END OF AN ERA: DONAHUE RESIGNS : GOOD THING HE DECIDED BEFORE KICKOFF

Before I was assigned the UCLA beat in 1993, I was told that Donahue sometimes had trouble pulling the trigger on decisions.

On a late-August Saturday morning, two weeks into summer practice and a week before the season opener against California, he told me he had decided that Bjorn Merten would be doing the field goal kicking and Jason Lessley would kick off for the Bruins.

Two hours later, I got a call at home.

“I know a little while ago I told you that we were splitting the kicking, but I have gone back and looked at some film and I’m not so sure now.”

Had he seen something?

“Well, I’m just not sure, and we’re going to keep them kicking until about Wednesday before we make a decision.”

I wrote that they were still kicking for jobs, but that Merten had looked better.

On Wednesday, Donahue declared Merten the winner and had him both kick off and handle the field goal and PAT duties. He became only the fourth freshman to be honored as a consensus All-American.