COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : For Now, Watson Wins Fullback Derby

When he finished spring ball, Jarvis Watson figured there were two good reasons why he wouldn’t be the starting fullback this season:

1. He had a broken left wrist, the result of a fall while carrying the ball.

2. James Milliner. Coming back as a senior, Milliner appeared to have the job locked up.

But when the depth chart came out Monday, Watson was listed atop the group of fullbacks.

The wrist was no longer a factor, having healed in the ensuing months.

And Milliner was not a factor either. He took himself out of the running by insisting that he be moved to tailback.

Sophomore Greg Ford is still recovering from off-season back surgery.

That left Watson, a redshirt freshman, and Craig Walendy and Cheyane Caldwell, a pair of true freshmen.

The competition between the trio has been close, but Watson won out simply on the basis of his edge in experience.

For now.

“I know I’m just one out of three,” Watson said. “I know I’m going to have to prove myself if I want to keep the job.”

And he knows that means blocking more than anything else.

“In the beginning, it [blocking] wasn’t as much fun,” said Watson, who played tailback at Warren High in Downey. “But it’s fun now. When I make a block and see Karim [Abdul-Jabbar, the tailback] score one for all of us, it’s a good feeling.”

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Vae Tata is listed as a starter at defensive end over Danjuan Magee, although both will play a lot. . . . Bjorn Merten will retain his kicking duties. . . . Justin Sogoian is designated as the punter and Greg Andrasick as the kickoff man, but look for freshman Chris Sailer to get a chance to try both.