UCLA’s Thoughts Again Turn to Quarterback

It’s springtime, and once again the search is on for a quarterback at UCLA.

It’s time for Coach Terry Donahue to fret, to shake his head, to shrug a lot as he considers the candidates.

There are other questions to be answered before spring practice ends next Saturday, but none of the others capture the imagination as does this rite of spring.

Matt Stevens, the fourth-year junior who started three games last season when Steve Bono was hurt, would seem to be the incumbent.

But Donahue says that the job is still wide open and that Stevens is trying to hold off serious challenges by fifth-year senior David Norrie and second-year freshman Brendan McCracken.

“Matt did a nice job last year in a difficult set of circumstances, and I think he had the edge the first week,” Donahue said. “But Brendan McCracken had a good first scrimmage for us, and David Norrie had an outstanding second week and a good scrimmage.”

If Donahue could settle on one of the younger players, he could avoid this question next spring and go into 1986 with an experienced quarterback.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “But then, we’ve won three straight New Year’s Day bowl games with fifth-year quarterbacks.

“It really is wide open now, and there is no timetable on making a decision. We’d like to make a decision by the end of spring practice, but if we have to take it over to fall practice, we will. I know everyone has his favorite, but I really don’t know who our quarterback is going to be.”

Stevens is a favorite with a lot of people, among them a lot of players. On this UCLA team, Stevens is one of the old guard, one of the leaders.

“We have as young a team as we have fielded in quite some time,” Donahue said. “But that might not be too bad. It’s better to be young and talented than experienced and not too talented. We just need to gain some experience without making too many mistakes along the way.”

Those three straight bowl victories have been paying off at recruiting time, and Donahue has some very talented players, especially among the running backs.

Starting positions are not settled there, either, now that Danny Andrews and Bryan Wiley are gone. Still, a lot of those youngsters are going to play.

Gaston Green, for example, cannot possibly be overlooked after what he did last season as a freshman. He didn’t play much until late in the season, when he rushed for 134 yards against USC, then followed that up with 144 yards and two touchdowns in the Fiesta Bowl, where he was named the outstanding offensive player.

Sophomore James Primus started two games at tailback last season and was impressive. Then there are redshirt freshmen Eric Ball and Danny Thompson, both good prospects.

At fullback, Greg Francois, Marcus Greenwood, Mel Farr Jr. and Doug Kline will seek to replace Wiley.

“We’ll use more than one tailback, for sure,” Donahue said. “Running back is one of the strengths of our offensive team, along with wide receiver.”

Wide receiver Mike Young is gone, but Mike Sherrard, Karl Dorrell, Al Wilson, Paco Craig and Flipper Anderson are back. Derek Tennell is back at tight end.

The offensive line lost several key players and its makeup is still unsettled.

The defensive line is solid, Donahue said, although there are contests going on for some starting positions. At inside linebacker, Tommy Taylor is back, but Ken Norton Jr. and Steve Jarecki are battling for the spot left open by Lee Knowles. At outside linebacker, Tony Phillips returns, and it looks as if sophomore Melvin Jackson has nailed down the job vacated by Neal Dellocono.

There has not been much jockeying in the secondary, where James Washington returns at free safety and Craig Rutledge returns at strong safety. Chuckie Miller and Dennis Price are expected to replace cornerbacks Ron Pitts and Herb Welch.

“Again, we have young players in the secondary, but they are all talented and all have some experience,” Donahue said.

Of real concern are finding replacements for Kevin Buenafe, the punter, and Ken Potter, who kicked off. “Buenafe led the conference in punting, and nobody had a better kickoff man than Potter,” Donahue said.

Senior Ted Henderson and freshman Harold Barkate are competing for the punting spot, and Donahue is counting on an incoming freshman, Wes Denton, to kick off.

The placekicker remains All-American John Lee, who will be a senior.

“All in all, I think we’re having a good spring,” Donahue said. “I think we’ll have a good football team. I’m cautiously optimistic because of our schedule (which includes last year’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, BYU and Washington, and only four home games). But we’re working hard to keep up the winning tradition. We don’t want to slip now.”

Bruin Notes Cornerback Dennis Price, who separated his shoulder during the Fiesta Bowl, reinjured it in spring drills and underwent surgery. . . . Fullback Greg Francois is also missing spring practice because of shoulder surgery. . . . Switches: Doug Kline, a redshirt freshman, from linebacker to fullback; Greg Bolin from tight end to linebacker; Bob Garibaldi from running back to wide receiver; David Simpson from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, and Alan Dial from cornerback to strong safety. . . . Quarterback David Norrie is practicing this spring, even though he was involved in two off-season automobile accidents. . . . Freshman cornerback Darryl Henley is working on punt returns. . . . In the offensive line, Jim McCullough and Mike Hartmeier are back at guards. Joe Goebel will take over for Dave Baran at center. Robert Cox will start at left tackle, and Onno Zwaneveld is ranked No. 1 at right tackle. . . . In the defensive line, fifth-year senior Mark Walen returns at right tackle; Terry Tumey is likely to be the starting nose guard, but freshman Jim Wahler is pushing him; Frank Batchkoff is listed as No. 1 left tackle, but he’s getting competition from Jeff Glasser, Doug Wassel and Wes Jordan.