END OF AN ERA: DONAHUE RESIGNS : Going Over the Wall Was the Answer : Reaction: Players, coaches say Donahue will be hard to replace. Some saw the move coming.

Reaction to Terry Donahue’s resignation as UCLA’s football coach was steady and measured, much like the man who guided the Bruins through 20 seasons of triumph and turbulence.

“Everything about Terry Donahue was class,” David Norrie, the former UCLA quarterback turned broadcaster, said. “Terry Donahue’s teams were always prepared. There was never a game that Terry Donahue was not prepared for.”

While many will remember Donahue as the picture of calm and decorum, Norrie can’t forget one thing that might have piqued Donahue’s interest in broadcasting.

It occurred after a crushing 17-13 loss to USC in 1985. With the defeat, the Bruins’ Rose Bowl hopes rested on the outcome of a game later that night between Arizona and Arizona State.

The Bruins needed a Wildcat victory to go to the Rose Bowl.

Norrie, the team’s quarterback that season, recalled the anguish over the outcome.

“Everybody was trying to get the ASU-Arizona game on the radio,” Norrie said. “Then we hear the next day from Terry Donahue that the only way he could get [decent reception of] the game on radio was in his bathroom.”

Arizona, won, 16-13, and UCLA went on to defeat Iowa in the Rose Bowl.

But Norrie could never forget the image of the cool and collected Donahue straining for the sounds of a distant game in his washroom.

USC’s John Robinson, who coached against Donahue in two tenures, says he will remember Donahue as a fighter and a friend.

Donahue exits having defeated USC the last five seasons, the last three while Robinson was coach.

“Terry has been one of the great coaches in college football,” Robinson said Monday.

“I’m proud that he was in this profession. I enjoyed his friendship and the competition we’ve had.”

Robinson wondered if Donahue would miss the day-to-day involvement of football, as Robinson did in 1992, when he was a broadcaster for CBS, USA Network and Prime Ticket.

“I liked [broadcasting], but I missed the preparation part of getting ready to play games,” Robinson said.

“When I’d finish a game I’d broadcast and went home realizing I didn’t care who’d won or lost . . . that was a letdown.”

Dick Vermeil, another former UCLA coach who left the field for the broadcast booth, thinks Donahue made the right decision in stepping down to accept an analysts position with CBS.

“Twenty years is long enough,” Vermeil said. “I think this is a good thing for Terry, a good thing for [Donahue’s wife] Andrea and his family, and a good thing for college football.”

Said UCLA basketball Coach Jim Harrick, “I think that college football lost a high-principled man of great integrity. He’s a great family man. He’s a great friend of mine and I wish him well in whatever endeavor he chooses to take. Personally, I think he’ll be fantastic as a color commentator on college football broadcasts.”

Yet Bruin players, past and present, were saddened by the news of Donahue’s departure.

“They won’t find anyone like him,” said former quarterback Wayne Cook, who stopped by to say goodbye after Donahue’s press conference.

Cook said Donahue had skills that went far beyond football and was a master at handling team problems internally.

“Terry had a way of making it all OK,” Cook said. “The coaching part, that was the easiest part of the job. It was just the kind of person he was, the way he handled bad situations.”

Some current Bruins saw Donahue’s resignation coming. Last Saturday, during a season-ending ritual in which players conclude practice by jumping over a wall, Donahue jumped over with his players.

“We kind of took it as a hint that he wouldn’t be here,” senior guard Matt Soenksen said.

Jonathan Ogden, the Bruins’ All-American tackle, also thought Donahue was leaving.

“I felt it coming,” Ogden said. “Saturday, you could get the feeling he was leaning toward leaving. You could feel it then.”

Still, Donahue didn’t make it official until Monday morning, when he met with his coaches at 9:30.

“We anticipated he was going to retire,” defensive coordinator Bob Field said. “But when he actually said it, for me, and for most of the coaches, it was an emotional thing. I got a lump in my throat. Most people on the outside have no idea how hard you work, the battles you go through, the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys. It’s sad to see it come to an end.”

Ogden said he picked the right time to be a senior.

“I’m glad I’m going out with him,” Ogden said. “When I come back, everything will be different.”

But, as Donahue said, the time was right to go.

“He’s been there 20 years,” Soenksen said. “That’s a long time. I’ve been here five years and I’m ready to get out

“He’s ending on a good note. Beating USC five straight times, no one’s ever done that, the Aloha Bowl. It’s a good time to go.”

No one was ready to predict how Donahue will fare as a broadcaster.

“I think he’ll be pretty good,” Soenksen said. “It will be interesting to see how he does.”

Norrie, who does radio commentary on UCLA games, said he would be happy to pass on any broadcast tips to Donahue.

But, late Monday afternoon, Norrie still couldn’t grasp that Donahue was gone.

“It’s hard to believe after 20 years he’s stepping down,” Norrie said. “Because I think he could have gone on another 10, 15 years and had the same success he’s had the last 20.”

Times staff writers Larry Stewart, Earl Gustkey and Tim Kawakami contributed to this story.