Players to Get New Look at Axman

Although no UCLA player or coach has said it publicly, many others blamed last season’s offensive problems on then-coordinator Steve Axman, who now coaches receivers for Washington.

That makes for an interesting reunion Saturday when the Bruins travel to Seattle to face the Huskies in the Pacific 10 Conference opener for both.

“I’ll probably say hi, because I liked playing for him,” UCLA quarterback Drew Olson said about Axman, whose UCLA offense finished 110th (out of 117) in the nation last season at 294.9 yards a game and 100th in scoring at 19.1 points.

Senior receiver Craig Bragg, who caught 73 passes for 1,065 yards and five touchdowns under Axman, said that UCLA’s success with the ball over the first two games this season speaks volumes.

“I wouldn’t say last season was Coach Axman’s fault because our West Coast offense didn’t do well,” Bragg said. “Last year was frustrating for everyone.... It felt like we were forcing it and trying to do everything we could to turn things around but we couldn’t.”

Under Tom Cable, who was hired to replace Axman last spring, UCLA’s offense has been solid early. The Bruins rank 25th nationally in total offense at 462 yards a game and average 27.5 points.

“You can definitely tell the difference this year with someone who’s been established in the West Coast offense compared to somebody who hasn’t,” Bragg said. “I remember last year when a lot of people would say that we didn’t have talent. But that’s never been the case at UCLA. There’s always talent here and look at what we’re doing so far this year.”

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Coach Karl Dorrell on preparing to defend Washington’s diverse offense, which features the passing of Casey Paus and the option running of Isaiah Stanback: “They are two different style of quarterbacks, unfortunately. They do a lot of things, which makes it hard for any defense to prepare for. We’ll see any type of run offense from option to two backs.... But I think our [young defensive linemen] will be ready to play.”