Ieremia-Stansbury Is in a Zone Again

He was reminded what it was like to hold a football. Then he was reminded what it was like to run into the end zone carrying that football.

UCLA fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury carried the ball a grand total of five times last season, but the 6-foot-2, 259-pound senior carried it five times for 31 yards in UCLA’s 20-17 victory over Alabama on Saturday. And he scored the Bruins’ first touchdown on a 10-yard run, after Alabama had taken a 10-0 lead.

“I understand my role is to make blocks,” he said. “To get some carries was gravy.”

Ieremia-Stansbury came to UCLA from Irvin High in El Paso as a quarterback in 1997. He handled the ball a lot then.

“I still remember what to do with it,” he said.

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Senior defensive tackle Ken Kocher suffered a separated shoulder in the first quarter, but his absence wasn’t noticeable because Anthony Fletcher played well in his place.

Fletcher, a senior, started seven games last season.

“I knew I’d play a lot anyway, so I was ready,” Fletcher said. “We prepared for their option quite a bit. We weren’t sure how they were going to block for it, but we made adjustments and figured it out.”

Kocher battled injuries last season, sitting out three games because of a sprained ankle and sprained knee.

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Steve Lavin made the trip to Tuscaloosa primarily to spend time with Alabama basketball Coach Mark Gottfried. Both men were on the UCLA staff under Jim Harrick during the 1995 national championship season.

Tension formed between the two when Harrick was fired in 1996 because Gottfried, by then coach at Murray State, was close to Harrick, whom Lavin succeeded.

Time heals wounds. Gottfried is now a Southeastern Conference rival of Harrick, coach at Georgia. And Alabama will play UCLA in the Wooden Classic in December.

UP NEXT FOR UCLA

Who: Kansas

When: 9:30 a.m. PDT Saturday

Where: Lawrence, Kan.

TV: Fox Sports Net

Radio: KLAC (570)