Mr. Smith Goes Headhunting : UCLA Linebacker Has Five Sacks, Is Looking for More

What goes through a linebacker’s mind as he rushes the quarterback?

Put it another way: What kind of lofty thoughts arise in the creative mind of the noble defensive player as he goes about his business?

“My most pressing concern is knocking the quarterback’s head off,” UCLA linebacker Eric Smith said.

Yes, of course. Those are every linebacker’s sentiments exactly.

It seems that a linebacker can experience no greater thrill than to liberate some poor creature on offense from reality by applying a devastating tackle.

In this spirit, the linebacker must sometimes answer questions of identity as well as purpose, such as: What does it mean to be a linebacker?

“It means that every time you line up, you have to grind the head of the guy in front of you into the ground,” Smith said.

Anything else?

“Yeah. Don’t stop until the whistle blows,” he added.

Clearly, this is the essence of linebacking. Certainly, it is the thought shared by the good ones.

Smith does not mean to come across as a latter-day Brian Bosworth, but he does sound like something of a toned-down version, even going so far as to put down the Boz’s fully rad hairdo with the worst possible criticism imaginable.

Outdated.

“Those haircuts used to be popular when I was in the eighth grade,” Smith sniffed.

“Bosworth has got a good thing going for him, and the media loves it,” Smith said. “But all his talking ended kind of quickly. I haven’t heard much from him since they lost to Miami.”

Smith knows that feeling, though. This has not been the best of seasons for the Bruins, what with losses already to Oklahoma and Arizona State, all the injuries and the inconsistent offense.

But at least the defense has come together faster than any other part of the team.

The Bruin defenders may be small, they may be light and there may not be a whole lot of them, but they are easily the most consistent group in this 2-2 season.

And on this defense, the 6-foot 3-inch, 221-pound Smith is the most consistent pass-rusher. The junior from Yorba Linda has five quarterback sacks from his outside linebacking spot and seems a cinch to surpass the total of eight he recorded last season.

Although those are not overpowering totals, it should be pointed out that the Bruins are fairly conservative defensively and do not blitz often.

But it also seems likely that Smith will be afforded several more chances to seek out quarterbacks for sacking purposes, beginning Saturday at the Rose Bowl. That’s when Arizona will come in, bringing quarterback Alfred Jenkins, who passed for 223 yards Saturday before last in a 24-21 victory over Colorado.

The traditionally pass-oriented Wildcats, 4-0 and coming off a bye, are showing a more balanced attack this season, which pleases Smith because he feared he was becoming too one-dimensional himself.

“I used to be so concerned with the pass rush that I think I hurt the team because I got hurt on the running plays,” Smith said. “I think I’m a lot better against the run now.”

Outside of the Oklahoma game and three third-down conversions Arizona State made against the Bruins’ nickel defense in last Saturday’s 16-9 loss, Smith said that everybody seems pleased with the defense.

The same cannot be said of the offense, which has not scored a touchdown in two of the four games. So, what does the UCLA defense think of the UCLA offense?

“The offense is doing an OK job,” he said. “The defense just needs to keep the other team out of the end zone. I’m not putting the offense down at all, but if we have to hold the other team to less than nine points a game, then we are capable of that.”

To accomplish such a task, Smith promises to get ready for Saturday’s game the same way he always does.

Football, he said, is simply a mental game played between teams with often similar physical capabilities, so the difference could be in mental preparation.

The important thing, Smith said, is not to be be well adjusted, but maladjusted. What works for Smith is both simple and basic.

“When I see a different color uniform, that’s my maladjustment,” he said.

After all, there is only one goal to which linebackers aspire--the creation of havoc. Smith said to reach that level of intensity, he must transform himself from a mild-mannered history major into something else entirely.

“To become a sicko when I go on the field,” he said.

Ah, yes. The essence of linebacking.