Moline Makes Mark as a Rising Freshman

Defensive tackle Chase Moline was one of the least talked about members of UCLA’s freshman class heading into the season.

At 6 feet 1, 245 pounds, Moline was considered too small to be a blue-chip and too slow to rank high on any scouting services. Moline wasn’t even considered the best recruit in his family. That title belonged to his younger brother Chane, a standout running back at Mission Viejo High.

But the UCLA coaching staff thought differently, and two games into the season, Moline has emerged as a starter for the Bruins, proving his doubters wrong.

“From Day 1, I’ve said he’s a football player and that he was the best player on a great team,” UCLA defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said about Moline, who last season helped lead Mission Viejo to the Division II championship.

That team included USC freshman quarterback Mark Sanchez and Chane Moline, one of the most sought after prep players in Southern California, but Kerr was sold on Chase Moline because of his tenacity on both sides of the ball.

“He was their offensive center and guard and center on defense,” Kerr said. “He was just a sound, tough football player.

“So many people get hyped about guys being listed as the No. 1 recruit and all that, but that doesn’t mean beans if you don’t show up and play.”

For Moline, sixth on the team in tackles with eight, his climb up the depth chart began early in summer camp. But he didn’t start to get reps with the first-team defense until after starter Kevin Brown suffered a high ankle sprain two weeks before the season opener.

Moline played well as a backup to redshirt freshman Nathaniel Skaggs in the Bruins’ 44-21 victory over San Diego State. That led to a start last week and Moline finished with six tackles in UCLA’s 63-21 win over Rice.

“It was surprising to get a start so quick,” said Moline. “But the coaches told me in the summer to step it up and get ready because they would probably need me this year. Once Bear [Kevin Brown] went down, I knew I had to fill in and step it up even more.”

On Saturday, Moline will take on the middle of Oklahoma’s offensive line, which reads like this: center Chris Chester, 6-4 295, and guards Davin Joseph, 6-3 312, and Chris Bush, 6-3 305.

“It’s pretty crazy to think that it wasn’t that long ago that I was watching the Bruins play all these top teams,” he said. “And the cool part is that I’m here now playing against a top team. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”

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Redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Olson continues to make progress with his broken throwing hand and could be ready to play on Saturday. Olson, who has not played since suffering a fracture in his left hand a month ago, participated in more drills on Tuesday and said he’s getting better.

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Maurice Drew on the death of his grandfather, Maurice Jones, who suffered a heart attack at the Rose Bowl during UCLA’s victory over Rice, and later died last Saturday: “It’s tough but he kind of prepared me beforehand by giving me little hints that it was coming. Just knowing that he died at a place like the Rose Bowl, a place where he loved to watch me play and that he was having fun while he was there ... makes it that much easier for me to work through it.”