UCLA Football Practice : Donahue Is Looking for Answers

As UCLA Coach Terry Donahue opened his football camp Saturday, he admitted that there were a lot of questions that still need to be answered in the three weeks before the opener at Brigham Young on Sept. 7.

But, now, get this straight, because Donahue is a stickler on semantics: There are questions, not controversies--even when the questions concern quarterbacks. For example, there are some questions at the tailback position, where Gaston Green, Eric Ball and James Primus will have to be ranked in an order--good, better, best.

It’s almost the same with the quarterback question. “I think we’ll play the quarterback position well,” Donahue said. “Make sure everyone understands that. I’m not lying awake nights worrying about the quarterback any more than I am about any of the other positions where we have questions.”

The choice this time around is between fifth-year senior David Norrie and fourth-year junior Matt Stevens, with Brendon McCracken, a second-year freshman, waiting in the wings.

Year after year, Donahue starts his fall camp not knowing who his quarterback will be. This is the fourth straight year to break in a new quarterback. When it was suggested to him that he might want to go with Stevens to save himself this aggravation next fall, Donahue said he didn’t mind the annual quarterback derby as long as it continued to work out the way it has.

“I’d be delighted to go with a fifth-year senior again if we could continue to have the success we’ve had with seniors--two Rose Bowl victories and a Fiesta Bowl victory,” Donahue said. “It would be hard for anyone to convince me we’re going the wrong way.

“It would be nice to have a quarterback who is not just getting the feel for it six games into the year--that would be neat. I’ve forgotten, but I think it’s nice to do it that way. But if this is the spice in the soup for us, I don’t mind.”

Stevens, a 6-foot, 191-pound quarterback from Fountain Valley who started three games last season when Steve Bono was injured, went into spring practice as the heir apparent. But Norrie, who is 6-4 and 212 pounds, came back from a couple of automobile accidents to look very impressive at the end of spring practice.

In summarizing their strengths, Donahue said: “Norrie is taller. Matt has a stronger arm, has more steam on the ball. Norrie has a better ability to place the ball. Stevens has more zip on it. Other than that, their athletic abilities are comparable. I’d say their leadership ability is about the same, too.”

Donahue said he planned to answer that question in time to practice the week before the BYU game with an established starter. But, even then, it might not be a final decision.

“I might make a decision so we can go on,” he said, “but I wouldn’t be shocked to name a quarterback so that we have a first-string quarterback, but then use the second-string quarterback almost relief-style, like a relief pitcher.”

He has done that in the past with his receivers. Again, he lists his receiving corps--which is both long and strong--as one of the strengths of the team, right behind All-American kicker John Lee, who is back as a senior to add to his record numbers. The running backs (all of them) add up to a strength, too. Most of the offensive line is set, although the right tackle position is still open. And there are still decisions to be made at the tight end spot.

The defense should be stronger. It was a young but talented group last season. Now, it’s a not-so-young and more experienced group. There are three key seniors--Tommy Taylor at inside linebacker, Tony Phillips at outside linebacker and Mark Walen at right tackle. But they are the exceptions. Overall, it’s a group of second- and third-year players.

“I’m going into this season with a great deal of enthusiasm and a degree of optimism,” Donahue said. “The only reasons for guarded optimism, I think, are the difficulty of our schedule and the youth of our team. . . . It should be an interesting group to watch grow and, hopefully, make a lot of progress.”

Bruin Notes UCLA has seven road games this season (that’s including the game against USC at the Coliseum). Three of the first four games are on the road, at BYU, at Tennessee and at Washington. . . . The opener at BYU will be televised live on ESPN. . . . Terry Donahue, who is entering his 10th season as head coach at UCLA, is two victories away from being the winningest coach in the history of the school. The record is Bill Spaulding’s 72 victories. . . . UCLA, ranked No. 9 by AP and No. 10 by UPI in the final 1984 polls, is the only school in the Pac-10 to be ranked in the final Top 20 in each of the last three years. . . . Cornerback Dennis Price has made a surprisingly rapid recovery from his shoulder surgery late last spring. He is listed as the starter on the right side and will be limited in hitting only during two-a-days. . . . Joe Gasser, a starter in 1983 who injured his shoulder against Nebraska last season, is ready to practice. . . . Kevin Maggio, a freshman from Towson, Md., accepted a scholarship Tuesday and will be competing for the position left open by all-conference punter Kevin Buenafe. . . . There are only 16 seniors on this year’s squad, the youngest group of players Donahue has ever had.