On Target

UCLA flanker Danny Farmer has caught everything this season except grief.

It’s hard to imagine there was a time when one of the question marks for the Bruins was whether they could replace Jim McElroy. Farmer replaced him, and then some.

Farmer consistently made clutch catches in close games. He was named first-team All-Pacific 10 Conference. He had 51 catches, fifth most in UCLA history, for 1,132 yards, third best all-time for the Bruins.

But ask him his greatest moment of 1998 and he says:

“I haven’t had it yet.”

Meaning Farmer is planning for it to come Friday in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin.

It has always been a special game for Farmer, who remembers gathering with his family in the living room of their Hancock Park home to watch it every year. This time, it could be the most special yet.

What started as a season of uncertainty for UCLA’s receiving corps is ending with the group having emerged as a great weapon in the high-powered offense. In addition to the star, Brian Poli-Dixon had 42 receptions and 10 touchdowns, two more than Farmer and behind only running backs DeShaun Foster and Jermaine Lewis among all Bruins, and Brad Melsby averaged 20.4 yards in 13 catches.

Farmer, meanwhile, skyrocketed up the charts in the record book.

After only three seasons, he is No. 3 in school history with 2,305 yards receiving, behind only Kevin Jordan (2,548) and J.J. Stokes (2,469).

And Farmer is already No. 6 all-time in receptions, with 123.

“I haven’t been surprised,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of playing well and strived to play well and work my hardest to put myself in a position to succeed, so I’m not surprised. But I am thankful. I’m just excited that I’m getting the chance to play.”

No one who knows Farmer well is surprised by the accomplishments.

“Danny’s a real confident guy,” said his twin brother Tim, a starter on the Loyola Marymount volleyball team. “He’s very physically gifted, but also mentally. I think he knew he could do it. I think if there was a doubt, it was whether they would give him that opportunity. Once they did, I think everyone knew he’d do great.”

Said Ron Caragher, the Bruins’ receiver coach: “He’s always been Mr. Consistency. But this year he showed he can make those big plays.”

Indeed, it’s not like Farmer was a non-factor before this season. In 1996, he became the first freshman to ever lead the club in receptions, and last year he was second only to McElroy.

What makes the success especially noteworthy is that it has come in his first season as the No. 1 target, and that it has come as he is still not a full-time football player.

Farmer is also a key member of the Bruin volleyball team, the defending national champion. The conflicts between the seasons are such that he sits out spring football practice to play volleyball.

But he has been firm in staying with both. That will again be the case this spring, as a senior in volleyball with another year of eligibility left in football, even if it means missing the chance to work with the quarterbacks who will be vying to succeed Cade McNown. Instead, Farmer said, he will try to make it out a few times or maybe run routes with the current backup, Drew Bennett, a couple times a week.

Or there is the other possibility.

That Farmer won’t need that time because he won’t be at UCLA in the fall.

Though chances appear to be slim, Farmer says he will consider leaving UCLA for the NFL.

Teammate Kris Farris, the Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s best offensive lineman, is weighing the same option, though Farris is probably closer to choosing to leave.

The decisions must be made by Jan. 8.

Friends and students around campus ask Farmer what he will do. Family members joke with him about it. But he said he hasn’t given the matter any real consideration so far.

“I love college, I love UCLA,” Farmer said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, going to UCLA. I’m just having a great time here, making a lot of friends. I really just feel at home here.

“A lot of people are talking, a lot of people are saying things. But I don’t know. I’m not even worried about it right now. I’m just concentrating on the Rose Bowl. I can’t think that far ahead.”

He can’t help but consider the impact of not having McNown to throw to him next season.

“It has to play into it,” Farmer said. “But, again, there’s a lot of different factors. There’s a lot of decisions I have to take into account.”

Said Tim Farmer: “I’d expect him to come back. We’ve always been raised that football and athletics come second. Your real life comes from what you do with your academics.”

It is a family that is used to athletic success. The twins are both starting in Division I sports. Their father, George, played seven years with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions after competing in football, basketball and track at UCLA. Their uncle, Dave Farmer, played at USC and then with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A grandfather, Steve Miletich, lettered in basketball at USC.

Danny and Tim grew up in a neighborhood that included four other boys about their age and where sports was commonplace. From that has blossomed three college careers--two for Danny.

One of those could give him the greatest career of any UCLA receiver.

“I think what I do is I take all the numbers and all that and I want to push myself to get to the top,” Farmer said. “In 20 years or 30 years, I can look back and say, ‘OK, I did a good job.’ But right now, I just know I need to get better and I know that I always can get better and improve. I know I have to work hard to get to the top.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Receiving Line

A look at how Danny Farmer’s season compares to others in Bruin history:

RECEPTIONS

1. J.J. Stokes, 199382

2. Kevin Jordan, 199473

2. Sean LaChapelle, 199173

4. Mike Farr, 198866

5. Farmer, 199851

RECEIVING YARDS

1. Jordan, 19941,228

2. Stokes, 19931,181

3. Farmer, 19981,132

4. LaChapelle, 19911,056

5. Jim McElroy, 1997990

Note: Raymond Burks holds the Bruin record for average yards per reception, with 30.1 in 1973 (nine receptions for 271 yards). Farmer averages 22.2.

ROSE BOWL

UCLA (10-1)

vs.

Wisconsin (10-1)

Friday

1:30 p.m.

Channel 7

* TOUCH DOWN

Wisconsin arrives in Southland to begin preparations for next Friday’s game. Page 6