Lineup Has a Local Angle

This is more than the chance for a rare start, though that is also something to treasure. This the chance of a lifetime.

“That’s the biggest thing to happen to me yet,” tight end Randy Hakes said.

“I’m just so thankful to get this chance,” tailback Keith Brown said.

Normally third-stringers, though still part of the rotation in Brown’s case, they both jump all the way to No. 1 today at Arizona State as recognition by UCLA Coach Bob Toledo of their Phoenix-area roots.

Brown’s promotion was supposed to be to backup tailback, but he was pushed to the top spot when DeShaun Foster went down because of a sprained ankle. The timing made it an opportunity worth savoring that much more: the only game at Sun Devil Stadium during his Bruin career.

“As soon as I saw the schedule for this year during my freshman year, I’ve been looking forward to this game,” said Brown, from Phoenix. “Tempe, Arizona. My senior year.”

He expects about 60 family members and friends to be in attendance, all of whom will be hoping for a repeat of the previous visit to Arizona. Brown went into the starting lineup last season in Tucson after Jermaine Lewis was suspended. Brown responded with one of his best games of 1998, getting 91 yards and two touchdowns as a key to the victory.

Hakes, also from Phoenix, has no great history in the state with UCLA, but he will have a home-field advantage today: He has five older brothers and sisters, each of his parents has seven siblings and kids of their own, and everyone still lives in the area. That pushes his expected rooting section for today to about 100.

“I’ve been working hard and hoping and waiting to get a chance,” said Hakes, who normally plays behind Gabe Crecion and Bryan Fletcher at tight end. “I’ve been hoping for this. I didn’t know if it would happen, but I’d sure been hoping for it.”

Hakes and Brown have been named game captains. They join the season-long selections--Danny Farmer and Pete Holland.