COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Walker Backs Up Cook at Quarterback

Rob Walker, a redshirt freshman, has earned the backup quarterback spot behind Wayne Cook.

Coach Terry Donahue says Walker, who ran the Bruin scout team last season, is UCLA’s most improved player.

Donahue plans to rotate the third-string spot among senior John Barnes and freshmen Ryan Fien and Scott Fitterer.

Barnes transferred to UCLA after UC Santa Barbara dropped football last year. Fien passed for 1,710 yards and 23 touchdowns last season at Royal High in Simi Valley and Fitterer passed for 808 yards and five touchdowns at Kennedy High in Seattle despite sitting out four games because of a broken thumb.

Jonathan Ogden, a 6-foot-8, 325-pound offensive tackle, is the only true freshman who has made UCLA’s two-deep roster. Ogden, who played at St. Alban’s High in Washington last season, will back up Craig Novitsky at left tackle. . . . UCLA, which will open its season Saturday night against Cal State Fullerton at the Rose Bowl, is 10-6 in season-openers under Donahue.