COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT / UCLA : It’s a Big Blow for Price

How long had fullback Durell Price been looking forward to the Ohio State game?

“Since I signed that letter of intent to UCLA,” he said. “So about four years ago.”

That’s all.

And now he can’t play Saturday, one of the 10 Bruins who will be serving the final installment of their two-game suspensions for the handicapped-parking scam, down from the original 11 because Marques Anderson was eventually dismissed from school.

Price had actually signed with Ohio State coming out of Sylmar High. He just didn’t officially sign with Ohio State--he faxed the completed letter of intent to Columbus on the appropriate day, went out with his mother to make some final purchases for his celebratory party that night, and came back to find a message from school officials that he made a mistake and needed to send the side with the signature.

Price took that as a sign. In that instant, he decided against the Buckeyes. He eventually chose UCLA and made no secret of the reasons: because he can be close to his family, because of the education and because he would be going to Ohio Stadium on Sept. 11, 1999.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said. “This is the selling point on UCLA. We get to play Ohio State. It’s just disappointment. That’s the only thing that can describe the way I feel. Depression. Disappointment.

“The Ohio State game, it was huge. The biggest game that I felt that I was going to play in my college career, whether it be against SC or in the Rose Bowl or the national championship. I put the Ohio State game up there.

“I wanted to prove to them that I came to UCLA and I made a good decision and I don’t have to go to a Midwest school to play big-time college football. UCLA is big-time college football.”

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Talk about taking advantage of a situation. Safety Joey Strycula, a senior who last week got his first start in part because of the suspensions, was named a captain for Saturday at Ohio State after leading the Bruins in tackles against Boise State. Tight end Bryan Fletcher was also named a game captain this week, joining season-long selections Pete Holland and Danny Farmer. . . . Offensive lineman Josh Webb underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a shoulder injury. He had already been declared out for the season.