Losing Skid Makes Paus a Forward Thinker

Cory Paus didn’t mean to slip when he started talking about next year, then immediately stressed the Bruins hadn’t given up on this year.

Still, after consecutive losses that extinguished hope of playing in a major bowl game, the UCLA quarterback couldn’t stop from thinking out loud about the final four games of this season being the building blocks for a return to glory next season.

“What we have to do this season is continue to grow as an offense,” Paus said, “so we don’t have to have this learning process at the beginning of next year.”

Paus and standout tailback DeShaun Foster played a complete game together Saturday for the first time this season. If Foster and standout receiver Freddie Mitchell each return for their senior seasons--and each has indicated they would--the Bruins would have their top three skill players returning from an offense that has scored more points in Pacific 10 Conference play than any team other than Oregon State. UCLA loses two linemen, although Blake Worley and Shane Lehmann already are playing extensively behind seniors Oscar Cabrera and Brian Polak.

However, the Bruins have yet to establish a defense suitable for a championship run. Defensive backs Marques Anderson and Ricky Manning return, but the other two secondary positions will be open. The Bruins have commitments from 12 recruits, four of whom can play defensive back. They plan to offer five to seven more scholarships.

The Bruins desperately need an elite pass rusher. No Pac-10 team has fewer sacks, and no UCLA defensive lineman has more than one. The Bruins cannot simply presume that Rusty Williams and Kenyon Coleman, should he redshirt, will return effectively from injuries and that twins Mat and Dave Ball will fulfill their potential. Of the 12 recruits, none play defensive line.

“A lot of focus goes into recruiting quarterbacks, but defensive linemen who can rush the passer carry the same weight,” defensive end coach John Pearce said. “Otherwise the pros wouldn’t draft those guys in the first round.”

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Linebacker Dennis Link pulled a hamstring in practice and is doubtful for Saturday’s game at Arizona. . . . Scott McEwan will again back up Paus this week. Ryan McCann, who has not thrown in three weeks, is scheduled for an MRI examination today to help evaluate treatment options for the torn labrum in his left shoulder. . . . The UCLA-USC game Nov. 18 at the Rose Bowl is a sellout.