Bruins Have Questions, Few Answers

UCLA opens football practice today with the standing problems of uncertainty at quarterback and in the secondary and, in a new development, a depth problem at linebacker.

Cory Paus and Ryan McCann are the main contenders at quarterback as the search to replace Cade McNown enters its second year. Injury and inconsistency prompted the Bruins to use three starters in 1999.

Coach Bob Toledo said third-stringer Scott McEwan is still in the picture, but Paus, the closest thing to an incumbent, and McCann will get 80% of the snaps for the first 10 days of camp. The Bruins plan to decide on a No. 1 then, with another week and a half to prepare the starter for the season opener against Alabama on Sept. 2 at the Rose Bowl.

At least the blueprint is different from last season. In ‘99, they were deciding from among four candidates--Drew Bennett, Paus, McCann and McEwan. But after narrowing the choice to Bennett and Paus, they used the nonconference schedule to settle on a winner. Paus got the job, suffered bruised ribs that sidelined him for one game, returned to start the next six and broke his collarbone. That put McCann, already closing ground, in the starting lineup against USC.

Spring practice couldn’t be used to pick a clear No. 1 because shoulder surgery and the collarbone injury kept Paus out of contact drills. All of which sets the stage for another battle now, with one difference from a year ago:

“We’ll be a one-quarterback team,” Toledo said.

That means that auditions will not be held against Alabama or the next week against Fresno State or the week after that against Michigan, by which time it will have taken an upset to keep the Bruins from being 1-2 before even leaving home. They plan to pick a starter midway through camp and stay that course.

The ability this time to concentrate on Paus and McCann, while continuing to chart McEwan’s progress, will be easier than sifting through four possibilities. Plus, Paus has played a lot and McCann has played some. When the time came to replace McNown, none of the four potential successors had much more than mop-up duty on his resume.

Experience gives Paus the edge for now. He started seven games as a redshirt freshman, completing 95 of 197 passes (48.2%) for 1,336 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was also at least able to participate in much of the spring work, being held out of the scrimmages as a precaution against injuries.

“I’m going to kind of let things unfold,” Toledo said. “But obviously, Cory Paus was the starter last year and did some nice things in the spring, even though he wasn’t in contact drills.”

Said Paus: “Last year was unfortunate because the injuries hurt me. That’s why I feel like we’re in this whole debacle now. If I didn’t get hurt, I don’t think we’d be in this.”

McCann, also a sophomore, was gaining on Paus toward the end of the season, even before Paus was sidelined for the USC game. McCann played the final four games and started the finale to the 4-7 season that included a ninth-place conference finish at 2-6.

His final season numbers: He completed 33 of 63 attempts (52.4%) for 388 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

“I feel I’m ready,” he said. “That’s all I can really say.”

The Bruin secondary cannot make the same claim. Long a sore spot, it went from losing sophomore Lovell Houston for the season earlier in the week because of reconstructive shoulder surgery, to losing him permanently.

Houston, who started three of the final four games last season at safety, informed Toledo that he is moving back to Denver to be close to home when he has his surgery and will transfer, probably to Colorado, to stay near his family.

This comes as Julius Williams, who started twice at safety last year and would have entered camp as the backup to Jason Bell at right cornerback, was dismissed from school because of academic difficulties. He can try to return in 2001 but will miss at least this season.

In other Bruin news as practice begins:

* Two reserve linebackers, Santi Hall and Asi Faoa, have been suspended for the first game, probably making true freshman Brandon Chillar the backup to Tony White against Alabama. Faoa has pleaded not guilty to felony assault and mayhem charges for an April 30 fight with another UCLA student and has a pretrial hearing set for Sept. 18. Hall violated an undisclosed team rule.

* Saia Makakaufaki, a seldom-used defensive lineman, has been declared academically ineligible for at least the first two games. The grades from his summer-school classes might not be known until late in the week of the third game, so he could also be sidelined against Michigan.

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What’s Brewin’?

Key dates this season for the UCLA football team:

* Training camp: Starts today at Spaulding Field

* First game: Sept. 2 vs. Alabama at Rose Bowl, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7

* First Pac-10 game: Sept. 23 at Oregon, 12:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net.

* vs. USC: Nov. 18 at Rose Bowl, Time TBA