A Green Has a Big Day in Fiesta Bowl, Too, Only This One Is Shy

When Gaston Green was called to the microphone to accept his award as the outstanding offensive player in Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl, his acceptance speech was 13 words. For Green, that’s a filibuster.

Green’s actions speak louder than his words. It’s not even close.

The UCLA freshman from Gardena High talks up a storm with his feet. He rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in UCLA’s 39-37 win over Miami Tuesday. In the second quarter, he scored on a 72-yard run that turned into a no-contest foot race after the first 20 yards. And he caught five passes for 47 yards.

A superstar day, indeed, for this super-shy young man.

In fact, in the wake of Green’s impressive performance here, not to mention his 134-yard game that helped the Bruins beat USC Nov. 17, about the only people connected with UCLA’s athletic department the least bit worried about Green are the school’s public relations people. He’s not exactly Joe Theismann. Al McGuire talks more when he wants you to pass the sugar than Green does in a formal press conference. Some people choose their words carefully. Green hardly chooses any at all.

It is not that he is uncooperative. Nor is it that he is unfriendly. Probably more than anything else, he seems overwhelmed by being pushed so suddenly into the spotlight.

He is 18 years old. The drinking age was 19 in Arizona until a new law made it 21 on New Year’s Day, so Green was left behind when all his teammates frequented various area watering holes during the week before the game. “I just played a lot of arcade games,” Green said.

The Fiesta Bowl, before a crowd of 60,310 and a national television audience, was his first game as a starter. He had come into the USC game after starter Danny Andrews cracked a bone in his leg just before halftime.

Green’s shyness is understandable, certainly genuine and even charming.

For example, in various postgame interview sessions, he said things such as:

“I was just happy to get a chance to play today.”

And: “I was hoping I’d have something to do with the victory”

And: “Without my line playing like they did, I couldn’t have done anything.”

Indeed, his 13-word post-game speech to the Fiesta Bowl crowd carried that same theme, not to mention his usual humility. He said, “I would like to thank my offensive line for making this possible today.”

He never missed an opportunity to give credit to tight end Derek Tennell for throwing the big block on his 72-yard touchdown run. One interviewer after another asked him to recap his big run, and each heard the same story about how Tennell had “kicked his man outside, so I could get through.” Green never mentioned that a couple of Miami players had a good angle on him when he got into the defensive backfield and he merely blew the pursuing Hurricanes away.

Other players who were asked about Green’s personality invariably began with some form of the phrase: “He is a very nice guy . . . “

Bryan Wiley, the senior fullback who played opposite Green for most of the game, said: “He is as soft-spoken around here with us as he is with you guys. Just a nice guy who can really hit a hole fast and really play.”

And Andrews, also a senior, said: “He’s a very nice person and I’m happy for him. I knew he’d do a good job and I know all this attention is tough for somebody like him to handle. He gets embarrassed very easily.”

Andrews, like most people, is more interested in Green’s skills than his quiet personality. Since he watched Green play in high school when Green’s Gardena team would play Andrews’ Banning team, and has now seen him operate in a position he held himself, Andrews is in a good spot to analyze the future.

“People have asked me about him taking over my spot,” Andrews said. “And they ask if he will be the next Danny Andrews.

“Man, I don’t think he’s gonna be the next me at all. I think he’s gonna be the next something else. He’ll break all the records before he’s done.”

And before he’s done, he may even get to like the post-game interviews. Right now, he’d rather face a horde of defensive linemen than a horde of reporters. When asked about whether he’d rather be back out there banging heads than dodging microphones and pads and pencils, he broke into his big smile and said: “You’ve got it, man.”

For the moment, one thing seems certain. With three seasons left, the college football world is likely to hear plenty more about Gaston Green, even though it may not hear it from him.