Scott Looks to End Scoring Drought

The last UCLA player to visit the end zone on a kickoff return was Eric Scott. He was playing for Northwestern at the time he ran a kick 86 yards for a touchdown against Boston College.

It was the last time he scored a college touchdown.

Scott scored plenty for Crenshaw High as a quarterback, running back, receiver and defensive back, but none in his three seasons and 27 pass receptions since transferring to UCLA.

“That’s something that’s on my mind,” he said Tuesday. “It stays on my mind. When am I going to get into the end zone? It’s a big deal. Playing college football and being a receiver, you never think that you’ll go without getting a touchdown. It’s frustrating.”

Scott, a graduate student in the School of Social Welfare after earning his degree in June, figures he came close a year ago at Oregon, this week’s Bruin opponent.

“I was open twice and [quarterback] Cade [McNown] saw me, but he was under pressure and had to scramble out,” Scott said. “And at Oregon, I had one that was knocked down. And Northeast Louisiana, there was a pass interference. They’ve all been close calls.”

And none have been touchdowns. Weekly, he plans to score, pondering what to do when he sees an official’s hands in the air.

“I’ll probably just act like I’ve been there before,” Scott said. “But it’s been awhile.”

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Sign of the times: McNown, who rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman, and 58 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore, has run for minus-53 yards and has not scored this season.

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UCLA’s offensive line, eight players deep for much of the season, reached nine on Tuesday when Oscar Cabrera, injured before the season, returned to practice. . . . UCLA has used the same starting offensive lineup in all five games, except at left guard, where Sean Gully started the opener at Washington State and Chad Sauter has started since; and at fullback, where Cheyane Caldwell started the first three games, Tyrone Pierce against Arizona in a two-tight end set and Craig Walendy against Houston. . . . Fifteen Bruins have caught passes in the first five games. . . . Eleven UCLA players have run the football, among them tight end Ryan Neufeld, split end Danny Farmer, flanker Jim McElroy and walk-on Mark Verti.

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NEXT UP FOR UCLA

WHO: Oregon

WHERE: Autzen Stadium

TIME: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

TV: FX

RADIO: AM 1150