Spring football: UCLA looks to answer some questions at key positions

1_Quarterback controversies start like this: Do you go with the highly touted guy who won the job last summer or stick with the guy who beat USC in your biggest victory? Ben Olson won this competition once but injured a knee in the fifth game. In stepped Patrick Cowan, who was merely a star the day the Bruins ended seven years of gloating by USC fans. Coach Karl Dorrell said he would like the issue resolved by the end of spring practice. The wild card in the mix? Olson and Cowan have a new sensei, offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. “Jay has been able to watch all the tape and has assessed their abilities,” Dorrell said.

2_The one area in which the Bruins have led the nation in recent seasons: offensive coordinators. Norvell is the third in four seasons. He spent the last three seasons at Nebraska teaching the West Coast passing game to those who once had a plow-horse mentality to offense. Norvell has made a lot of changes to the system, Dorrell said. Whether that means plays will be called differently or there will be a resumption of a cautious approach -- a frequent criticism last season -- is to be seen.

3_With 20 starters back, 10 each on offense and defense, the thought of having to replace a kicker would seem an annoyance. Yet about the only consistency the Bruins showed last year was Justin Medlock’s kicking. He’s gone, leaving the field-goal and extra-point chores to redshirt freshman Kai Forbath, whose strong leg was on display during practice last season. “That was kicking against air,” Dorrell said. In other words, Forbath won’t spend April kicking off a tee into a net. “We’re going to be putting pressure on him this spring,” Dorrell said. “We need him battle-tested.”

4_Having 80% of your offensive line back would seem to make this a spot devoid of questions. But Dorrell has played musical linemen since the end of last season, moving Chris Joseph from guard to center and Noah Sutherland from tackle to guard. The moves were designed to “put our best five on the field,” Dorrell said. But adjustments will have to be made. Tackle Micah Kia, a sophomore, is the newcomer. He might have been pushed more, but Tony Lee has inflammation in his surgically repaired knee and will be limited during spring practice.

5_The defense is virtually intact, but it lacks depth. Dorrell called out a handful of players to “make a move” this spring, including linebacker Kyle Bosworth and safeties Bret Lockett and Aaron Ware. “They have gone from sophomores to juniors and need to impress the coaches,” Dorrell said. “They need to take the next step.”

6_A sense of urgency should hang over the Bruins’ spring practice, and Dorrell hopes it lasts longer than the marine layer. Did the Bruins move into a higher tax bracket by beating USC? Or did that merely set up the collapse against Florida State in the Emerald Bowl? The answer will come next fall. But with 20 starters and 24 seniors back, Dorrell wants the seeds planted now. “The last two years we have been fighting to contend at the top of the conference,” Dorrell said. “We need to be right there, especially with what we have coming back.”

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Los Angeles Times

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Compare and contrast

Patrick Cowan led the Bruins to four victories in 2006. Ben Olson won three of his first four starts before being injured against Arizona. A look at their 2006 statistics:

COWAN

* Completions-attempts...145-276

* Yards passing...1,782

* Touchdowns-interceptions...11-9

OLSON

* Completions-attempts...79-124

* Yards passing...822

* Touchdowns-interceptions...5-5

UCLA’s 2007 schedule

Date Opponent

Sept. 1...at Stanford

Sept. 8...Brigham Young

Sept. 15...at Utah

Sept. 22...Washington

Sept. 29...at Oregon State

Oct. 6...Notre Dame

Oct. 20...California

Oct. 27...at Washington State

Nov. 3...at Arizona

Nov. 10...Arizona State

Nov. 24...Oregon

Dec. 1...at USC