By Daniel Miller
BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
dmiller@media.ucla.edu
It looks like UCLA could be heading for quarterback controversy with sophomore Matt Moore’s recovery from a bone bruise coming on the heels of improved play by Drew Olson in UCLA’s 20-10 victory over San Diego State on Saturday. However, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell says there is no quarterback hullabaloo in store for his 2-2 Bruins.
While Moore will return to practice in full pads today, Dorrell made it clear that Olson will start for the Bruins on Saturday against Washington (3-1) in the team’s Pac-10 opener.
“We don’t know how far away (Moore) is (from being ready),” Dorrell said. “Once he is close to 100 percent, he will be weaned in. It will take some time for him to get comfortable, and we are going to do what is right to make him ready. Drew will be there for us on Saturday.”
It might give Dorrell and his offensive coaches some comfort knowing that Olson had a career night against the Aztecs. Olson went 18-of-28 for a career-high 258 yards and two touchdowns. Dorrell said that Olson’s improved play did not influence his decision to keep Moore on the bench for now.
“Right now let’s see if Moore is ready to practice,” Dorrell said. “He could take his first rep in practice and hurt his knee.”
Olson is comfortable in his role as the starting quarterback, with the knowledge that Moore will be coming back to the starting job soon.
“I expect to start this week,” Olson said. “I feel comfortable with the offense. I feel good about how I played last week. We are continuing to make strides forward.”
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This past season, halfback Tyler Ebell rushed for 994 yards and 10 touchdowns, establishing himself as a top quality tailback. However, after averaging 76.5 yards per game this past season, his numbers have dropped dramatically as he has seen the ball much less this year. After four games, Ebell has netted 126 yards and is averaging 31.5 yards per game.
Many people speculate the Bruins are turning to the larger fullback-sized Manuel White because opponents are toughening their rushing defenses. Dorrell said that while this reason is partly true, the Bruins need to do a better job of getting Ebell the ball.
“I don’t think it is any fault of Tyler’s (that he has not gotten more carries),” Dorrell said. “It has been an oversight in not getting the ball to Ebell. That is my fault. It was something I didn’t see at the time against San Diego State. He should have had more reps.”
This past season Ebell averaged 4.2 yards per carry, this year he is averaging 3.3 yards per run. After the Bruins lost to Colorado, Dorrell lamented that White had not gotten a single carry against the Buffaloes. During the next game, White rushed for a career-high 102 yards in UCLA’s victory over Illinois.
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Senior defensive tackle Rodney Leisle will sit out the first half of the Washington game Saturday after being ejected from the San Diego State game. Dorrell said that Asi Faoa will probably start in Leisle’s place. Kevin Brown and C.J. Niusulu could also see action in place of the senior NFL prospect.
Dorrell said that Leisle could also face punishment from the team but that his punishment has not been determined at this time.