased with the leadership in terms of the choice. But obviously I would have loved to practice."

On the history of The Wall:
"This happened many years ago. Kenny Easley led the group over the wall, and it was a good thing. I enjoyed it more as a player than as a coach, though, I'll be honest with you. There's no question about that. Sometimes coaches forget what it was like as a player. I try not to do that."

If this is all we get from CRN, it will be the first strike against him as the head coach of this football program. If he and his coaches were involved in this, then they also look like total hypocrites after talking up the importance of bowl practices in public.

He needs to hold players like Carter and Paulsen accountable, who right now looks like total liars based on their actions. I don't care Kenny Easley did this back in the day. I care that Carter and Paulsen straight up lied on this issue. We shouldn't accept that and Neuheisel needs to hold them accountable for it. If he doesn't, I will lose a lot of respect for him from hereon out. GO BRUINS.

UPDATE II (N): LAT has more on this and it's not pretty. First up, here is senior "leader" Terrence Austin:

“We kind of wanted to have a complete season and decided to get this in,” Austin said. “We promised coach we wouldn’t do it unless we got a bowl. We decided to get it out of the way early so we could get back to work for the Washington, D.C. game. We didn’t want it to interfere with business.”

That sounds as lovely as Austin's punt and kickoff returns. Way to show leadership Terrence. Not. Apparently Kevin Craft might not have been on board while Paulsen gave a "no comment":

Not all players seemed on board with the plan. Asked if he was aware of the plan, senior quarterback Kevin Craft said, “no," tersely. Senior tight end Logan Paulsen declined to comment.

Not good enough and it's reflective of their mediocre play on the field. It still looks make Paulsen look like a liar based on what he said this past spring. Meanwhile, Neuheisel sounds underwhelming and frankly weak:

“They caught us all by surprise with this one,” Neuheisel said. “I do compliment them on the choice of days, when we are still getting back into football mode. I am pleased with the leadership in terms of the choice.”

Not the kind of "leadership" we want to see around UCLA football coach. That explanation doesn't fly and will not do much to gain confidence in a football program, which at this moment looks like a total joke. Pathetic. GO BRUINS.