Bruins Hurting at Quarterback

BERKELEY -- A team is in trouble when there are more sound quarterbacks in the radio booth than on the sideline.

Onetime distinguished UCLA signal-callers Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook reported the Bruins’ frustrating turn of events Saturday at California to listeners in Los Angeles.

Starting quarterback Cory Paus broke his right ankle and is probably out for the season.

Second-string quarterback Drew Olson has a sprained or separated right shoulder.

A definitive diagnosis will be made today.

UCLA was impotent with third-string quarterback John Sciarra at the controls in the fourth quarter and lost, 17-12, despite a strong performance by the defense and special teams.

The name Sciarra, like Stevens and Cook, hearkens back to more glorious -- and healthier -- times. Sciarra’s father, John, the UCLA quarterback from 1973 to ‘75, was most valuable player in the 1976 Rose Bowl after the Bruins upset No. 1 Ohio State.

Stevens replaced injured David Norrie and directed a Rose Bowl victory over Iowa in 1986 and also led the Bruins to a Freedom Bowl victory the next year. Cook was at the controls in a 1994 Rose Bowl loss to Wisconsin but directed victories over USC in his two years as a starter.

If Paus’ Bruin career is over, his legacy will be one of a gritty competitor who willed his way to No. 2 on the school’s career passing list and No. 3 in completions and touchdown passes.

Paus’ postseason record, unless he returns for a bowl game, will be limited to a loss to Wisconsin in the 2000 Sun Bowl, another game in which he was injured.

Even if Paus recovers by late December, there is no guarantee UCLA will have qualified for a bowl game.

Not with its lack of depth at quarterback.

Coach Bob Toledo did the right thing grooming Olson, inserting him into pressure situations in nonconference games. But the best-laid plans....

“I didn’t feel like we miss a beat when I’m in there,” Olson said. “But now, I don’t know what to say.”

Matt Moore, who like Olson was a highly recruited freshman, is redshirting. Toledo would like to keep it that way, but Moore is going to practice this week and will probably play if Olson is out for an extended period because Sciarra, who had little preparation time Saturday, does not appear to be the answer.

In the fourth quarter against Cal, Sciarra completed one of seven passes for 10 yards and endured one interception, two fumbles and significant confusion.

The only other quarterback in the program is walk-on freshman Brian Callahan, son of Oakland Raider Coach Bill Callahan. However, he was second string at Concord De La Salle High and isn’t ready to be thrown into the fire.

A fan favorite is Matt Ware, the standout sophomore defensive back who was an all-state quarterback at Loyola High.

Ware’s passing skills, however, are considered weak, and the Bruins would have to recast their offense into an option attack, not a likely prospect at midseason.

It’s enough to make UCLA long for Ryan McCann, another inconsistent quarterback who transferred to Division I-AA Tennessee Chattanooga rather than spend his senior year behind Paus.

McCann has completed 55.4% of his passes for 943 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, but the Moccasins are 0-7.

And it’s enough for Paus to feel responsible, however irrational that feeling might be.

“I feel terrible for doing this to my team,” he said. “I’ll be like a player-coach now.”

Or, who knows, maybe there’s room in the radio booth.

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Safety Jibril Raymo has a separated shoulder and will be sidelined several weeks.