McCracken Poised to Catch On

As Brendan McCracken crossed the goal line following a spectacular run, tens of thousands of fans stood and roared their approval. His body tingled.

But it wasn’t the emotion of the moment that had McCracken feeling like an electrical wire. It was the deadening numbness from an Oregon State defensive back’s pop. The dull pain turned to shrill jolts as he tried, unsuccessfully, to ward off teammates, who piled on him in celebration. McCracken broke seven tackles to score on the 28-yard keeper. He also broke his collarbone.

The touchdown, which proved insignificant in the 52-17 UCLA romp, was the only scoring run of McCracken’s college career. The injury, which sidelined him for three weeks, cut into his already limited playing time.

“I was really ecstatic that I scored, but it kind of typified my whole season,” McCracken said. “I get my opportunity to score and I’m out for the two most important games of the season--Washington and USC. Those were two weeks I really didn’t want to miss.”

Unfortunately, McCracken has become more accustomed to watching than participating.

“If we win and you’re sitting on the sidelines, you really don’t share that feeling of success,” he said. “I couldn’t stand that another year.”

So rather than spending another season carrying a clipboard on the sidelines, Brendan McCracken decided it was time for a change. He entertained the idea of switching to running back, defensive back or receiver. Finally, he sought the advice of Coach Terry Donahue, who suggested that he switch to receiver, allowing him to help out with his hands instead of his arm.

Searching for a position is new to McCracken. In his senior season at Loyola High, he threw for 1,304 yards and completed 56% of his passes. In addition to UCLA’s scholarship offer, McCracken was courted by Nebraska, Notre Dame, Stanford and Cal.

But he chose UCLA, which, with Matt Stevens and David Norrie, was already quarterback-rich. After redshirting as a freshman, McCracken, of La Canada, was heir apparent to the starting quarterback spot. But before he took one snap, he was sacked.

Troy Aikman’s decision to transfer from Oklahoma in 1986 ultimately closed the playbook on McCracken’s quarterbacking hopes. Last season, Aikman completed 65% of his passes for 2,527 yards and is a leading candidate to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

“I really felt that the best chance for him to hit the playing field and the thing that he knew very well was our throwing game,” Donahue said. “I felt that wide receiver was the best opportunity for him to make a postion change at and be successful.

And if summer camp is any indication, the decision was the right one.

“He’s made a nice transition,” Donahue said. “He’s learning every day he’s out there.”

Steve Grady, who coached McCracken at Loyola, said making a major change in McCracken’s senior season will be difficult but not impossible.

“If there’s any way he can be good at receiver, he will be. He’s a tremendous athlete,” Grady said. “I just wish he wasn’t making this change so late. But it’s not like they have two returning All-Americans at the spot.”

Karl Dorrell, UCLA’s receiver coach, says McCracken has a good chance of starting. Because the receiving corps is relatively inexperienced, Dorrell says, the depth chart is constantly changing. McCracken will be vying for playing time with Mike Farr and Laurence Burkley, both juniors.

“Brendan knew all of the plays coming in,” Dorrell said . “But I thought there was a big difference between knowing and doing. He’s made an unbelievable change to a more aggressive position effectively.”

Dorrell added that McCracken still has to learn the nuances of receiving, such as turning his head quicker to look for a pass. Even with the added pressure of learning a new position, McCracken says being on the other end of passes has made practice more enjoyable.

“Playing receiver is a breath of new, fresh air,” he said. “It’s put a little more life in me.”

Learning another position could help McCracken realize a goal he’s had since he was a youngster--playing professional football.

“If my health holds up there’s no reason to change my aspirations of playing in the NFL,” he said. “But I don’t think it would be as a quarterback. I think it would just be as an athlete.”

McCracken is realistic about his aspirations. He says his pro football marketability is, at best, limited.

“A lot of high school athletes think their sport is their ticket to success,” he said. “But it isn’t. One, they may not be good enough. Two, they may not be able to hold out physically.”

Even if his football career ends with his college eligibility, McCracken has alternate plans. He has a 3.5 grade-point average as an economics/business major and has applied for a Rhodes scholarship, which is awarded to outstanding scholar-athletes and provides for two years of study at Oxford University in England. McCracken says he would forsake his football dreams, at least temporarily, if awarded the scholarship. But he wouldn’t abandon sports entirely.

“I’d probably play a lot of rugby,” he said.