Troy Aikman’s triumphant return to UCLA

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During his weekend visit to UCLA, former Bruins quarterback Troy Aikman was honored at halftime of Saturday’s basketball game against Notre Dame. He recently finished his college degree, and was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Aikman spoke to the crowd for 2 1/2 minutes:

Later, he offered a vote of confidence for Rick Neuheisel.

“I think Rick’s a heck of a football coach,” Aikman said. “My history goes back quite a ways with him.”

When Aikman transferred to UCLA from Oklahoma in 1986, he told then-coach Terry Donahue that he did not want to run the scout team while sitting out a season. Instead, Aikman spent that time with Neuheisel, then a young volunteer assistant.

“We spent every day together during that year,” Aikman said. “Most of the time we wouldn’t even go out on the field. We’d just sit in a classroom and look at film. He’d teach me about defenses and coverages and our own offense.

“I felt it was one of the most valuable years that I’ve ever spent. I learned a lot.”

Neuheisel spent the next fall as a replacement player in the NFL’s strike-marred season before returning as quarterbacks coach for Aikman’s senior season in 1988.

Aikman said he was not surprised by Neuheisel’s success as a head coach. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback talked about UCLA’s recent recruiting class that included highly touted offensive linemen Stanley Hasiak and Xavier Su’a-Filo, as well as two players -– Morrell Presley and Randall Carroll –- who had been USC commits.

“It’s just a matter of time,” Aikman said of efforts to bolster the program. “There’s an 800-pound gorilla across town but I’m confident that UCLA’s going to get back to the level of play that we all hope for.”

-- David Wharton