Markey Has Stood Out

Rice’s spread option attack has helped it generate one of the nation’s most formidable rushing games in recent years, but the Owls will not be the only team to feature multiple threats at running back Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

When UCLA junior tailback Maurice Drew was sidelined with leg cramps for most of the second half in the Bruins’ opener against San Diego State, sophomore Chris Markey gave the Aztecs another reason to fret.

Markey rushed for 37 second-half yards and two touchdowns in nine carries to help UCLA close out a 44-21 victory. He also returned a kickoff for 71 yards and a punt for 41 yards on his way to finishing with 175 all-purpose yards.

“That’s what we prepare for,” said Markey, who leads the nation with a 45.5-yard kickoff return average. “If one of us goes out, we know that the other one is prepared. Maurice cramped up, and I just stepped up and did what I had prepared to do.”

Drew, who rushed for 110 of his 114 yards in the first half, praised the play of his backup with the exception of a punt that Markey returned to the San Diego State 30-yard line late in the third quarter.

“He almost scored, he just couldn’t beat the punter,” Drew said. “And I’m on him for that, because you’ve got to beat the punter.”

Markey, who at 5 feet 11 and 203 pounds is three inches taller and two pounds lighter than Drew, rushed for 131 yards against Oregon last season. Drew sat out that game because of a sprained right ankle.

“I feel that I’m a pretty good runner, and with more reps I can only get better,” said Markey, who finished the 2004 season as the Bruins’ third-leading rusher with 350 yards.

UCLA running back coach Eric Bieniemy said the Bruins realized Markey’s potential when they recruited him out of New Orleans Jesuit High, where Markey rushed for more yards than any player in the city’s history.

“He really wasn’t a highly recruited kid, which kind of shocked me coming from the school that he played at and putting up the numbers that he did,” Bieniemy said. “But we saw a special young man, and he’s starting to blossom into that player that we want him to be.”

Markey said his family’s home in Luling, La., about 15 minutes outside New Orleans, withstood the wrath of Hurricane Katrina but that his family has temporarily relocated to Texas.

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UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell said he had excused sophomore linebacker Bruce Davis from Thursday’s practice for personal reasons but did not specify whether Davis would play Saturday. “He’ll join us as soon as he gets back,” Dorrell said. “He’s OK.” Team spokesman Marc Dellins said Davis remained eligible.... Dorrell confirmed that redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Olson (hand) and sophomore receiver Marcus Everett (shoulder) would not play against Rice.