COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’91 : UCLA Hopes Built on Maddox : Bruins: After a two-season slump, the team is expected to return to its customary success.

Terry Donahue, 47, is starting his 16th season as UCLA’s football coach. When the season ends, he will have been at UCLA as long as Howard Jones and John McKay coached at USC.

Donahue has been a successful coach for most of his years at Westwood, too, but like any coach who has a lengthy tenure at a school, there are bound to be some down years.

Unfortunately for Donahue, his have come in successive years, 1989 and 1990. Previously, he had had only one losing season, 1979.

Now he is determined to restore the Bruins to their customary position as a contender for the Pacific 10 championship and a Rose Bowl berth.

“This football program should be back in the upper echelon of the conference,” Donahue said. “It’s what my athletic director expects, my president expects and what I expect . It’s where we should be. And I think we have a good chance of doing it.”

Nine preseason football publications would seems to agree with him, picking the Bruins to finish second or third in the Pac-10.

The basis for such optimism is based mainly on the right arm of quarterback Tommy Maddox. Only a sophomore, Maddox is already being mentioned by national magazines as a possible All-American.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Maddox inherited the starting job from Jim Bonds, who had unproductive games against Oklahoma and Stanford.

Bonds was chosen to be the No. 1 quarterback at the start of fall practice, a decision that the previous starter, Bret Johnson, deemed unfair. Johnson transferred to Michigan State.

His defection hastened the promotion of Maddox, who went on to set freshman conference passing records while operating extensively out of a shotgun formation.

“Tommy Maddox can be one the great quarterbacks in UCLA history if he continues to improve,” Donahue said.

Homer Smith, UCLA’s offensive coordinator, said he has long been aware of Maddox’s talent.

“Long before he became a first stringer, I said he was blessed with every tool that Mother Nature ever gave to a quarterback candidate,” Smith said.

“He plays on reaction, which makes him an aesthetically pleasing quarterback to watch. We want to keep him spontaneous and natural. When I first saw him, I could see that he could drop a ball on a moving target as well as anyone I’ve been close to.”

He also dropped some balls into the wrong hands, throwing 14 interceptions. But then, he was a redshirt freshman playing for the first time.

Donahue has 14 starters back, seven each on offense and defense, on a team that is solid in some areas, questionable in others.

The Bruins have a relatively young offensive line with only two seniors, guards Scott Spalding and Mark Wilder, and a potential all-star in tackle Craig Novitsky. It improved as the season progressed last year.

“The best thing about our offensive line is its unity, the way it has worked together and exudes spirit,” Smith said. “The line is going to be terrific without an apparent star.”

For the Bruins to be successful, however, they must develop a consistent running game to take the pressure off Maddox.

UCLA was ranked only seventh in the conference in rushing last year, averaging 142.4 yards.

Donahue said he is relying on four players--tailback-fullback Shawn Wills, tailback Ricky Davis, and fullbacks Kevin Smith and Caleph Carter--to improve the running game.

“Everyone else is trying to make the team,” Donahue said. “Hopefully, someone will emerge among the others.”

A significant omission in his assessment is Kevin Williams, the oft-injured tailback and a previous starter.

Although UCLA lost an accomplished receiver in Scott Miller, now playing for the Miami Dolphins, Donahue says that Maddox will be supported by quality receivers, particularly split end Sean LaChapelle.

Rick Daly was a capable tight end while competing for playing time last year with seniors Randy Austin and Corwin Anthony.

UCLA set a school record for most opponent points, 332, last season, with injuries a contributing factor.

“In 11 games last year, we had 11 different starting lineups on defense,” defensive coordinator Bob Field said.

Said Donahue: “I’m encouraged about our defense and if it stays healthy, we’re going to be improved. We have a little more depth and are a bit quicker than in the past two seasons.”

That improvement hinges to a great degree on the physical condition of inside linebacker Arnold Ale and defensive end Mike Chalenski, who transfered to UCLA last year from Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, respectively.

Ale was hampered last year by an ankle injury, and Chalenski had a recurring shoulder injury that required off-season surgery.

Donahue said that defensive lineman Brian Kelly, who was in and out of the lineup last year, must remain uninjured. The same assessment was made of outside linebacker Randy Cole.

UCLA has experienced inside linebackers in Ale, Stacy Argo and James Malone, along with an improving redshirt freshman Brian Tighe.

However, Field says the outside position is the least experienced on the the defensive unit. Cole started only one game last year, Garrett Greedy is a converted nose guard and Rod Smalley is a redshirt freshman.

By contrast, three starters return in the secondary, strong safety Matt Darby, a four-year starter, and cornerbacks Carlton Gray and Dion Lambert. Othello Henderson, who played in nickel defenses in 1990, will replace Eric Turner, the second player picked in the NFL draft, by the Cleveland Browns.

“Darby is in the mold of the outstanding safeties we’ve had at UCLA,” said Donahue, alluding to Kenny Easley, Don Rogers and James Washington.

Bruin Notes

Terry Donahue said he feels good about his punter, Courtney Keyler, who averaged 40.1 yards in 1990, fourth in the Pac-10. But there is open competition to find a field goal kicker to replace Brad Daluiso. Dominic Sandifer, Luis Perez, a walk-on from El Camino College, and Mike Merrill, from Butte Community College in Chico, Calif., are involved in the competition. Another kicker, Brian Steger, a sophomore, has left the team. . . . In the revised Pac-10 schedule, in which every team plays eight conference games, UCLA will not play Washington this season, nor in 1992.

Donahue said that two or three freshmen will make the team, but wouldn’t identify the candidates. Likely prospects are linebacker Jamir Miller, 6-5 and 220, from El Cerrito, Calif.; center James Christensen, 6-4 and 300, from Anaheim Servite, and nose guard Sale Isaia, 6-4 and 294, from Oceanside. Isaia enrolled last winter, but didn’t participate in spring practice because of knee surgery. He is listed third on the depth chart behind Emmanuel Onwutuebe and London Woodfin. . . . UCLA will open the season Sept. 7 at the Rose Bowl against Brigham Young and then will play Tennessee on Sept. 14 in Knoxville. The Bruins will open the conference season Oct. 5 against California at the Rose Bowl.