Bennett Gets the Call to Start

Calling an audible himself, UCLA Coach Bob Toledo revised his timetable and picked a starting quarterback, deciding that junior Drew Bennett will open Sept. 4 against Boise State.

The choice was not surprising--Bennett was the only challenger who threw a pass last season--but the timing was. Even Bennett was surprised when Toledo delivered the word individually to the four candidates Sunday night. He had expected only that the two finalists for the job would be chosen.

Instead, Toledo announced Monday that Bennett was No. 1 and Cory Paus the backup. A platoon system for at least the first two games, however, means both will get considerable playing time. That leaves Scott McEwan as the third stringer and Ryan McCann fourth on the depth chart.

“I expected I would be one of the two, but I didn’t expect him to name a starting quarterback last night,” Bennett said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”

If the news was unexpected, though, it’s nothing compared to the improbability of the journey.

Bennett arrived from the Bay Area town of Orinda in the fall of 1996 as a walk-on who had been recruited by Princeton, UC Davis and Division III schools. He was redshirted that first season, and his biggest contribution since was a 53-yard pass reception near the end of regulation play in an overtime victory over Oregon last season.

And now, he’s the starting quarterback for a team that could contend for the Pacific 10 Conference title.

But the experience he got as Cade McNown’s backup the last two seasons, even though he threw only 11 passes, proved invaluable. McEwan was the only other candidate who has so much as played at UCLA, taking three snaps at the end of a blowout of Washington State.

Much of what Bennett’s experience--relatively speaking--didn’t address, his natural abilities did. Being an outstanding athlete allows him to better recover on the spot from errors, an important consideration for coaches in a season during which expectations are for the quarterback not to get the Bruins beat. The receiving corps and backs figure to provide the wins.

Athleticism has been Bennett’s edge all along. In the end, it became a major difference.

“Cory had a better passing percentage than Drew [in practices],” Toledo said. “But Drew didn’t make as many mistakes as Cory. Drew has a better understanding of what we want to do. He doesn’t make bad plays.”

Said McEwan, who had the second-best awareness of the system but was held back by inexperience, “[Bennett] knows the offense better than anyone out here. He’s real good at making a bad play into a good one.”

A possible drawback is that Bennett doesn’t have as good an arm as Paus, either in strength or accuracy. But McNown didn’t have a cannon either.

What McNown did have were toughness and leadership skills--the same things Paus has, and they earned the redshirt freshman flattering comparisons to a four-year starter. Paus, from New Lenox, Ill., still has a chance to be McNown’s eventual successor because he is scheduled to platoon with Bennett at least the first two games.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Paus said. “I’d hoped this was how it was going to be.”

That he was picked as No. 2?

“I just wanted to play,” he said.

What remains is for Toledo to determine the particulars of the platoon system. And he still hopes to settle on a single quarterback before the start of Pac-10 play in Game 4.

For now, Bennett and Paus will get equal work with the first team until the end of the week, at which time the Bruins will begin specific preparations for Boise State and Bennett will get 60% of the repetitions.

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FARMER OUT?: Senior flanker Danny Farmer may miss the opener against Boise State because of a sprained ankle. Page 8