He Feels Right at Home on Both Sides of Ball : Football: Uhl left Mater Dei, now plays tight end and linebacker for Trabuco Hills.

When Derrek Uhl left Mater Dei eight games into the 1992 season, maybe it looked as if he was a quitter. But Uhl made the tough decision and is standing by it--on both sides of the football.

Uhl, former Monarch quarterback, is now playing tight end and linebacker for Trabuco Hills. He says he feels less pressure, is happier and has discovered the joy of tackling.

The Mustangs are 2-0 and play host to Villa Park (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. And Uhl will be making an impact at two positions instead of one.

The journey to Trabuco Hills was one filled with frustration. The Monarchs were 6-0-1, with a six-game winning streak, when they were beaten by Dana Hills, 13-12, in the eighth week of the season. Uhl was benched by Coach Bruce Rollinson, and he was at Trabuco Hills in time to watch the playoffs.

“Every week there was a lot of pressure on me, and I couldn’t handle that,” Uhl said. “I had to get out of there. There was too much pressure to do well. I felt like if I screwed up, I would be sat down, and that’s what happened.”

The loss to Dana Hills was Uhl’s worst game of the season. One of his passes was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and Rollinson opted to make changes. But he refused to blame Uhl.

“We decided we were going to make changes,” Rollinson said this week. “It wasn’t just Derrek’s fault; there was poor blocking and poor execution, and we felt we needed to shake it up.

“I think there is a little bit more pressure (playing at Mater Dei). It’s a situation where we’re expected to do well, and the quarterback position is a high visibility position. Derrek or any quarterback that had to follow Billy Blanton was in a pretty tough situation.”

The pressure, whether from the program, the staff or self-imposed, inspired thoughts of leaving. The benching turned those thoughts into action.

He arrived at Trabuco Hills thinking he would play at quarterback. Instead, he found a coaching staff that thought he could be an impact player at two positions. And that the Mustangs have a three-quarterback rotation--and are unbeaten--has supported the coaching staff’s insight.

“If we were 0-2 instead of 2-0, I might practice Derrek at quarterback if I thought that was the problem,” Coach Jim Barnett said. “I was excited about getting a quarterback with experience. I think some of my assistants were more excited about putting him at tight end and linebacker than I was at quarterback.

“Considering that we only returned two starters on defense and three on offense, and we had someone who could be an impact on both sides of the ball, it made the decision pretty easy.”

Uhl is 6 feet 5, 235 pounds and his collegiate future probably is at tight end. At least, that’s how Colorado is recruiting him. Oregon State, Washington State and USC also have expressed interest.

He has made the transition nicely. He caught a touchdown pass in the season opener and returned an interception nearly 30 yards to set up the deciding touchdown in a 10-9 victory over Dana Hills Friday.

Uhl has no regrets about changing schools and changing positions.

“I like tackling,” Uhl said. “When I caught my first touchdown, I thought it was more exciting than throwing a touchdown. I felt I finally found my position.”