STRONG STAND : There Is Nothing in Between About UCLAâs Wahler--Heâs Focusing on USC
Jim Wahler, UCLAâs outspoken nose guard, is the Bruinsâ strongest player, which is good because he carries a chip on his shoulder.
His major gripe is that, although UCLA is ranked ahead of USC in the national polls, it is still perceived by many in Los Angeles to be the second-best college football team in town.
âAnd thatâs (not right),â Wahler said this week. âThatâs got to end. And if that means taking USC out and blowing them out of the Rose Bowl, so be it. Letâs do it.â
UCLAâs game against USC is still more than 6 weeks away, but Wahler said he often has a tendency to overlook the Bruinsâ lesser opponents, so itâs not unusual for him to be looking so far ahead.
âI have a problem playing against the quote-unquote lower teams,â said Wahler, who will line up Saturday against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl. âI play more to my opponent than to my capabilities, which is something I have to work on.â
Problem is, Wahler has little respect for his opponents.
âIâll never give a guy credit,â he said. âTo me, theyâre all (no good).â
Despite this unnerving habit, the 6-foot 4-inch, 263-pound Wahler is a 3-year starter. And for the third straight season, he is the leading tackler among UCLAâs defensive linemen.
Not surprisingly, considering his propensity for pointing to big games, Wahler was at his best in UCLAâs 41-28 victory over Nebraska, making 12 tackles and earning a game ball as defensive player of the game.
âAs the level of competition goes up, I go up,â he said. âIf I go out and I feel good and Iâve got a spring in my step, thereâs nobody who can block me.â
Wahler made his way to UCLA from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, where he had 20 sacks in 12 games as a senior and was widely regarded as the top defensive line prospect on the West Coast.
His arrival in Los Angeles signaled the start of a rocky relationship. Wahler hates L.A. âI think the people here are screwed up in the head,â he said. âI think theyâre selfish. I think theyâre self-centered. They donât (care) about anybody but themselves.â
For a time, Wahler was only slightly more enamored of the UCLA coaching staff, which moved him from nose guard to tackle after his freshman season.
The move so upset him that he considered transferring until Terry Tumey, his best friend and the man who beat him out of the nose guard position, talked him into staying.
Wahler and Tumey played alongside one another for 2 seasons before Tumey graduated last year and Wahler was moved back to nose guard in the spring.
Wahler resented being moved again, although he said he would rather play nose guard.
âI was rated as one of the best tackles in the country, and I wondered why they wanted to mess with me right before my senior year,â he said. âAnybody who says they change positions for the good of the team is full of . . .
âDeep inside you wonder, âWhy are they doing this to me?â â
Wahler describes tackle as a âread-and-reactâ position, whilenose guard is âall reaction.â
Why does he prefer nose guard?
âI like being in the middle of the play all the time,â he said. âYou always have a chance to make a play, and I like that. I like to hit.
âAnd I like that feeling when I can beat two or three guys. I mean, who can say they beat three guys on a play? You watch the films, and I do it time and time again.â
Wahler is UCLAâs strongest player, having bench-pressed a team-record 452 pounds.
He also has strong opinions.
He doesnât use steroids, he said.
âThey donât belong in sports, period,â he said. âItâs cheating. Itâs a crock . . . if anybody says anything different.â
Wahler, however, is not a crusader against steroid use. In fact, he said he once considered using the strength-enhancing drugs. Why didnât he try them?
âI couldnât honestly tell you,â he said. âI think there was a part of me that was scared. I wasnât so much afraid of the cancer, or any of (the other potential side effects).
âI was more afraid of how it would change my body because Iâm big now, naturally. If I (used steroids), Iâd look like some kind of freak. There was a part of me that said, âDonât do it.â â
Another part of Wahler told him last week that UCLA was letting a potential national championship slip away as it trailed Washington, 17-10, in the fourth quarter.
Wahler, admittedly overconfident, had played what he called the worst game of his career.
âItâs our job to put pressure on the quarterback and we failed,â he said. âI took it personally. I want to dominate everybody I play, and thereâs no reason why I shouldnât.â
Not usually a vocal leader, Wahler chose last week to chastise his teammates in a huddle.
âI screamed, âIâm not going to lose a national championship to these guys,â â he said. â âIâm not going to let you guys screw it up.â
âItâs easy when youâre in the heat of the battle to forget the repercussions of whatâs going to happen if you win or lose. I think the guys, for a minute, forgot what was on the line.â
UCLA won, 24-17.
Looking ahead to the USC game, he said: âI just hope weâre both undefeated going into (the Nov. 19 game at) the Rose Bowl because there would be no better place to beat the . . . out of them. Thatâs the way I want to go out.â
To Wahler, all games until then are little more than preliminaries.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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