A SHIFT AT TAILBACK : UCLA : Green, Ball and Primus Swing Balance of Power to Bruins

The backfield is clearly in motion at UCLA, where it is hoped that a revolving-door policy of tailbacks will determine once and for all whether one position can be divided among three players. Mathematicians everywhere are taking note.

If good things come in threes, then the Bruins don’t have a worry in the world, or at tailback. And if Coach Terry Donahue can just figure out a way to call running plays using three footballs and the same number of tailbacks, then maybe everything will turn out to be just as wonderful in the UCLA backfield as it appears to be right now.

The problem, if indeed it is a problem, seems to be one of numbers. With Gaston Green, Eric Ball and James Primus, the depth chart at tailback has lengthened a few fathoms.

Donahue said there certainly is room at the table for everybody, even though all won’t be dining at the same time. Maybe any one of the Green-Ball-Primus troika could have a shot at the Heisman Trophy if he played exclusively, but Donahue says that is not his concern. And as hard as it may be to believe, the players sound as though they’re only too happy to go along with the program.

“We’re not as interested in building a Heisman Trophy winner as we are a good team,” Donahue said. “The players are going to have to give up a little bit of themselves for the betterment of the team. They’re going to have to deal with that.”

By rights, there should be some healthy egos involved here, so the dealing has begun among the three tailbacks. But they maintain that they’re not at all worried about leaving the decision of who gets the ball the most entirely up to the coaching staff and, ultimately, Donahue.

It all may get very unsettling eventually, but not now, the players insist.

“Nobody can believe we get along so well in this situation,” Ball said. “Nobody can believe there’s no friction between us, or any ego problems. Nobody can believe we don’t hate each other because of this.”

Only one tailback can play at a time, so who gets the first turn? Why not start with Green? This is what Donahue will probably do. Green, a junior, rushed for a team-high 712 yards last season, even though he missed four full games and parts of two others because of injuries. Even so, Green averaged 101.7 yards in the games he carried the football.

At 5 feet 10 1/2 inches and 190 pounds, Green has the kind of speed that can melt a stopwatch. When he ran track at Gardena High School, he was timed in 10.58 seconds for the 100-meter dash.

Actually, Green had better be able to run fast, besides staying unhurt, because he is traveling in fast company. When Green pulled a hamstring in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl game last January, Ball took over and promptly renamed the game the Rose Ball.

He rushed for 227 yards, scored 4 touchdowns and led UCLA to a 45-28 victory over Iowa, serving notice that he had run himself right into the middle of the huddle for the starting tailback job in this, his sophomore season.

The third tailback, Primus, like Green, is a junior, and he probably deserves a higher ranking. He would surely have one on another team. Primus missed four games because of injuries last season, but he still rushed for 471 yards, 129 of them in a 34-9 victory at Stanford in which he scored twice when Green was out with a sprained knee ligament.

Now, the backfield is crowded. All three are back again and reasonably healthy, although Ball hasn’t practiced since Friday because of a bruised knee. However, he is showing improvement and may not have to miss UCLA’s season opener Sept. 6 against Oklahoma at Norman, Okla.

Donahue said all will be well emotionally, too, with his talented threesome.

“We don’t expect anybody to get ‘pooched out,’ ” he said.

Pooched out?

“Yeah, you know,” Donahue said, then demonstrated the pooch look by sticking out his lower lip in a full-fledged pout.

“The players know that one will not play as much as the other,” Donahue said. “This is not socialism. At this present time, we have a situation where the players are evenly bunched. Each one of them has his faults, but in my judgment, the three players are all very equal. But as far as dividing the playing time one-third, one-third and one-third, I don’t think it’s going to work like that.”

How will it work? Donahue isn’t sure yet, but he is fairly certain of how it won’t work. The Bruins will not change tailbacks for each series of downs, but instead plan to go with whomever is hot.

“I don’t think backs should be running out after every play or series,” he said. “They should get a feel for the game. I really assume that everything will be as it was last year. It wasn’t like there were three healthy guys standing on the sidelines for every game.

“This year, if all of them are 100% healthy at the same time, I imagine some of them will get upset because they’re not playing. If they do, that’s just the way it is. Competition makes a competitor and the presence of the other runners makes them stronger.”

Donahue considers himself fortunate indeed to be in possession of such a group of tailbacks. After all, think of what would happen if there were injuries. If Green comes up black and blue, there is Ball. If Ball doesn’t bounce up quickly after a tackle, then there’s Primus.

“I like having three good players at that position,” Donahue said. “Now, if one gets hurt, I won’t have to stay up all night worrying, just half the night.”

Even if it is just as Donahue says, that there really is no overwhelming difference between his tailbacks, perhaps the Bruins would do well with some sort of combination of the three players. What would that hybrid tailback look like?

From three different points of view, maybe it would be something like this:

The swiftness of Green

Ball on Green: “He’s got so much speed, he’s capable of outrunning pursuit. He’s got that explosiveness. Someone might have an angle on him and then, boom, he’s gone.”

The strength of Ball

Green on Ball: “He has the ability to break tackles. He can change direction so easily and then put moves on people. He can make them pay for their mistakes very quickly.”

The temperament of Primus

Primus on himself: “I’m the oldest and we all have our different styles. Mine, I’m more of a slashing-type runner, but there’s more to my game. I’m playing because I love the game and I’m not going to get caught up in anything else.”

The “anything else,” is, of course, how to divide playing time. In this matter, Donahue has his work cut out for him. All he has to do is figure out how to play one tailback and keep the two others on the sidelines.

Can he do it? With help, maybe so. And even though the Bruins do not play their first game for 10 more days, it sounds as if he is at least getting some help right now.

Green said there is something missing among the Bruin tailbacks.

“Selfishness,” he said. “There isn’t any of it here. There’s room enough for all of us.”

Bruin Notes

Quarterback Matt Stevens, who missed practice Tuesday because of the flu, was back at work Wednesday on the next-to-the-last day of two-a-day workouts. . . . Three Bruins who had arthroscopic surgery on their right knees this week are expected to be out at least three weeks. They are kick holder David Clinton, guard Mark Schmidt and flanker Reggie Moore. . . . Oklahoma’s opener against UCLA on Sept. 6 is its earliest in history. . . . UCLA and Oklahoma finished 1-2 in rushing defense last season. UCLAallowed an average of 70.3 yards a game, and Oklahoma gave up 89.8 yards a game.

UCLA TAILBACK STATISTICS

ERIC BALL

Year Class Rushing Receiving Car Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds Avg TD LG 1984 FR. 1 4 4.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1985 SO. 122 703 5.8 11 40 5 17 3.4 0 16 Total 123 707 5.7 11 40 5 17 3.4 0 16

GASTON GREEN

Year Class Rushing Receiving Car Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds Avg TD LG 1984 FR. 91 516 5.7 5 72 8 71 8.9 0 13 1985 SO. 158 712 4.5 6 72 8 34 4.3 0 15 Total 249 1228 5.0 11 72 16 105 6.6 0 15

JAMES PRIMUS

Year Class Rushing Receiving Car Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds Avg TD LG 1984 FR. 78 316 4.1 1 26 2 18 9.0 0 9 1985 SO. 106 471 4.4 3 40 3 44 14.7 0 24 Total 184 787 4.3 4 40 5 62 12.4 0 24