Huskies See Great Value in Southland Talent Pool

When UCLA plays Washington on Saturday, the Huskies will have 17 players from the Los Angeles area on their roster. But none of the players -- including the four expected to start -- has established himself as a dominant force for the Huskies.

That’s a far cry from the days when powerful Washington teams were led by Southern California players such as running backs Beno Bryant (Los Angeles Dorsey) and Napoleon Kaufman (Lompoc), linebackers Jaime Fields (Lynwood) and Joe Kelly (L.A. Jefferson) and cornerback Nesby Glasgow (Gardena).

“They just did a great job of evaluating. They got guys who became top guys,” Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham said.

Even two of Washington’s most notable alums -- NFL Hall of Famers Warren Moon and Hugh McElhenny -- are from Southern California. Moon played quarterback for the Huskies after being a standout at Hamilton and West Los Angeles College. McElhenny got his start playing at Los Angeles Washington.

“L.A. is such a large recruiting area, with so many guys down there who can play,” Willingham said. “We want to be able to not only get those jewels or diamonds in the rough, but we also want to get in with the truly talented players already recognized.”

But Willingham, in his second season at Washington, has discovered that recruiting Southern California is tougher now, with USC and UCLA winning.

“Young people follow winning teams,” said Willingham, who is 4-10 since taking over the Huskies. “We have great name recognition and great tradition, and the kids are aware of that. But they want to be with a program that’s winning. We’re just starting now to get their attention.”

After finishing with a 2-9 record last season, the Huskies are 2-1 heading into their game against the Bruins. Washington’s only defeat this season came at Oklahoma in a game the Huskies led early.

“This place has a great passion for football,” Willingham said about Washington, which finished 1-5 at home a year ago but averaged 64,326 fans at Husky Stadium. “Last season, our home attendance was second in the Pac-10 and we have the fourth-largest stadium in the conference. That’s amazing to me, considering the great football played up and down this conference.”

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A key to Saturday’s game will be how well UCLA’s defense plays against the run -- it leads the Pac-10 in giving up only 82.5 yards a game -- and how it does against Washington’s run offense, which leads the conference at 210.7 yards a game.

“”It’s going to be a real physical game,” junior defensive tackle Kenneth Lombard said. “We have to stay low and come off the ball hard.”

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Washington, which has won only one of its last 15 Pac-10 games, is known for its crowd noise, and UCLA prepared for this with replicated stadium sound throughout Tuesday’s practice.

“You talk about it and you try to simulate it as much as you can,” UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell said about getting the Bruins ready for Washington’s boisterous crowd. “ ... It’s an issue with anybody offensively when you have to stay on onside and not jump the snap count.”

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Wide receivers Marcus Everett and Terrence Austin have worked as the main punt returners in practice this week and Dorrell said both may get opportunities against Washington. Safety Dennis Keyes also will be used as a returner when UCLA features a defensive return unit.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com