Eric Ball Thrives on the Competition at UCLA : Tailback Believes He Measures Up Quite Well as Both a Runner and a Student

Eric Ball is very well versed on the college career of the Rams’ Eric Dickerson. The Dickerson story is like folklore to him.

“The Pony Express!” Ball says as he explains, one more time, how he feels about playing on a team with several outstanding tailbacks. At SMU, Dickerson split time with Craig James throughout his four-year career. The Mustangs were quite successful using both tailbacks, and it didn’t hurt Dickerson’s pro career a bit.

When Ball signed to become a UCLA tailback in the spring of 1984, he knew that Gaston Green was also headed for UCLA. Ball was a prep All-American from Ypsilanti, Mich. Ball could have chosen Pitt or Notre Dame or Nebraska--or, more likely, Michigan. But he chose to compete with Green, an All-American from Gardena who was already a star in Los Angeles.

“Gaston had committed to UCLA two or three weeks before the signing date and a lot of the other schools pointed that out to me,” Ball said. “They were telling me that he would have a better chance, since he was already known in Los Angeles. But I didn’t mind the idea of two All-Americans at the same school. What I didn’t like was the idea that they were suggesting that I might not be able to compete.

“I didn’t like the idea that I should back away from the competition.”

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue used that reasoning to his advantage. “I encouraged both of them to come,” Donahue said. “I told them that no matter where you go, there will be good competition. It brings out the best in you.

“The really good players, the ones who have confidence in themselves, really don’t care who else is there. At least, that’s been my experience over the years. A really good player feels like he’ll succeed--and usually does.

“It didn’t bother Aaron Emanuel that Ryan Knight was at USC. And it didn’t bother Craig James that Dickerson was at SMU.”

Ball was redshirted last year after injuring his hip. While Ball stood on the sideline, James Primus established himself as a strong backup to senior Danny Andrews, and Green made an even stronger showing. As Green’s freshman season ended, he rushed for 134 yards against USC and then 144 yards and two touchdowns against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

Ball, who made his first start last Saturday against Arizona State, has been playing catch-up ever since.

Green started the first two games this season and then twisted a knee and missed the next three. He still leads the team in rushing with 249 yards (5.4-yard per carry average). Primus is second with 239 yards (4.4), and Ball is third with 223 yards (4.1).

As a result, UCLA ranks first in the Pac-10 in rushing yardage.

“My attitude is that we should be proud of who we’re playing with here,” Ball said. “We can complement each other.”

Ball, who is 6 feet 1 1/2 inches, 215 pounds, has very good speed and is a strong runner. Green, who is 5-10 1/2, 191 pounds, has exceptional quickness and good moves. Ball is good at finding the end zone from inside the 10. Green specializes in the breakaway run.

It’s good to know that the opponent’s defense is never going to get a break against us,” Ball said. “When one guy goes out, the one coming in is just as good. They can never slack off, because we won’t.”

In the first game that Green missed, against San Diego State at the Rose Bowl, Primus started but Ball came off the bench to score four touchdowns.

Ball wasn’t impressed. He said he didn’t realize that four touchdowns in one game was something to get excited about. After all, he had scored six touchdowns in one game when he was a senior in high school.

“I was excited about scoring my first collegiate touchdown,” Ball said. “That was a milestone for me. But after that, I was just concentrating on the game, not counting touchdowns.”

The third touchdown in that series was a dive into the end zone. The crowd loved it. He made a similar up-and-over dive last Saturday on a third-down play in the third period. It was good for a first down and a big crowd reaction.

Asked how he liked the play, Donahue said: “It looks really nice. He has a good vertical jump, very good leaping ability. Hopefully, he gets enough momentum going up to gain a couple yards coming down. I know the crowd likes it. Heard a lot of ‘oohs.’ . . . Some guys go over kind of side-saddle, but Eric goes over like (Olympic diver) Greg Louganis.”

Ball said: “It is my favorite play. I’ve worked on it a lot. I worked with (track coach) John Smith this summer and I increased my leg strength. My vertical jump went from 32 inches to 37 inches.

It was a busy summer for Ball, who not only worked with the track coach and logged a lot of hours in the weight room, but who had a landscaping job and who took classes. Ball came out of high school with a 3.7 grade-point average and was admitted to the very selective school of engineering.

“I’ll probably only need one extra quarter to graduate now that I have redshirted,” Ball said. “That was one of the things that convinced me to redshirt last season. But it took Coach Donahue a long time to talk me into it.