Tired of Timidity : UCLA’s Maddox Says He Will Try to Regain Wide-Open Style Against San Diego State

There were great expectations for Tommy Maddox coming into the football season. He was no longer the relatively unknown UCLA redshirt freshman quarterback.

Maddox was featured in national publications and regarded by many as the best quarterback in the Pacific 10 Conference.

In two games, Maddox has not been dazzling. But neither has he floundered. He has completed 56.9% of his passes for 459 yards with three touchdowns while throwing two interceptions.

But statistics can be deceiving. Since the first half of the Brigham Young game, Maddox has completed fewer than 50% of his passes and has thrown for 234 yards, only nine more than he had in the first half of the BYU game. Moreover, 74 of those yards were the result of a scoring screen pass to tailback Kevin Williams.

Asked to assess his performance, Maddox said he has been timid, not as free-wheeling as he was last season.

“Going into the season, I said I didn’t want to make the big mistake,” he said.

“To this point, I haven’t made the big mistake, even though I threw an interception for a touchdown against Tennessee. That guy (Tracy Smith) just made a good play. It wasn’t like I made a mental mistake.

“But also by going out there and trying not to make the big mistake, I haven’t played to my potential.

“I think I’ve been playing a little bit timid. I think the first half of the BYU game was by far my best half. I was out there firing the ball around and not worrying about it. And I think we have to get back to that.

“Hopefully, I’m mature enough that I won’t make the big mistake, but you can’t go out there thinking about it. That’s something I’ve learned in the last two weeks.”

So Maddox will try to be less restrained Thursday night when UCLA plays at San Diego State.

“I just have to go out there and play and have fun and see what happens,” Maddox said. “I’ve got to play and be myself and if that’s not good enough, then somebody else will have to play. But you can’t go in there while trying not to screw up.”

Coach Terry Donahue said Monday that he wasn’t aware that Maddox has regarded himself as timid or tentative.

“I didn’t sense that, but if he said that, I think it’s the best barometer because he’s the athlete that has to play. If he said he was not free-wheeling, then I’m sure he was (not),” Donahue said.

“You have to make a quarterback realize that when he throws, there are going to be some misfires.

“But the ultimate challenge for a quarterback is to be the consummate chess player, to be able to constantly keep the ball away from the defense and always know there’s an outlet, somewhere, to go with the ball. And the last resort is using your legs and scooting for a first down. And he has to continually strive for that point.

“You can’t have a quarterback who minimizes turnovers, and at the same time you can’t have a quarterback who is afraid to let it go. It’s a fine line.”

Donahue said that he still regards Maddox as an outstanding quarterback, who, as a redshirt sophomore, still has to improve like any other player.

Donahue said at the beginning of the season that Maddox would be the focal point of the offense. That, of course, also makes him the focal point of rival defenses.

He has been sacked six times in two games and suffered a bruised left shoulder--not his passing side--late in the first half of the game against Tennessee.

Maddox said his arm went numb at the time but added that the injury isn’t serious and that he has no physical limitations now.

A Tennessee player said that Maddox had been easy to find because he stayed in the passing pocket.

“That’s a valid criticism,” Donahue said. “However, if we generate a good running game, then play-action passes make him less vulnerable in the pocket.”

Donahue acknowledged that defenses are adjusting to pressure Maddox and he also said that the quarterback is hindered, to a degree, because he is working with virtually a new corps of receivers.

With Scott Miller and Reggie Moore gone, Sean LaChapelle is the only returning receiver who played regularly last year.

Maddox is optimistic.

“You’re going to miss a Miller and a Moore because of their experience, but it hasn’t been the (fault of the) receivers this year,” he said.

“They’ve made some great catches. I think we have a chance to be better on pass offense this year than last year because we have more depth at the wide receiver position. We can play five or six receivers and not lose anything.”

UCLA has a 1-1 record and Maddox is upbeat about the rest of the season, adding that the 30-16 loss to Tennessee might help the Bruins down the road.

“That’s one of the best defenses we’ll play against and we can build from that,” he said. “We played bad against them and still had a chance to win.”