McCann Receives Vote of Confidence for Another Start

Coach Bob Toledo turned back to Ryan McCann on Monday, naming him UCLA’s quarterback Saturday against Michigan.

At least at the start.

“If he can do it, he can continue to play quarterback,” Toledo said. “And if he doesn’t do it, I may even yank him again.”

Votes of confidence from the coaching staff would have to suffice for a commitment to McCann, who got benched at halftime Saturday against Fresno State but got the nod over Scott McEwan on Monday because McEwan is less ready. The move came as the Bruins adjusted the target date for the return of injured starter Cory Paus from Sept. 30 against Arizona State to Oct. 14 at California, one game and an open date later.

To say these are trying times at quarterback for UCLA would be an understatement. Paus was injured on the first play of the first game, before McCann stepped in to lead the upset over Alabama. McCann then played the opening half against Fresno State before getting the hook in favor of former third-stringer McEwan, who finished the 24-21 victory.

McCann was pulled Saturday because he made several bad reads on audibles and passes, even though coaches acknowledge his game lacks only the experience to work through such mental errors. Sunday, the coaches went over the game film, deciding to stay with McCann because he has such potential and has had more work since fall camp opened. By Monday, at the start of a huge week with No. 3 Michigan looming, frustration was still obvious.

“He’s not a freshman or a redshirt freshman, he’s a sophomore,” Toledo said. “He’s been in the program three years. Yeah, I get a little frustrated because it’s not like new things were happening to him. They were things that we’ve been coaching since I’ve been here. He knows what they are and he does them sometimes in practice, he just struggled in the game. You can’t do that. You’ve got to do it in the game.

“We watched the video. I wanted to make sure what I saw on the video was the same thing I saw during the game, and it was. He really did not operate the offense as well as he needs to, and he knows that. He had some errant throws. Guys were open and he didn’t hit them, which stopped drives, so we made the right decision at that time.

“I brought him into my office this morning, I talked to him, I told him that I wasn’t pleased with his performance, and he realized that. He’s a great kid, he works hard, he’s got to continue to grow and get better. And then I told him he was going to be the starter again, but he had to improve. I told him I’ve got a lot of obligations to a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of people I’ve got to try to win for. I’m going to play whoever’s the best person in all positions.

“It’s a concern. It’s probably a concern with our entire football team because they see it too.”

They do.

“It’s difficult,” one starter said. “You’ve got to wait for the coordinator and the coach to trust the quarterback to throw the ball. It’s tough.”

McCann initially dismissed any concerns about a lack of confidence from the sideline, but added: “I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that. I’m just going to go in and do the best [I] can and let the coaches make their decisions, like last week.

“I’m as frustrated as they are. I had a chance to do something and I didn’t grasp it.”

Said McEwan: “I’m sure he’s got that in the back of his mind. I want to win just as bad as he does, and I don’t want to have that amount of pressure put on him to where he can’t perform because he’s thinking about that all the time. I hope he’s focused and doesn’t worry about that.”

One of the reasons Toledo named a starter Monday, instead of using a day or two of practice to help the decision, was an attempt to show McCann a commitment. Whether that translated into confidence for the quarterback is another matter.

“His confidence was rattled when he got pressured and didn’t perform,” Toledo said. “Potential is great; performance is what counts.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Wait and See

Comparing the season numbers of UCLA quarterbacks Ryan McCann and Scott McEwan:

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G Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G McCann 2 118.72 47-26-1 55.3 300 2 46 150.0 McEwan 1 74.36 10-5-0 50.0 29 0 16 29.0

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UP NEXT

No. 3 Michigan

at No. 14 UCLA

Saturday

12:30 p.m.,

Channel 7

KXTA (1150)

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ALSO

FOR STARTERS

Michigan also has a quarterback predicament going into the UCLA game.

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