Upgrading to Cable

UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable is a line coach who practices what he preaches. He proved that in the Bruins’ second game of the season, at Illinois.

Cable, who loves to challenge his players to understand the difference between an injury and being hurt, partially tore a calf muscle early in the first quarter when he jumped in excitement during Maurice Drew’s 47-yard touchdown run.

Instead of getting treatment and maybe moving up to UCLA’s coaching box in the stands, Cable never left the sideline. He continued to limp around until the Bruins had completed a 35-17 victory, the program’s first win in nearly 11 months.

“There’s no way I was coming off the sideline,” said Cable, who was hired by Coach Karl Dorrell this year after four seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Idaho. “To see these kids play right now. No way. It is so fun to watch them work.”

Cable’s influence on the Bruins has been undeniable. As a no-nonsense coach who understands Dorrell’s West Coast offense, Cable is considered the key to UCLA’s 2-1 start and offensive turnaround.

“He’s brought more continuity to our staff,” said Dorrell, who worked with Cable when both were assistants on Rick Neuheisel’s Colorado staff in 1998.

“He’s done a great job of taking the offense forward and improving our offensive line. He’s just a great football coach and is part of the reason we are where we’re at now.”

The Bruins rank among the nation’s top units in scoring, rushing and total yards. Thanks to Drew’s record-setting 322 yards and five touchdowns against Washington on Saturday, UCLA is averaging 490 yards of offense and 30.7 points.

UCLA players can’t say enough about Cable.

“He brought in a scheme that was really streamlined for our offensive line,” tackle Paul Mociler said. “It’s like the offense is built around us. He brings a lot of passion to what he does. He brings his heart and soul.”

Said linebacker Spencer Havner: “He inspires me even on the defensive side. After the Oklahoma State game, he told us that we are going to be all right. He cares about every guy, not just the offensive players.... Everything he teaches, has made a difference. He’s helped change our whole attitude.”

Cable deflects praise, saying the main thing the Bruins lacked was confidence. He said he has followed the lead of Dorrell, who withstood a difficult first season that included a great deal of questioning.

“He’s withstood a lot of abuse, and having been in that position of head coach, I understand,” Cable said. “Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is right but the head coach, and Coach Dorrell has stood tall through it all. He has stuck with what he believes in. He’s brought that to his players and to his coaching staff.”

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Nearly an hour after UCLA’s victory over Washington, Cable was rushing to complete his interview session with reporters. His father, Tom Sr., was among a group of family and friends waiting for him. They had made the short trip from Everett to watch the game at Husky Stadium.

“We’re really proud of him,” said his father, a retired mechanic who still works every day driving a transit bus. “He was taught to always give everything 100%, and if you start something, you always finish.”

A simple ethic to follow.

Cable grew up on a farm in Snohomish, Wash. He’s a former offensive lineman who spent a season with the Indianapolis Colts after playing for Dennis Erickson at Idaho.

Since he was 12, Cable has wanted to be a football coach.

“He’s always enjoyed working and coaching kids,” Cable Sr. said. “He used to go to a baseball camp in British Columbia every year to work as a counselor when he was a teenager. Coaching is something he’s always been good at.”

Cable began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under current Washington Coach Keith Gilbertson at Idaho in 1987. Then after stops as an assistant at San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton and Nevada Las Vegas, Cable coached offensive linemen at California for six seasons under Gilbertson, Steve Mariucci and Tom Holmoe.

Cable coached at Colorado for two seasons before taking over as Idaho coach in 2000. In his four seasons at Idaho, Cable’s offenses averaged 424.1 yards.

When Cable arrived at UCLA, he immediately noticed the low self-esteem of some of the players. Although the Bruins played in a bowl game last season, the team seemed to be in decline after losing the final five games to finish with a 6-7 record.

The first thing Cable did was work on his players’ psyches.

“He slowly met us all individually,” Mociler said. “He didn’t start teaching us new stuff. Instead he asked us about what we did last season. He wanted to see how much we knew before installing his new system....

“In our first practice with him in the spring, he made sure that he told us that we were a lot better than he thought. He knew that we were such a beat-up offensive line from last year. So the first thing he did is start working on our confidence.”

Cable’s next move was to try to improve the Bruins’ mental toughness. He increased their practice tempo and encouraged players to play through pain.

“In order to be good, you have to hurt a little bit,” he said. “You have to play good when you’re tired. You have to go fast when you don’t think that you can. You have to push when you don’t think you have anything left.

“You have to learn how to do those things. That’s the mark of good college football players. Anybody can play when they feel good and it’s easy. The great teams know how to grind.... We’re not there yet, but we’re starting to build the foundation to get there.”