He Prefers Being in This Position

“I don’t play quarterback any more, but that’s not to say I don’t pass the ball. I play fullback, but that’s not to say I run the ball.”

That explanation, or one similar to it, will be how Ed Ieremia-Stansbury tells the hometown folks how he has fit into the UCLA offense since the last game they saw him play. Ieremia-Stansbury, a standout quarterback at Irvin High in El Paso, returns home with the Bruins for Friday’s Sun Bowl against Wisconsin.

Ieremia-Stansbury says he simply grew out of the quarterback position, and at 258 pounds you understand. He started five games at fullback as a junior this season and two as a linebacker last season, but Coach Bob Toledo remembers how Ieremia-Stansbury looked as a freshman quarterback.

“He’s got a real strong arm,” Toledo said. “He can throw it through the wall. He’s just not sure what wall.”

In the UCLA offense, to call a fullback a running back is something of a misnomer. The primary responsibility is blocking, and the secondary responsibility is receiving. Ieremia-Stansbury threw one pass this season--he completed it, for 18 yards--and caught nine passes, three for touchdowns. He carried five times, but he had no carries between Sept. 16 and Nov. 18.

Nonetheless, Toledo believes Ieremia-Stansbury has found the position he can play in the NFL. Because he has the potential to be a blocking back in the NFL--and not because of any game-related injury this season--he will have shoulder surgery after the Sun Bowl.

“Genetically, I have loose ligaments in my shoulder,” Ieremia-Stansbury said. “If I have any chance to move on, I was told I had to get this done.”

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Offensive tackle Mike Saffer suffered a separated shoulder at practice but is expected to play in the Sun Bowl. While the Bruins have used nine starters along the defensive line, the same five offensive linemen--Saffer, Bryce Bohlander, Oscar Cabrera, Troy Danoff and Brian Polak--have started every game. . . . The Bruins practiced on campus Saturday morning, then scattered for Christmas. The Bruins will fly to El Paso Tuesday night and practice there Wednesday and Thursday.