For those of you looking forward to the April 25th spring game UCLA released more details yesterday including info. on "Lady Bruins Football 101" and "Bruin Kids Club Field Day":
Tailgating/Parking
Bruin fans can park for the regular gameday rate of $15. Designated lots are: B, D, F, H, I, K. For a parking map, click here.Lady Bruins Football 101
Lady Bruins are invited to the second annual Lady Bruins Football 101 prior to the 2009 Spring Game presented by Sport Chalet at the Rose Bowl. Participants meet with UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel, Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow and Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Chuck Bullough for a class on the strategies of the game and an on-field demonstration...so bring your tennis shoes ladies!Registration is limited to the first 300 Lady Bruins. To sign up today online, click here.
(note: participants will receive an itinerary via email one week prior to the event; walk-up registration will NOT be available)Bruin Kids Club Field Day presented by Mattel Children's Hospital:
Registration is at 3:30pm. Games, skill contests and activities are from 4pm-6pm in Area H. Meet Head Football Coach Rick Neuheisel, the UCLA Spirit Squad and Football players! Admission is free (kids age 13 and younger) and all participants receive an autographed item. The first 300 participants receive a Bristol Farms snack. Kids who join or renew their membership for the 2009-10 Bruin Kids Club at Field Day, will receive a special gift courtesy of Mattel (while supplies last).
If any of you are participating in the aforementioned festivities would love to read all about it (with pictures for those of us in exile) here on BN. Anyway, to see the full details for the April 15th scrimmage at the Rose Bowl (which is free BTW) go here.
As for the team couple of more transfer related notes. First let's do a followup on the Robert Marve story from yesterday. Dohn thinks its a long shot:
I'm hearing Miami transfer quarterback Robert Marve is a long, long shot to wind up at UCLA.
There is also a chance Marve could end up at Florida, where he would have to pay his own way for one year because the Hurricanes didn't release him to the Gators.
Another QB who is now in the transfer radar is Patrick Witt, a former QB out of Nebraska. From Dohn:
Witt was supposed to contend for the Cornhuskers' starting job this spring, but decided to transfer. He remains enrolled at Nebraska and will finish the semester, and said he will choose between UCLA, Stanford, Duke and Yale. "I sent film to UCLA, they're interested, so we'll see what the next step in the process is," Witt said Thursday. "Wherever I decide to go, I want to be there for summer drills." The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Witt, who prepped at Wylie (Texas) High, was Joe Ganz's primary backup last season. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards in five games. If Witt attends Duke, UCLA or Stanford, he must sit out one year and then will have two years of eligibility remaining. He said he already visited Yale and Duke, and academics will play a big role in his decision. "That was the driving factor in my decision to leave Nebraska," said Witt, a finance major. "I've always held myself to a high standard in the classroom. I have a 4.0 (grade-point average) in my time at Nebraska. My older brother is going to graduate from Harvard in June, and I realize the importance of it." Witt said he plans to attend law school after he is done playing football. Well given the schools he listed his public comments re. commitment to academics sound genuine. However, at the same time I think it's always good to be aware perspective from the school he is transferring. I went over to our SBN's colleagues blog at Corn Nation and spotted this excerpt from Husker Extra re. Witt's decision to leave Nebraska: According to a source close to the Nebraska program, Witt and his father sought assurance from Husker coaches that the coaches would name the starting quarterback at the end of spring practice. That way, if Witt wasn’t named starter, he presumably could arrange to transfer, or at least evaluate his situation. Obviously that's the story from the Nebraska program under Bo Pellini.Corn Blight over at Corn Blight offered up this analysis:
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini declined to address the matter Monday. But the source said Pelini informed the Witts that it was highly unlikely (read: forget it, guys) that he would release Patrick from his scholarship if Patrick made such a request at the end of spring drills. Pelini apparently loathed the idea of Witt going through spring practice while considering a transfer. So, Pelini forced Witt’s hand before spring drills began.
Let's look at this from Witt's perspective. The coach that originally recruited him to play at Nebraska, Bill Callahan, is gone. Witt gave a year to Pelini's staff to see how things would work out. It turns out that they didn't work out poorly, they just didn't work out as well as the Witts wanted them to.
You could take this as a sign that the coaches favor Zac Lee, or that Cody Green is the second coming of Turner Gill. Or you could take it at face value - The Witts wanting a guarantee while Bo Pelini wanted a wide-open quarterback race.
The Witts can get their guarantee by having Patrick transfer to a place where there is little or no competition for a quarterback position. If he's after a pro career, it may work out to his advantage despite playing against inferior competition. With the spread offense making it difficult for the NFL to evaluate college quarterbacks, Witt might just find a pro-style offense and make a home for himself for a couple years, get plenty of playing time and see what happens.
If that's what he's looking for, more power to him. Let's hope the next place they go, the Witts stay put for a while. Professional people tend to look down on job-hoppers. There's real money at stake.
Sounds reasonable to me. However, I am sure our coaches - both CRN and Chow - will make it more than clear to the Witts that there will be no gimmes in Westwood. If he wants to come over here he will have to earn his way if he is eying for the starting spot in two years. Our QB depth chart might be filled with unproven players but everyone is looking forward to the fierce competition that is going to take place between Prince, Brehaut and other Bruin QBs. If Witt wants to come in and compete while getting a quality of education rivaling any other institution of higher learning, Westwood potentially could be a good fit for him. We will see how it unfolds for him. Either way we wish him luck too.
GO BRUINS.