Emanuel Heeds His Focus Group

It was 10:30 at night when UCLA senior safety Ben Emanuel II heard loud banging on the door of his Westwood apartment. Looking outside, he saw his older cousin, Aaron Emanuel, and he knew that he was in for it.

“I had spoken with his father and we were worried about him,” said Aaron Emanuel, a former USC tailback who has been a sounding board for his cousin ever since Ben left Houston to enroll at UCLA in 2000.

“It was shortly after spring ball and he had not returned any of my calls. His father, Uncle Ben, and I talked and we felt that Ben wasn’t being focused enough. Uncle Ben did not have to ask me twice to go check on him.”

The talk between the cousins was one-sided. Aaron Emanuel, who experienced both the good and bad college football has to offer during his USC career in the late 1980s, did not sugarcoat his words.

“I was hearing some things about Ben that I didn’t like,” Aaron said. “Ben is a smart kid. We talked for about two hours and I could tell he was listening. I know that he’s been through a lot since he got out here but he needed to hear some things from me.”

Ben Emanuel appreciated the visit. Not because he needed to know that his cousin cared but because he needed a reminder of why he’d left home to attend UCLA.

“Over the early part of my career, I did second-guess myself a lot,” he said. “When you’re not playing as much as you hoped, you always wonder what it would be like if you went somewhere else.”

As a member of a family that has produced more than its share of big-time athletes, high expectations are nothing new to Emanuel, a three-sport standout at Clear Brook High in Friendswood, Texas.

His first cousins include Texas All-American linebacker Derrick Johnson and his brother Dwight Johnson, a former Baylor standout and NFL defensive tackle; Bert Emanuel, former Rice quarterback and NFL receiver; Kevin Emanuel, a former a defensive end at Florida State; John Williams, a defensive end at Oklahoma; and Jamar Williams, a linebacker at Arizona State.

But after starting 19 consecutive games in the Bruins’ secondary, Emanuel’s stock dropped when he was suspended for the Silicon Valley Classic bowl game against Fresno State at the end of last season because he’d violated team rules.

Although he finished fourth on the team in tackles with 80, Emanuel also was looked upon as an underachiever by the UCLA coaching staff.

“He just was not performing to the expectations we thought he would be,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “He had a good year but we just had a different standard for him, from a team standpoint.”

During spring practice, Emanuel remained the starting free safety but it was clear that the coaches wanted to take a long look at big-hitting redshirt freshman Chris Horton. By the time the Bruins began summer break, word was that Emanuel’s job was in jeopardy unless he became more consistent.

This was not the situation anyone figured Emanuel would be in when, as a high school All-American, he chose UCLA over Texas, Texas A&M; and Miami in the late 1990s.

“When Ben was being recruited by UCLA, the program was challenging for a national championship,” said Emanuel’s father, Benjamin. “Ben decided on UCLA for a couple of reasons. One main one was because the Pac-10 passes a lot, which is good practice for a defensive back who wants to play in the NFL. Another reason why he went to UCLA was the exposure.”

Unfortunately for Emanuel, the Bruins’ program has dropped in stature since he arrived on campus. Instead of playing in Rose Bowl games, as his father figured on, the Bruins have appeared in the Sun Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl and Silicon Valley Classic.

“It’s been frustrating because we’ve had good teams with a lot of talent,” Emanuel said. “We should have won a lot more games. Every year, it’s been something different that caused us to lose games that we should have won.”

Saturday’s season opener against Oklahoma State cannot come fast enough for Emanuel, who said he reached his low point last season when UCLA lost its final five games and finished 6-7.

With a boost in confidence and more familiarity with the Bruins’ new coaching staff, Emanuel is primed for a big season. NFL scouts still consider him among the top senior defensive backs in the nation and his increased strength and improved speed have been noticeable.

A year ago, Emanuel played with veterans Brandon Chillar, Matt Ware, Dave Ball and Rodney Leisle, and the Bruins had the second-best defense in the conference.

Things are different this season. The Bruins figure to have seven new starters on defense, including four fresh faces on the line, against Oklahoma State and it will be Emanuel’s responsibility to keep things together.

“We’re young but we have a good team,” Emanuel said. “Everyone is on the same page this season. A year ago, we had a strong defense but the offense could not get things going. This year, our offense should be tight. The question mark is our defense and I’m telling you, we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

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Ben Emanuel Profile

* BACKGROUND: 6-foot-3, 216-pound senior from Friendswood, Texas.

*--* Year Tack. Ast. Sacks TFL-Yds Int Yds-Int 2001 9 5 0 0-0 2 29 2002 43 15 0 2-3 4 77 2003 48 32 0 1-3 1 2 Totals 100 52 0 3-6 7 108

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