Bruins Hope They Have Throwback to Aikman : Football: Maddox is a substitute for now, but he shows the poise of another 6-4 UCLA quarterback from Texas.

As a high school senior in Hurst, Tex., in 1988, Tommy Maddox saw UCLA prepare for its Cotton Bowl game against Arkansas.

After watching Bruin quarterback Troy Aikman, Maddox said, he decided to come to UCLA. He made a recruiting trip to Michigan, but he canceled trips to Louisiana State and Brigham Young. He was committed to UCLA.

Maddox is a redshirt freshman, but he has poise and bearing that is reminiscent of Aikman. Both quarterbacks came out of the Southwest, Aikman from Oklahoma and Maddox from Texas. They’re each 6 feet 4, with strong arms.

Aikman has established his credentials with the Dallas Cowboys after being the first player chosen in the 1989 NFL draft.

Maddox is beginning his college career, playing for the first time in the second half of last Saturday’s game against Oklahoma at the Rose Bowl.

“I did some good things and I made some mistakes,” Maddox said of his eight-of-16 passing performance for 106 yards with two interceptions. “But everyone has to get out there for the first time, and I got through that. I think I proved to myself and some other people that I can play on this level.”

Firmly believing that there is no substitute for game experience, Maddox added: “You can learn more in three plays on the field than watching the whole game on the sideline. On the sideline, You don’t have five guys rushing around trying to kill you.”

Although Jim Bonds was named the starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Stanford at the Rose Bowl, Maddox figures to get plenty of playing time this season.

“Everybody likes to start, and I’m not any different,” Maddox said. “However, that’s out of my hands. All I can do is go out to practice and improve every day.”

Maddox was an all-around athlete at L.D. Bell High School. As a senior, he passed for 2,601 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was also a guard on the basketball team, averaging 35.8 points in his senior year, and pitched and played first base for the baseball team.

He left as the school’s all-time passer in football and all-time scorer in basketball. However, he faded from the spotlight last year as a quarterback on UCLA’s scout team.

“Coming out of high school, you’re used to getting attention,” Maddox said. “Then, you’re on the scout team, and if you missed practice, no one would know it.

“It was tough, but it gives you a chance to find yourself. You’ve reached one of your goals in life just getting to college.”

Maddox, 19 this month, took his year of apprenticeship in stride and said he had fun in. “You’ve got to enjoy anything you do,” he said.

Although he may not be aware of it, Maddox has a nickname in his new environment: “Fly.”

Homer Smith, UCLA’s offensive coordinator, inadvertently supplied it when asked a few weeks ago whether Bret Johnson would have been the No. 2 quarterback if he hadn’t left school.

“Yes,” Smith said cautiously, “but there’s a fly in the ointment: Tommy Maddox. He’s still green, but he does things that I marvel at. He’s a very talented young man. He has the quickest arm on the team and he’s the tallest and he throws tall.”

Maddox moved up on the depth chart when Johnson left for Michigan State.

“I’m not surprised,” Maddox said of Johnson’s decision. “Everybody on the team had it in the back of their minds that if he doesn’t start he’s going to leave. I can’t blame him. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to play.”

Maddox should feel at home at UCLA because there are 15 Texans on the team. However, his choice of schools didn’t endear him to the folks at home.

“Some people in Texas are still pretty hot about that,” Maddox said of his decision to play for UCLA, “but I didn’t want to play in the Southwest Conference.”

He said his decision was partly based on NCAA sanctions involving Southwest Conference schools.

His brother, Mark, was a quarterback at Southern Methodist when the football program was temporarily curtailed by NCAA sanctions. Mark then transferred to Texas Christian, where he played baseball.

“Mark was the best recruiter UCLA had,” Tommy Maddox said of his brother.

Bonds is a junior, so Maddox is probably the No. 1 quarterback of the future--if not sooner.

And he’s upbeat about the season, despite the 34-14 loss to Oklahoma.

“Right after the game, the team was upset because it wanted so badly to turn things around from last year,” Maddox said. “But we’ve had good practices, and the spirit was back on the team. I think you’ll see a different team this Saturday.”