COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’92 : Not an Easy Void to Fill : UCLA: After 9-3 record, the Bruins have 12 starters back, but they have had to readjust their dreams to life without Maddox.

Terry Donahue drifted into a light sleep as UCLA’s chartered jet sailed through the New Year’s Eve sky. Donahue’s Bruin football team was returning home after ending the 1991 season with a 6-3 victory over Illinois in the John Hancock Bowl in El Paso and he was already dreaming about the 1992 season.

Ranked third in the AP preseason poll behind Miami and Notre Dame, the Bruins move up to No. 1 after opening the season with victories over Cal State Fullerton, BYU, San Diego State and Arizona.

After Stanford defeats the Bruins on a last-second field goal at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins win their final six games and tie Washington for the Pacific 10 title. But UCLA earns the Rose Bowl bid because the Huskies have been there most recently.

One week after quarterback Tommy Maddox passes for a record 410 yards in a victory over USC, Donahue beams proudly as Maddox is awarded the Heisman Trophy.

“See, I told you that you made the right decision by staying at UCLA,” Donahue tells Maddox.

The Bruins lift Donahue onto their shoulders and he raises his index finger high into the Pasadena twilight after the Bruins have beaten Michigan in the Rose Bowl game. UCLA’s victory, coupled with losses by Miami and Notre Dame in their bowl games, gives the Bruins a share of the national championship.

Donahue’s dream ended when he was roused from his slumber by the voice of the flight attendant over the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fasten-seat-belt sign, indicating our final approach into the Los Angeles International Airport.”

And less than a month later, UCLA’s dream of pursuing the national championship might have all but ended when Maddox announced that he was giving up his final two seasons of eligibility for a shot at the NFL.

Does Donahue think about what might have been?

“I’m not going to say that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Donahue said. “But it certainly hasn’t crossed my mind since spring practice, because you have to get on with it.

“I said this when it happened and I’ll say it again, the loss of Tommy Maddox was a significant one. He was just beginning to become the kind of player that he’ll eventually become, and we could have reaped the benefits of the two years we invested in him. However, this is a wonderful opportunity for Wayne Cook.”

Cook, a 6-foot-3, 199-pound redshirt sophomore who has never thrown a pass in a college game, will replace Maddox, who passed for 2,681 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

Although Maddox is gone, Donahue is optimistic that the Bruins, who have 12 starters back from last season’s 9-3 team, will earn their second straight bowl bid.

“My sense is if Wayne Cook does what I think he’ll do and if our football team can stay healthy, we will have a very good football team,” Donahue said.

The Bruins, who open against Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 12 at the Rose Bowl, have what appears to be a soft schedule. Six of UCLA’s opponents had losing records last season and the Bruins, for the second straight season, won’t play Washington because of the Pac-10’s round-robin scheduling.

Although Cook completed 65% of his passes in spring scrimmages, UCLA’s offense will probably rely mostly on the running game and a short passing attack at the start of the season to allow Cook time to develop.

“Wayne has just never had the opportunity to play in a game, so the jury is still out because he’s never played the course,” Donahue said. “If he was a golfer, you’d say he looks terrific on the driving range. . . . And the course is a little different than the driving range.”

UCLA’s offense will center on wide receiver Sean LaChapelle, who led the Pac-10 in receptions with an average of 6.2 catches a game last season, and tailback Kevin Williams, who led the Pac-10 in rushing with an average of 108.9 yards a carry.

LaChapelle, who set school records by catching 73 passes for 1,056 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, was set to skip his senior season for the NFL along with Maddox, but changed his mind 15 minutes before a press conference called to announce his leaving.

Slowed by injuries during his first two seasons at UCLA, Williams was productive last season, rushing for 1,141 yards and eight touchdowns as UCLA amassed 2,309 yards on the ground, its most since 1988.

Senior fullback Kaleaph Carter, who started nine of UCLA’s last 10 games last season, will lead the blocking for Williams and backup tailback Ricky Davis. A 5-foot-9, 182-pound junior, Davis started three games last season, rushing for 329 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior tackles Vaughn Parker and Craig Novitsky and senior center Aron Gideon will anchor the offensive line.

An All-Pac-10 selection last season, Parker graded out as UCLA’s best offensive lineman in seven games last season. Novitsky, who earned second-team all-league honors last season, has started all 23 games in his UCLA career. Gideon, who came to UCLA as a non-scholarship player in 1988, has started 17 straight games.

UCLA’s top two tight ends also return. Senior Rick Daly, who started 10 of 11 games last season, caught 13 passes for an average of 11.3 yards a catch. Junior Brian Allen caught two passes for 28 yards and a touchdown last season.

Although Cook is established as the starting quarterback, the Bruins are trying to develop a capable backup. Rob Walker, a 6-3, 198-pound redshirt freshman who ran the scout team last season, emerged in spring practice as the No. 2 quarterback. But he’s being challenged by John Barnes, a 6-3, 210-pound senior who transferred to UCLA after UC Santa Barbara dropped football.

UCLA’s defense, which has six starters from last season’s team, could be the most consistent unit. The Bruins ranked eighth nationally against the run last season, allowing an average of 100.9 yards a game, a decrease of almost 97 yards from 1990. UCLA allowed 15.8 points a game after giving up 30.2 points in 1990.

Cornerback Carlton Gray, who set a school record with 11 interceptions last season, and linebacker Arnold Ale, the John Hancock Bowl’s MVP, anchor the Bruin defense.

Gray finished second in the nation in interceptions last year, behind Terrell Buckley of Florida State.

Ale came on strong at the end of the season, sacking USC’s Reggie Perry and forcing a fumble on fourth down to preserve a three-point victory over the Trojans.

The Bruin defensive line has two starters and one part-time starter back. Defensive end Mike Chalenski and nose guard Bruce Walker will anchor the unit. A second-team all-league selection, Chalenski made 36 tackles last season. Walker, who started 10 games last season, led all defensive linemen with 37 tackles, including 29 unassisted tackles.

Defensive tackle Matt Werner started three games last season, making 21 tackles. Garrett Greedy, a junior who started 10 games at outside linebacker last season, is moving to defensive tackle this season.

The secondary might be the defense’s most impressive unit. Junior safety Othello Henderson intercepted two passes and made 59 tackles last season. Sophomore Carl Greenwood, who had 31 tackles in six starts last season, batted away a last-minute pass by Ty Detmer to preserve a 27-23 victory over BYU.

UCLA’s kicking game is also solid. Louis Perez made 15 of 21 field goal attempts last season and junior Darren Schager averaged 39 yards on 21 punts last season and junior Darren Schager averaged 39 yards on 21 punts.