• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Photo

Photo

While vacationing in Hawaii this summer, perhaps UCLA Head Coach Bob Toledo put down Patton (which inspired him to rally the troops during last year’s slide) and picked up Mao’s Little Red Book.

Last year at this time all the talk was about 23 superstar seniors and aspirations to greatness. This year, it’s all about the communal whole.

“Our goals are team unity and to win the upcoming game,” Toledo said. He decided to pick the goals himself this year, rather than let the players vote as in years past. In an attempt to develop team chemistry, Toledo moved fall camp from the UCLA campus to Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

“It’s a great chance to bond, to develop that camaraderie, that family atmosphere. Sometimes there there can be distractions. By getting them away from their cars, their apartments, and their girlfriends, we can get closer together.”

Toledo did not rule out off-field bonding activities and said he would have nightly team meetings and wanted to show the players some video clips, but would not go into further detail. As for the players, they foresaw male bonding in slumber parties and rap sessions.

“Most humbly, I would say I am the best rapper on the team,” said sophomore strong safety Jibril Raymo. He acknowledged, however, that incoming freshman wide receiver Idris Moss impressed teammates with his 2Pac rendition.

When asked about their goals for the season, they all toed the party line.

“Team unity,” senior left tackle Bryce Bohlander said.

“Team unity,” senior punter Nate Fikse said.

“Team unity and to win the upcoming game,” senior cornerback Ricky Manning, Jr. said.

Well, perhaps not everyone has read Toledo’s Book.

“We all have the same goal. To win the national championship,” said one player who preferred to remain anonymous after being reminded that the consensus goal was team unity and to win the upcoming game – and only the upcoming game.

He may not need his own copy of Toledo’s Book since Big Brother will be watching out. Toledo has formed an advisory council of players who teammates can go to with problems, or who can police their teammates when they see trouble brewing.

“You talk about chemistry and attitude; two of the problems that we had off the field affected this football team (last year),” Toledo said. “When you had as many seniors as we had and as many good football players as we had who are going to go onto all-star games and professional football, they start focusing on the future and forget about now.

“If there is one thing I failed to do it was to get them back (after the loss to Stanford).”

The advisory council consists of seven seniors – Manning, Fikse, tackle Mike Saffer, defensive end Rusty Williams, quarterback Cory Paus, wide receiver Ryan Smith, linebacker Marcus Reese, tight end Mike Seidman – along with sophomore tailback Manuel White and a freshman who Toledo has not yet chosen.

Halfway through camp, the biggest problem the advisory council had dealt with was an over-abundance of Gatorade and a comparative dearth of water. But given last year’s events, its role could be more serious.

“This advisory council is really the leadership of our football team because there are no team captains, just game captains,” Toledo said.

Whether the advisory council can help develop elusive chemistry remains to be seen.

“It means more when your teammates pick you. I’ve never been on a team without team captains. But I believe in his (Toledo’s) coaching style,” Williams said. “I don’t need to be the guy who does the coin toss to be a leader.”

And Paus does not need to be the starting quarterback to be a leader either. Although Toledo refuses to name a starting quarterback until the week of the season opener, he has given every hint it will be Paus.

“Cory has no greater backer than me. I’m very proud of the way he’s handled himself,” Toledo said.

Paus’ two DUI offenses and an inconsistent year on the field, where he threw as many interceptions as touchdowns (8) and was seventh in the Pac-10 in pass efficiency, shook the faith of his coach and fans. But the team has expressed full support of the only quarterback on the roster with game experience. Paus knows that.

“I’m the man in charge of the offense,” Paus said. “No, that is not hard for me to say. I know where I stand.”

UCLA will need perfect chemistry and a consistent quarterback given that it plays the second-toughest schedule in the country, according to Sports Illustrated.

Although the Bruins had the best defense in the Pac-10 last year and will be guided again by defensive coordinator Phil Snow, they lost six defenders to the NFL: defensive linemen Kenyon Coleman, Ken Kocher and Anthony Fletcher, linebackers Rob Thomas and Ryan Nece, and safety Marques Anderson.

Offensively, the team finished seventh in the Pac-10, generating 388 yards per game. They lose one of the best rushers in school history in DeShaun Foster.

Yet they have that magic Pac-10 champion ingredient: a senior quarterback, as well as an experienced offensive line and a talented group of receivers, tight ends and backs.

Looking at special teams, the Bruins return both punter Nate Fikse and kicker Chris Griffith.

UCLA is picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10 this year and is quick to remind people that last time it was picked to finish sixth it went to the Rose Bowl. To repeat that feat, however, UCLA will need good chemistry – and good luck.

“We were 7-4. That is not a good year,” Toledo said. “A lot of people would love to be 7-4 but we did not go about it the right way.”