Bruin Is a Safety Squeeze : College football: Moved from defensive secondary to linebacker, McCullough stars despite his size.

Was there ever any doubt Abdul McCullough would wind up at UCLA?

Not since the day he was born.

His mother, Darcel Winters, was a huge Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fan all the way back to the days when he was Bruin basketball star Lew Alcindor. So Winters named her son Abdul Jabbar McCullough.

Was there ever any doubt McCullough would wind up playing defensive back at UCLA?

Not since the day he started playing that position at El Camino High School in Oceanside.

Sure, McCullough played other positions, everywhere from wide receiver to tight end to linebacker. He also lettered in track and soccer. But the defensive secondary was where he felt most at home.

By his sophomore season as a Bruin, McCullough’s future in the secondary seemed secure. Known for his ability to combine great speed with a sure, powerful, sometimes body-rattling tackling style, McCullough, playing strong safety, finished second only to Donnie Edwards among the Bruins with 87 tackles, and was tied for the team lead and was seventh in the Pacific 10 with three interceptions.

So imagine McCullough’s surprise when he showed up for spring practice this year in preparation for his junior season and was informed that the Bruin coaching staff wanted to move him out of the secondary and to outside linebacker.

McCullough’s initial reaction: No way.

It was no reflection on McCullough. Just the opposite. Coach Terry Donahue, attempting to revamp a slow, ineffective defense, one that finished ninth in the 10-team conference last season, decided that he needed McCullough’s speed and skill in the front seven.

“Safety is his most natural position,” Donahue concedes. “People don’t want to leave their comfort zone. But we needed more speed up front.

“I told him that, if he wasn’t successful [at linebacker], it would not be set in concrete that he would stay there. I wanted him to take a look at it.”

McCullough took a hesitant look at first. He tried the linebacker spot in spring ball. He tried it in fall practice. But it wasn’t until the season opener against Miami that he knew he had made the right choice.

Of course the fact that he had 13 unassisted tackles in that game and no other Bruin had more than four might have had something to do with his sudden acceptance of the switch.

“You’re more in the mix,” McCullough said. “At safety, you’re back a lot farther and you have to run a ways to make any plays. And sometimes, they just won’t throw to you.”

Still, the switch hasn’t been easy for a 6-foot, 207-pounder trying to play a position at which he hardly ever goes head to head with anyone his size.

“Now, I think I’m more used to the physical side of it,” McCullough said. “It’s crazy. I like the contact, but sometimes it gets a little hard. Being 207 pounds and going up against guys that are 320. I don’t think any team I’ve played against has had a really small player in the interior.

“But I think I’ve adjusted now. I’ve learned to use quickness to slip blocks and get through them. But there’s those times where, if you react a little late, they grab you. If they get their hands on your jersey, those are guys who are benching 500 pounds. I don’t weigh 500 pounds.”

The opposition doesn’t get its hands on McCullough too often. Through five games, he leads UCLA with 45 tackles and, with Edwards out, has become the key figure in the team’s defense.

Still, old habits die hard. McCullough, a video game fanatic, plays one such game where he took the Bruins.

First thing McCullough did? He moved the McCullough figure on the screen back to safety.