Spaulding Roundup: No Coronation Yet

Last year Neuheisel and Chow annointed Patrick Cowan as the starting QB during the midpoint of spring football. I think they did that because they wanted to send a clear message and send no mixed signals dealing with two veteran QBs in the program. Moreover, they also had enough game films from both QB to make their determination. This year as the Bruins have been working in two QBs - Prince and Brehaut - who haven't taken a single snap during spring football, the coaches are waiting as long as they can to make the final call even though it appears Prince is getting majority of the first team snaps.

Dohn reports CRN is not in any hurry to reach a decision yet:

"There's no need to make that decision yet," Neuheisel said Thursday. "I just want to keep getting as many reps as I can. … Kevin had a good spring. I've seen enough in him to think he's got a chance to be very successful."

More on the story from the LAT:

Neuheisel said he would meet with offensive coordinator Norm Chow today and, "we'll make a decision about what we want to do at the end of spring ball."

Prince has been the clear leader in the competition, judging by the time he has spent with the first team. He has shown a strong arm and accuracy.

But the nearest Neuheisel came to a coronation was his assessment that, "I still see enough in him to think he has a chance to be very successful."

Richard Brehaut, an incoming freshman, has handled much of the second team chores, with Kevin Craft, last season's starter being mixed in.

Asked what else Prince needs to show him, Chow said, "Not much. He's done a real nice job. He's had a real nice spring, as has Richard and Kevin."

Prince, for his part, said about spring practice, "I felt it went well. I only wish I had been more consistent. I felt I made the plays I needed to make. But I need to them on a more consistent basis."

I asked rye (the President of the Kevin Princ Fan Club) about his thoughts on Prince. Rye is encouraged by what he has seen out at Spaulding:

His performance has been just about what I expected from him. While he is talented and smart, he’s still a redshirt freshman who’s working with the 1’s for the first time. Throw in the fact that his 1’s have been rotating in and out all spring and it’s not a situation conducive to greatness. I think he’s shown a good grasp of the offense for the most part and he clearly has the physical tools, but it’s the one mistake every 4 or 5 plays that’s getting in his way. He’s make 3 or 4 great plays, then make one where you’re left wondering"what are you thinking?"

I think it’s just a matter of experience and I’m sure there will be a few instances like that during the season, but what has me encouraged, besides his physical tool, is that when he makes a mistake, it looks like he learns from it and is careful to avoid making it again.

Well there will be many of you getting your first peak at the new QB tomorrow evening at the Rose Bowl as Bruins close out spring football with their final scrimmage. The Spring Game will be get started at 7 pm PST. However, there will be a lot of tailgaiting and other fun stuff going on at the Rose Bowl before the kick off. You can check out the details on all the festivities (and parking) by going over here.

On another note, Prince and his team-mates had a very special guest talk to them after practice yesterday:

Former UCLA and Lakers star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar accepted Neuheisel's invitation and spoke to the team after practice.

"He was waxing philosophical about taking advantage of your days in school because it goes by extremely fast," Neuheisel said. "He said he can't believe he was once their age, and having seen some footage of him doing interviews when he was their age, it was hard for him to imagine he was once that innocent."

Guess the Lakers could have used the Big Fella last night.

Lastly, spring football ended with no "over the wall" but it might have started a new tradition at Spaulding:

UCLA bucked the tradition of blowing off a practice by "going over the wall" at Spaulding Field this spring, but a new tradition might have cropped up. The seniors dressed as coaches and ran many of the drills while the underclassmen practiced.

"I think they gained appreciation for our side of the fence," Neuheisel said. "Hopefully, (they) had a memorable day on their last day of spring practice at Spaulding Field."

As an added twist, some of the defensive linemen got a friendly dig in at Bruins defensive line coach Todd Howard, who is still getting over surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Most of the linemen wore walking boots throughout practice.

LOL. Well that sounds like a pretty good outcome from ditching the silly "tradition" from the previous years. Can't wait to hear the details and hopefully pictures (thanks again to everyone for providing all the wonderful shots last few weeks) from the final scrimmage before the nuclear winter of college football season sets in.

GO BRUINS.