SEEING RED : Henley Looking to Stop Nebraska Pass

Darryl Henley, history major and UCLA cornerback, would like nothing better than to purge the events of Sept. 12, 1987.

That was the day that Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor overthrew the Bruins, but was right on target to his own receivers, equaling a Big Eight record by passing for five touchdowns in a 42-33 victory.

Taylor, who will lead the No. 2-ranked Cornhuskers against UCLA again Saturday at the Rose Bowl, is a gifted option quarterback, probably as dangerous a runner as college football has ever seen at the position.

But, as a passer, he will never make anyone forget Dan Marino, or even former Nebraska quarterback Vince Ferragamo. In 23 other starts, he has never thrown for more than 196 yards and has passed for more than 100 only 9 times.

So, when he lit up the Bruin secondary for 217 yards, including second-half touchdown passes of 48, 35 and 33 yards . . .

“It gave me a real sick feeling,” Henley said.

He wasn’t the only one.

“Along with its coach, the secondary felt that it let the team down,” said UCLA assistant Tom Hayes, whose responsibilities include coaching the Bruin defensive backs. “We felt that we gave Nebraska an easy way out.

“As well as we played against their running game, which has been notoriously effective over the years, we should have been in the ballgame with a great opportunity to win it.”

Instead, the Bruins, who limited the powerful Cornhuskers to a season-low 117 rushing yards in 47 attempts, found themselves behind, 42-17, before scoring a pair of meaningless touchdowns in the last 3 minutes 46 seconds.

What happened?

This was a veteran secondary. Henley was the only non-senior among a unit that also included cornerback Dennis Price, who now plays for the Raiders, and safeties James Washington, who now plays for the Rams, and Alan Dial.

“It was just breakdowns--not diagnosing properly whether they were running or passing,” Hayes said. “Unfortunately, Nebraska runs so well that you have a tendency to get your nose in there too quickly to stop the run. You don’t realize it until you’ve played (to stop) the run for 2 1/2 quarters, and then all of a sudden they pop one on you.

“You don’t really forget about the pass, but they do so well with play-action fakes that look like runs, and then there’s somebody running down the field wide open.”

How wide open?

“Not taking anything away from Steve Taylor, but as open as they were--I mean, anybody could have completed those passes,” Henley said.

Henley and his discouraged teammates in the secondary made a seemingly obvious admission on the flight home from Nebraska.

“We got together and said, ‘This is our loss,’ ” Henley said. “We just didn’t get it done. The older guys kind of hinted to me, ‘It’s up to you (to see) this doesn’t happen again.’ ”

And so Henley has taken measures to see that it doesn’t.

“Last year, it was easy to sit back,” he said. “We had some great leaders back there--guys who had played awhile. Now, I’m a senior and I’ve kind of taken it upon myself to help the younger guys.”

To prepare for his new role, Henley trained this summer like never before, running daily with teammates Eric Ball and Carnell Lake and spending much of his free time in the weight room.

His inspiration was Price, his former teammate.

“I hate to say I did this because it’s my last year, like I never thought of it before,” Henley said of his new-found zeal for physical conditioning. “Dennis Price just set a great example. He lifted hard all last season--he took great care of his body--and he had a great season.

“And that’s what I plan to do. I want to stay in the weight room as much as possible--to maintain my strength.”

Henley said he felt strong and well-conditioned last Saturday night in the Bruins’ season-opening 59-6 rout of San Diego State.

He showed it, too, returning a punt 89 yards for a first-quarter touchdown and playing his usual steady game in the secondary. He broke up 4 passes, after breaking up a team-high 17 last season.

“It was a nice first game,” he said. “I want to be consistent like that in every game.”

A third-year starter, Henley has been consistent in at least one area ever since he arrived at UCLA after being recruited out of Damien High in La Verne. His intensity in practice, Hayes said, compares favorably to that of former Bruins Don Rogers and Kenny Easley.

“They practiced like it was the last day they were ever going to play, and Darryl is the same way,” Hayes said.

Hayes describes the 5-foot 10-inch, 160-pound Henley as “one of the very best, if not the best, one-on-one, man-to-man defenders I’ve ever coached.

“And, while he’s not very big, he’s not afraid to throw his body in on the run. At 160 pounds, he’s not going to impact the runner like some of the other players we have, but he’s aggressive and he’s such a competitor.”

He is also a talented punt returner, having led the Bruins in that department each of the last two seasons.

His most glaring fault, he said, is that he has a tendency to let his mind wander.

“But when I’m really concentrating,” he said, “I know how tough I can be.”

He would like Steve Taylor and the Cornhuskers to know, too.

Bruin Notes

About 75,000 tickets, including 12,500 that were made available in Nebraska, have been sold for Saturday’s game, which will start at 5 p.m. and will be nationally televised by ABC. . . . UCLA Coach Terry Donahue will be going for his 100th career victory against Nebraska. Ironically, Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne got career win No. 100 against UCLA in 1984. A victory Saturday would be Osborne’s 150th. . . . Nebraska has won the last three games against UCLA, 42-10 in 1983, 42-3 in 1984 and 42-33 last year. “Last year, we played with them, physically,” Donahue said. “They just played better. But, physically, we were in their league. In ’83 and ‘84, that wasn’t the case.”

Donahue on UCLA’s season-opening victory over San Diego State: “You would think in a 59-6 win that there wouldn’t be anything you’d be upset about, but there always is. There’s a lot of room for this team to grow and improve.” . . . Reserve linebacker Pat McPherson tore ligaments in his left knee and reserve cornerback Kelton Alexander injured a hamstring against San Diego State. Both are expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks. . . . Nose guard Jim Wahler was held out of the game because of an ankle injury, but Donahue expects him to play this week. . . . Reserve tailback Brian Brown, who missed the opener with a hamstring injury, has an “outside chance” of playing against Nebraska, Donahue said.

Nebraska is 2-0, including a 23-14 victory over Texas A&M; on Aug. 27 in the Kickoff game. Four Texas A&M; starters missed the Aggies’ game against LSU last Saturday after being injured against Nebraska. . . . Donahue on Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor: “He doesn’t get the notoriety that (UCLA’s Troy) Aikman or (USC’s) Rodney Peete get because he’s not a professional prospect in the same sense that they are, but he’s a phenomenal college quarterback.” . . . Donahue is also impressed with Nebraska linebackers Broderick Thomas and Leroy Etienne.