Class Inaction

They came, as a collection, already labeled with a national ranking, touted as the best recruiting class in Coach Karl Dorrell’s tenure as football coach at UCLA.

So what happened?

More than halfway through their first season in Westwood, the much-hyped class of 2006 still hasn’t made much of an impact.

And that ranking it had been given -- No. 20 among the nation’s recruiting groups -- has other numbers that tell a more modest story:

Of 20 first-year freshmen, only eight have played and as many as 13 may use a redshirt year, including receiver Dominique Johnson, who played sparingly in the season opener against Utah but has been sidelined in recent weeks because of an injury.

With the exception of Alterraun Verner, who has been in the mix at cornerback since the opener, this season has been more about learning than playing for most Bruins freshmen.

“Sometimes you do get a player like Alterraun who just comes out of the gate as the real deal,” said Dino Babers, UCLA’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. “But in most cases, that’s not how it happens.”

So, for now anyway, Bruins coaches are preaching patience while other touted freshmen -- including a few across town -- have received plenty of playing time since the start of the season.

“Congrats to them,” UCLA freshman running back Chane Moline said when asked about USC’s Emmanuel Moody and C.J. Gable, first-year tailbacks who have started games this year.

“Going into college, I know that I wasn’t expecting much because everything was so unfamiliar to me. It’s been a good experience for me. I didn’t even know if I would play this year.”

Moline, who starred for Mission Viejo High last year, has run for two touchdowns but has rushed for only 23 yards this season in spot duty.

“As a football player, sure, you want to get in,” he said. “But I understand for that to happen, I have to be excellent and not make any mistakes. If I can do that, then they will put me in more.”

UCLA’s philosophy, Babers said, was to get freshmen “in the mix and involved.” And Dorrell, who has played 34 first-year freshmen in his four years as coach, said this week of his current group of rookies, “We need to get them more opportunities.”

Still, a majority of Bruins freshmen already know they won’t play at all.

Offensive linemen such as Sonny Tevaga and Brandon Bennett are going to use a redshirt season because they needed to lose weight and get in better shape. Others, such as kicker Kai Forbath and defensive ends Jeff Miller and Dylan Rush, are sitting out because the Bruins are stacked with experienced players at their positions.

“Some people coming in out of high school think that a redshirt is bad, but it’s not,” Tevaga said. “You get a chance to get in the weight room to get stronger and to work on other things.”

Tevaga’s older brother, Shannon, a three-year starter at guard, played for UCLA as a freshman. Sonny, who is down to 335 pounds from a starting point of 365, said he thought he would do the same when he signed with the Bruins.

“He set a good example for me in coming in and playing right away,” Sonny said of his brother. “I tried to do the same, but my weight wasn’t where it was supposed to be.”

UCLA, which is having offensive linemen Jake Dean and Sean Sheller sit out as redshirts, can only hope that those players develop like Aleksey Lanis, a redshirt last season but a starting tackle this year.

“We talk all of the time about when it’s going to be our turn,” Sonny Tevaga said. “Right now, we just have to get ourselves right and be ready when it’s our time.”

For UCLA’s freshmen who are not redshirts, the final five games of the regular season and a possible bowl game could turn into a second season. Two years ago, receivers Marcus Everett and Brandon Breazell were freshmen who hardly played early in the season but then played key roles late in the season.

Babers said he expects the same from some of this year’s freshmen.

“A lot of young guys have to understand that it takes a little time to get used to the speed at the college level,” Babers said. “But this is about the time they start to figure it out and you also start putting them in because you trust that they have a chance to do the right thing instead of going in there and flipping out.”

lonnie.white@latimes.com