He’s One of the Busiest Bruins : Football: With UCLA’s offense sputtering, Darren Schager has had to punt 55 times in eight games.

Darren Schager suffered a knee injury during his freshman year at UCLA, although it was hardly typical of NCAA Division I football.

Schager was a walk-on punter for the Bruins who had been promised a scholarship if he won--and kept--the starting position at some point during his career.

The challenge of making the team as a walk-on proved no problem for Schager, who had been an All-Southern Section player at Western Christian High in Covina. Traversing the sprawling UCLA campus in Westwood, however, was another story.

“I can’t really pinpoint how I hurt my leg that year,” said Schager, who kicks with his left foot. “I just think I wasn’t used to walking around such a large campus.”

Schager punted in only one game in 1990 and was granted a substitute year of eligibility because of the injury. He earned the starting job late last season and has held onto it this year by averaging 41.9 yards for 55 kicks.

The Bruins (3-5) have been racked by injuries this season and the offense has sputtered. Schager, therefore, is expected to get plenty of work Saturday when UCLA plays host to Oregon State at the Rose Bowl.

“Some of my roommates say, ‘I hope you have a good game and we don’t see much of you,’ ” Schager said. “Punting is kind of a non-glorious job. People don’t want to see you out there because it means the offense is having trouble.”

The 5-foot-11, 198-pound Schager experienced trouble adjusting to big-time college football when he made his UCLA debut in 1990 against Michigan. It was the third game of the season, and a crowd of 105,000 at Ann Arbor, Mich., and a national television audience was watching when Schager ran out onto the field.

“The most people I had ever kicked in front of before that was maybe 200 or 300,” Schager said. “When I look at the videotape of that game, I can see the look on my face, in my eyes. I was terrified.

“I remember one of the only thoughts running through my head was ‘Don’t drop it.’ ”

Schager held on to the snap, but he struck the ball awkwardly. The ball traveled only 20 yards and bounced back toward the line of scrimmage. Schager jogged off the field with a 12-yard punt to his credit.

That was the extent of his playing time in 1990.

Last season, Schager battled with Courtney Keyler for the starting job. Schager made his first appearance in the fourth game against Cal and launched a 34-yard kick, respectable but not good enough to wrest the position from Keyler.

Schager made his first start two games later against Oregon State and got off kicks of 35 and 40 yards. But Keyler started the next game against Arizona State.

Keyler, however, started poorly against Washington State, and Schager finally stepped up with a 49-yard kick that helped him earn the starting job for the Bruins’ final four games. He averaged 39.3 yards a kick in a 24-21 victory over USC and 41.8 yards for six kicks in the Hancock Bowl against Illinois. He finished the season with a 39.4-yard average for 27 kicks.

“During the spring, I went to Coach (Terry) Donahue and asked him what scholarship opportunities there were for me,” Schager said. “He said he wanted to wait until the fall, which I kind of expected.”

Schager began an off-season regimen that included family-style practice sessions. Schager’s father, Donald, snapped the ball high, low and to the right and left. Darren’s mother, Priscilla, used a stopwatch to record the hang time of his kicks.

Schager retained his starting position through the fall and opened the 1992 season by averaging 44 yards a kick against Cal State Fullerton. Against Brigham Young the following week, he averaged 46 yards.

“The Monday after the BYU game we were coming out of a team meeting and I asked Coach Donahue if we could discuss the scholarship situation,” Schager said. “He said, ‘Darren, there’s nothing to discuss. You’ve earned it.’ ”

Buoyed by his new status, Schager hopes to finish the season strongly against Oregon State, Oregon and USC. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining and looks forward to an eventual shot at the NFL.

“I’d love to get a chance to even try out,” he said. “If I keep improving like I have been, that would really be something.”