UCLA Tries to Spread the Wealth

It was halftime Saturday, and Freddie Mitchell was not a happy man. His Bruins led Stanford, but he had only two receptions. Was this any way to use one of the premier receivers in America?

Yes, as it turns out. The Bruins love Mitchell, but there is a difference between a star receiver and a lone receiver.

“When our offense is clicking, all the receivers are catching the ball,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. “I’m not one of those coaches that just gets it to one person. I don’t think you can make a living off trying to do it with one guy.”

For the fourth time this season, the Bruins had eight players with at least one catch. The Bruins are 4-0 in those games, including Saturday’s 37-35 victory.

All three tight ends--Bryan Fletcher, Gabe Crecion and Mike Seidman--had at least one catch for the first time since a 23-20 victory over then-No. 3 Michigan.

And how did Mitchell fare in the second half Saturday? He caught five passes for 173 yards and finished with a career-high 185 yards receiving. He ranks second in the NCAA, and leads the Pacific 10 Conference, with an average of 123 yards receiving. He is one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the top receiver in college football.

Only two catches in the first half?

“If that was happening every game, we’d be doing a lousy job of using our personnel,” offensive coordinator Al Borges said, “but statistics prove that’s not the case. Even Jerry Rice sometimes goes a half without catching a ball.”

When the game is on the line, the Bruins look to Mitchell. Paus threw five passes in the fourth quarter Saturday, all but one to Mitchell. He is what the Bruins call their “Z receiver,” filling the starring role that previously belonged to Danny Farmer and J.J. Stokes.

“The Z receiver should get the ball the most,” Paus said. “He’s the No. 1 read.”

But, Fletcher said, “Cory is a really good guy at spotting receivers. The tight end is usually the second or third option, and he’s finding us. He’s really good at seeing the field and finding an open receiver.”

Slowly but surely, Borges said, Mitchell is coming to understand a point that at first seems illogical: The more other receivers catch the ball, the better for Mitchell.

“The idea is to feature your weapons but allow other people to touch the ball enough to keep people off your weapons,” Borges said.

The Bruins use their fullback to block and catch, but not to run. No running back other than tailback DeShaun Foster carried Saturday.

Opponents already know that, if the Bruins run, Foster gets the ball. If the Bruins pass only to Mitchell, then opposing defenses can stop UCLA simply by containing Foster and Mitchell.

“When we’re spreading the ball around, we’re more effective. It’s a sign of Freddie’s productivity,” Fletcher said.

“Freddie has been the focal point of our offense all season, and they haven’t been able to shut him down. When they try and cover everybody, Freddie just explodes.”

Although the Bruins have averaged 36 points in the six games Paus has started, Borges freely admits that UCLA has yet to play an ideal offensive game. And, if the Bruins did play an ideal offensive game, how many catches would Mitchell have?

“Probably 10 to 15, more toward 15,” Mitchell said.

“He should be catching between five and 10 balls a game,” Borges said, “but I would never commit to that.”

Mitchell is not shy about wanting to catch more passes. The UCLA coaches would never hold that against him. Every receiver wants to catch more passes, and no Bruin makes bigger catches than Mitchell.

“He’s high-maintenance,” Toledo said, “but he’s a fun kid to coach. He sure makes a lot of plays, and he works just as hard in practice as he does in the games.”

Slowly but surely, Mitchell said, he is coming to understand the point. He wants the ball, but he won’t pout if he has to throw a block or serve as a decoy.

“It’s still frustrating,” he said. “My freshman and sophomore years, I would just have been mad as hell. But I’ve learned there’s more to receiving than catching the ball.”

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Good Hands Person

Freddie Mitchell accounts for over half of UCLA’s second half passing yards. A comparison of the Bruin’s averages and Mitchell’s averages this season:

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BRUINS CMP. YDS. AVG. TDS 1st half 16.6 8.7 105.4 0.7 2nd half 17.0 9.1 150.0 1.3 MITCHELL CMP. YDS. AVG. TDS 1st half 2.4 37.4 15.3 0.1 2nd half 3.9 85.8 22.1 0.7

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Research by Roy Jurgens