Waiting Game Gives Way to Game Day for Fien : Football: After three seasons as a backup, former Royal High quarterback earns starting job at UCLA. He opens Sept. 2 against Miami.

Don’t blame UCLA quarterback Ryan Fien for being a little fidgety.

A junior from Simi Valley, Fien, 21, has started one game in three seasons at UCLA.

Needless to say, Fien feels ready to assume a starting role for UCLA’s opening game against Miami on Sept. 2 at the Rose Bowl.

“This is something I think about every day,” Fien said. “I talk about it every day with my receivers. I talk about it with my parents all the time. In a way, I’m just sick of waiting.

“I’m sick of working out everyday. I’m sick of running, sick of watching film. I just want the game to come.”

In three seasons at UCLA, including a redshirt year two seasons ago when the Bruins played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, Fien has completed 28 of 66 passes for 268 yards.

His longest completion is 22 yards. He has thrown three interceptions and no touchdown passes.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder has come out of the bullpen on all but one occasion, usually when the game’s outcome was decided.

If all goes according to plan, Bruin fans will see a different Ryan Fien, one perhaps reminiscent of the former Royal High star who completed more than 50% of his passes for 4,545 yards and a Marmonte League record 52 touchdowns in three seasons.

“You’re going to see the Ryan Fien who is finally prepared,” he said. “It’s hard to get prepared for a game situation when you’re a backup and you don’t know when you’re going in. And when you go in, you’re down by 30 points. They know you’re throwing and they drop back six, seven defenders.

“You’re going to see the Ryan Fien who has a whole game to work with, and a great offensive line and great receivers. You’re going to see a quarterback and a team that’s fed up with last season and is going to go out and get wins.”

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Those words sound promising to UCLA offensive coordinator Bob Toledo, who had a rocky debut after succeeding Homer Smith for the 1994 season.

The Bruins finished 5-6, tied for fifth in the Pacific 10 Conference and didn’t play in a bowl game for the second time in three years.

The foundation of the Bruin offense will be an experienced line, anchored by preseason All-American tackle Jonathan Ogden. Flanker Kevin Jordan also has received preseason All-American mention.

But Toledo’s game plan rests squarely on Fien’s broad shoulders.

“He’s got a strong arm,” Toledo said. “He’s a physical guy who’s athletic, and he’s very competitive.

“But the thing I like about him most is his work ethic. You don’t have to tell him to go in and watch video. You don’t need to tell him to go throw to his receivers. It’s always fun to coach a guy who’s got that kind of enthusiasm.”

Fien’s tendency to work hard in the off-season nearly paid off two years ago, when, at 19, he battled former Newbury Park High quarterback Wayne Cook and Rob Walker for the starting job until the final day of fall training camp.

On the eve of the 1993 opener against California, Coach Terry Donahue chose the more experienced Cook to start.

But Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt knew Fien would eventually get his starting assignment.

“To me, it was a foregone conclusion before he finished playing high school that he’d be the starter at UCLA,” Uebelhardt said. “It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Although he was disappointed two years ago, Fien said, he had a lot to learn. He didn’t know much about reading defenses and, since the conclusion of the 1994 season, Fien has watched hours and hours of videotape, not only learning defensive tendencies but also mastering the Bruin offense.

“You’re never taught [to read defenses],” Fien said. “You just drop back [to] throw.”

But the Bruin staff also was concerned with how Fien threw.

His delivery was fundamentally wrong, and Fien has been working since spring to correct his motion.

“He tends to really drop his elbow and throw the ball,” Toledo said. “We did some drills to hopefully change it a little bit. But when you’ve been throwing the ball as many years as he has, like he has, it’s hard to make a total change on a motion.

“We’ve tried to get it better. If he completes his passes, it’s not a concern.”

For two hours each evening this summer, Monday through Friday, Fien has practiced with his receivers, trying to improve his mechanics.

“His balls have been on target all summer long,” said former Westlake receiver Erik Holcomb, a junior who will work for playing time at flanker. “That’s where Ryan has improved from a year ago--the fundamentals. The little things, like keeping the ball up and making the right decisions.”

Fien is confident it will all come together, if for no other reason than for the fact he is finally the starter and is getting more attention from coaches.

“Being the No. 2 quarterback, you’ve got to stay focused all week, but you only get about 20% of the [repetitions] in practice,” he said.

Practice time, however, was part of the problem. During a six-game losing streak, Fien found himself on a psychological roller coaster. Cook lost his confidence during the skid and Fien couldn’t stomach the anticipation to play.

“That just plays havoc on your emotions,” Fien said. “After a while, it’s hard to handle. Stuff like, ‘You’re going to play a lot this week.’ Then you don’t get in at all.”

But 1994 wasn’t as depressing as 1993. After nearly overtaking Cook for the job, Fien re-injured his left foot and was forced to redshirt.

Fien suffered the injury while playing as a freshman in 1992. He broke a bone in his left foot in his only start, a 20-0 loss to Arizona State on Oct. 24 when he completed four passes for 18 yards in three quarters.

After undergoing foot surgery, Fien was re-injured early in the 1993 season, during which he threw his only pass in the opener against Cal.

Fien spent the rest of the season on the sideline in street clothes while the Bruins made a dash to the Rose Bowl.

“I had mixed emotions,” he said. “I was happy for the seniors, but that was probably the most trying time in my life. I didn’t feel like a part of it.”

Now Fien is at the center of UCLA’s plans, having beaten out Walker, a senior, and redshirt freshman Steve Buck for the job.

He finds himself in similar circumstances as his one-time rival, Cook, who got the nod over Fien because he had been in the program three years.

“I competed neck and neck with him and felt I out-performed [him at times],” Fien said of Cook.

“They decided to go with the older guy, which is understandable. You have to have someone in there who your team can look to for leadership.

“And at this level, it’s tough to look up to someone who is fresh out of high school. I think maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I learned a lot from Wayne.”

Fien said he learned a lot by watching Cook from the sidelines last year.

He continues to learn by watching game film of Cook.

But Cook left his biggest impression when he talked to Fien last year about perseverance.

“You’re going to get booed,” Fien said. “There were times when the season wasn’t going good where people looked at [Cook] as a bad person. He sat down with me and said, ‘You can’t let it get to you.’

“During that tough time, he really kept his head up. He was very tough, mentally and physically. You have to be tough, mentally, at this level. You can’t be thin-skinned.”

Former Kennedy High quarterback Tom Ramsey, who played at UCLA from 1979-82 and later in the NFL, said Fien faces a much greater challenge than merely holding a starting position.

“The bottom line is, if you’re a quarterback at UCLA or any other school in the Pac-10,” Ramsey said, “your main goal is to win the conference and to get to the Rose Bowl.”

Fien understands that challenge.

In the process of winning, he hopes he can be one of the most exciting quarterbacks in UCLA history.

“My time has come,” he said. “The next two years are going to be very exciting. I can put up those numbers like your [Tommy] Maddoxes and [Troy] Aikmans. But my concern right now is leading this team to victory.

“The numbers are great, but that’s the last thing on my mind. If I command this offense, the numbers will come.”