UCLA Football Spaulding Report: Tahaan Goodman Becoming the Enforcer, Husky CB Peters Dismissed

First some big news coming out of Washington.  According to the Seattle Times, all-conference cornerback and potential first round draft pick, Marcus Peters has been dismissed from the Huskies football team. Coach Mora calls him an NFL guy and according to Jack Wang, was surprised to hear that Peters was dismissed saying: "He's a good football player.  He's an NFL-type guy."  Jordan Payton, according to Wang, was looking forward to this particular challenge:

He’s definitely an NFL corner.  It’s definitely exciting. You only get a couple of those corners come your way in a lifetime, so you have to take advantage of it.

Coach Petersen had this to say after officially announcing the dismissal:

These are not decisions that are taken lightly. We have high standards for players in our program and they are held accountable when those standards are not met. I wish Marcus the best in the completion of his education and in achieving his football goals.

According to the Seattle Times, this was the last straw after a number of other incidents:

Peters got into an argument with an assistant coach during practice Wednesday, a source said, apparently the final straw in a series of run-ins with Washington’s new coaching staff. He also got into an argument with coaches during UW’s victory at Colorado on Saturday and then missed practice on Tuesday, sources said.

In his third year as a starting cornerback, Peters had been suspended for one game in September after his sideline outburst, in which he threw his helmet and gloves, a week earlier against Eastern Washington. That outburst followed what UW coach Chris Petersen called a "stupid" personal-foul penalty against Peters, who had head-butted an EWU receiver.

It looks like Petersen is having to clean up a left-over $c type culture created by Seven Win Sark.  Peters is the 9th player either dismissed or suspended by Petersen since February.  Peters was also one of the two players laughing on the sidelines in their blowout loss against the Ducks.

Congratulations to Eddie Vanderdoes who was named to the Ted Hendricks mid-season Award Watch list today.  Eddie has totaled 37 tackles so far this year.  The award rewards "On-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness" and the winner will be announced December 11th.

Coach Mora met briefly with the press today after practice, and after failing to take the bait (to compare Petersen to Sarkisian) praised Coach Petersen and Husky QB Cyrus Miles.  About Coach Petersen, Mora said:

I just know they're a really good football team. He's got a great history of winning. They play good special teams. They're sound both offensively and defensively and he knows how to utilize his talent. He's got just really a proven track record,  he's a great coach.

Coach Mora also said that the Bruins don't have a lot of experience against Miles but:

Getting those snaps against him, last year ... we have just a little, not a lot, but a little familiarity with him but we've been able to watch him on film,  he's very talented, an excellent athlete,  just a good football player.   He's working well in that system and he's healthy now.

Here is the full video.

Thanks to Ed Lewis, Bruin Sports Report, for  the video.

Tahaan Goodman spoke with the media about his increased role in the Bruins secondary and how he has come to this point.

Tahaan says he felt more comfortable in the game against Arizona and that the D-line was getting good rushes and the linebackers getting good depth.  He felt guys had his back and agrees that the secondary is getting more confident.  They have been working hard to be better.  He agrees that he is just reacting and not having to think as much.  The coaches want to see more movement from him and to disguise longer.  He has spent a lot of time in the film room seeing how he can do this better.  He says they will play against what UW gives them, pass or run.  When asked, he hopes the opposing offenses do get the message that there is a big hitter up the middle.  He is very humble, not wanting to necessarily attribute Arizona's dropped balls to himself, instead saying:  "It was just a lot of dropped balls".

Here is the complete video:

Thank you Jack Wang, Inside UCLA, for the video.

Looking around the webs, Fox Sports' The Audible podcast takes an inside look at UCLA, and the "surprising Pac-12 race". Chris Foster asks if UCLA has found the secret to winning on the road, noting that to this point our Bruins are undefeated on the road (knock on wood):

"When you get down in those hostile environments, you just have this urge to get out of there with a win," quarterback Brett Hundley said.

Ryan Kartje takes a look at how the Bruin football team is bucking the national trend of decreased ticket sales (sorry about the picture).

According to a CBSSports.com analysis, college football attendance is down 1 percent nationally over the past season and 3 percent over the past three, but season ticket sales are up an impressive 21 percent at UCLA, with 5,450 more tickets sold for the 2014 season.

Student ticket sales are also increasing, up 23% this year as compared to a 7% drop nationally.  OMG, you mean investing in athletic programs pays off?

The Seattle Times also has a nice piece on the two teams' two way players, Shaq Thompson and Myles Jack and another announcing Jack is back.

Enjoy the rest of your week and as always...

Go Bruins!