Koral Sharp in the Final Scrimmage

Trying to figure out UCLA’s quarterback situation can cause a headache.

Senior Drew Olson is the incumbent with 26 starts to his credit, but he’s coming off major knee surgery. He has sat out all of spring practice, but Coach Karl Dorrell has suggested that the job is Olson’s to lose if he’s healthy once fall camp arrives.

But if Olson isn’t ready, the position becomes a puzzle based on how Dorrell has used his quarterbacks this spring.

In UCLA’s final major scrimmage Saturday at Drake Stadium, senior David Koral was the most productive signal caller. Redshirt freshmen Ben Olson (no relation to Drew) and Patrick Cowan had their moments.

Walk-on Brian Callahan had no completions in five attempts with two interceptions, including a touchdown return by senior Marcus Cassel.

Koral, who has been working with the first team, was pleased with his play on Saturday. He completed eight of 12 passes for 102 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown to sophomore Marcus Everett.

“With everything that I’ve done this spring, I think I’ve shown that I can definitely move this offense,” said Koral, who sat on the bench most of last season but threw two touchdown passes in the Las Vegas Bowl after Drew Olson was injured.

In team and seven-on-seven passing drills this spring, Koral completed nearly 75% of his passes by improving his decision-making in the pocket.

“It’s really like night and day, when it comes to my knowledge of the offense compared to a year ago,” Koral said.

Although Koral has developed, Dorrell refused to give him much of an edge because of the progress of Ben Olson and Cowan. On Saturday, Ben Olson still displayed some rust from not playing football for two years, but he looked better than he did in last week’s scrimmage, completing four of 12 passes for 47 yards.

“I’ve been sort of the new guy on the block, so I’ve been kind of playing catch-up all spring,” said Olson, a fan favorite who drew the loudest cheers Saturday from an estimated crowd of 1,800. “Physically, I’m not where I need to be, but it’s coming.”

Not to be overlooked has been the play of Cowan, who completed six of 12 for 83 yards and one touchdown. Offensive coordinator Tom Cable said Cowan’s improvement has been noticeable.

“His errors are more experience issues, and that’s OK,” Cable said. “You can live with those [mistakes].”

Dorrell said the goal during spring wasn’t to come up with a starter or a definite depth chart.

“That’s not something that we’re really thinking about right now,” he said. “The best thing about where we are as a program is that we’re going to finish spring ball on Tuesday. We’ll have April, May, June and July to get ready and get a lot of work in to be a good football team by August.”

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With defensive tackle Kevin Brown added to UCLA’s long injured list because of a knee injury suffered in Thursday’s practice, the Bruins’ defense started well but struggled near the end of the scrimmage.

Brown, the standout of spring practice, suffered a hyperextension and deep bone bruise to his tibia, putting him on crutches for at least the next four weeks. He is expected to be ready for fall practice, and his replacements led an aggressive front that again had a strong scrimmage with a relentless pass rush.

Sophomores Brigham Harwell, Nathan Skaggs and Chris Johnson played well for a UCLA defense that had at least six sacks and interceptions by Michael Norris and Cassel.

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Sophomore Chris Markey rushed for 86 yards in 13 carries and scored two touchdowns, sophomore Derrick Williams rushed for 56 yards in 15 and scored twice. Junior Maurice Drew had 57 yards in nine carries with one touchdown. Everett finished with four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, sophomore Brandon Breazell had three catches for 79 yards, including a 50-yard scoring play from Cowan.