Receivers Can Prove Something

UCLA receivers will watch Washington receiver Reggie Williams today with awe but not envy. Though the junior All-American is on the cocky side, the Bruins know he is deserving of his acclaim.

“Reggie Williams is a great receiver; he’s obviously going to be a top-10 or top-five pick in the draft,” UCLA flanker Ryan Smith said. “He’s just a freak.”

If anything, Williams’ presence in the Rose Bowl could provide incentive and motivation for UCLA’s receiving corps, a talented but relatively unheralded group when compared to the likes of Reggie Williams or USC’s Mike Williams.

“We want to show that we can play too, that we have some solid athletes at receiver too,” Smith said.

They showed that last week, with Junior Taylor making a nice catch in the end zone of Drew Olson’s 41-yard pass in the third quarter against San Diego State, Smith making a leaping grab in the back of the end zone of an 11-yard pass in the fourth, and Craig Bragg beating his defender deep for a 55-yard reception later in the fourth.

UCLA receivers rebounded strongly from their ugly Sept. 13 performance, when they dropped seven passes in a 6-3 victory over Illinois. They had only one obvious drop against Oklahoma and San Diego State, and seemed to hit their stride last week.

“If you watch NFL games, even the best receivers will drop balls, whether you take your eye off it at the last second or you’re thinking about running before you catch it,” Smith said. “I mean, things happen, but it kills drives, and the ones we’ve had have been real costly.

“But we’re just making plays now. We know it’s kind of on us to get things going offensively, and we don’t mind that pressure. That Illinois game, we put that behind us.”

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Washington has been outscored, 52-41, in the first half of its four games, but the Huskies have outscored opponents, 79-20, in the second half and have been dominant in the fourth quarter, with a 27-0 edge.

“I don’t know if we’re wearing teams down in the fourth quarter, but our guys are in good shape,” Washington Coach Keith Gilbertson said. “We can play 70-80 snaps, and our guys are OK with that. The offense doesn’t go three and out all the time, and that helps the defense.”

UCLA leads the Pac-10 in total defense, giving up 278 yards a game. Washington is second.