Smith Makes the Most of His Big Chance : UCLA: Junior fullback ran for 75 yards and set up winning kick against Stanford in first start.

When UCLA’s Kevin Smith was in the 10th grade at Skyline High in Oakland, there was pressure on him, because of his size, to become a tight end or a defensive lineman.

Smith held out. “I wanted to be a running back--I wanted to be just like my father so bad,” he said.

Smith’s father, Charlie, played for the Oakland Raiders from 1968 through 1974 and led the team in rushing one year.

So, Kevin Smith remained at running back and earned recognition on the All-East Bay prep team.

However, his football career at UCLA was in limbo until last Saturday’s game against Stanford. Now a junior, Smith carried the ball 11 times in the past two seasons, and Coach Terry Donahue said he wasn’t impressed with the 6-3 1/2, 246-pound fullback.

That opinion changed when Smith, starting for the first time, gained 75 yards in 13 carries.

His last carry was the most significant as he broke tackles while gaining six yards to the Stanford three-yard line with five seconds remaining and the Bruins trailing, 31-29.

Brad Daluiso then kicked a 21-yard field goal to give UCLA a 32-31 victory. Smith recalled the scene on the sideline before his run. “The coaches were saying, ‘Run the ball, run the ball, and get what you can.’ But they were basically saying, ‘Don’t fumble,’ ” Smith said. “I think I could have scored on the play, but I didn’t want to be a goat. I held onto the ball as tight as I could.”

Smith was told of his starting assignment last week, a promotion resulting from a combination of his game against Oklahoma and a groin injury to Kaleaph Carter.

“I knew it was now or never,” Smith said, “and I think a lot of people gave me too much credit, because a running back is only as good as his offensive line, and they did a real good job. I only run the 40 in 4.7, and you have to have pretty big holes to do that.”

Asked why he had been lost in the depth chart until recently, Smith said: “There were good players ahead of me, and I wasn’t playing as well as I should. I don’t believe there was any conspiracy not to let me play.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable in the limited time I did play, because I felt so much pressure to perform. It was a situation where I was getting nervous and messing up plays and not going full speed because I wasn’t sure of what I was doing.”

Just as Tommy Maddox has earned the starting quarterback job, Smith is UCLA’s fullback--depending on his performance.

“It was weird for me to play the whole game against Stanford,” Smith said. “I wanted to play as hard as I could and make the best out of my opportunity.”

He said he was also inspired to perform because of a pregame meeting called by UCLA’s senior players. “It was really an emotional meeting,” Smith said. “The seniors said they came to UCLA to go to the Rose Bowl (game) and hadn’t been to one. It unified the whole team.

“I was glad to have a good game, but the real test is to be consistent over the course of a season.”

He will get his next test Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich., where the Bruins play Michigan.

The fullback position accounted for 27 carries last year, but that role has been expanded this season.

“(Offensive coordinator) Homer Smith has given (fullbacks) the opportunity to do just as much as the tailbacks,” Kevin Smith said. “We don’t have as much speed as the tailbacks, but we can read defenses and run through holes and do a lot more than just block. We’re not limited just because we’re fullbacks.”

Smith’s older brother, Michael, was a four-year letterman as a wide receiver at California. The family lives in Oakland, so there was some pressure on him to attend a school close to home.

Smith had other ideas, and since he hadn’t traveled to any extent, he wanted to go to a Southern California school, preferably USC.

“I took a recruiting trip there (USC) and I didn’t like it,” he said. “There was nothing wrong with the coaches or the students, but the school atmosphere just wasn’t right for me. The whole school is confined in one block, and I felt kind of closed in.”

He said he hadn’t heard much about UCLA, but after meeting with former backfield coach Ted Williams and Donahue, he was impressed with the football program and the school.

Smith said he hasn’t spoken with his father since the Stanford game, but he’s sure he will.

He doesn’t remember much about his father as a player because he was too young at the time. “I was just running around the stadium being bad,” Smith said, “but when I got older, I watched some NFL highlight films to appreciate him.”

It’s presumed the feeling is mutual.