Daily Bruin File Photo Sophomore tailback Manuel
White struggles against the Trojans last season.
Junior arrives Each day is a giant leap for
Junior Taylor. The freshman wide receiver had been away from
football for a year before spring ball started last week and it
showed. “It’s a pleasure to have Junior Taylor join
us,” wide receivers coach Ron Caragher said.
“He’s catching on. Their (freshmen’s) first time
out on the field their heads are so full of learning something new
they are not relaxed and playing the game. But by the third week
he’ll be comfortable.” A member of the 2001 recruiting
class, he failed to get a qualifying SAT score in time and had to
wait until January to enroll at UCLA. “It was depressing but
I fought through it,” Taylor said of missing the fall season.
He still felt a part of his recruit class however, because he came
to all the games and talked with his teammates. “Junior is
progressing well. Every day is an improvement for him,”
fellow wide receiver Tab Perry said. Perry had arthroscopic knee
surgery and missed much of the winter strength and conditioning
program. “Some of the guys have a jump on me
conditioning-wise. I feel like an old man out there.” Perry,
the undisputed starter at flanker, nonetheless had a good first
week of practice. At split end, Taylor is backing up sophomore
Craig Bragg who led the team with 29 receptions last season.
Pulling teeth Senior defensive end Rusty
Williams is the leading candidate for long snapper. Last year he
was the primary backup for Jeff Grau who held the position the past
four years. “He really wants to do it. He thinks this is
maybe a way to help him get to the next level,” head coach
Bob Toledo said. Junior defensive end David Tautofi and redshirt
freshman center Mike McCloskey have also been practicing as long
snap specialists, but neither has expressed the same enthusiasm as
Williams. “He’s been outspoken with me and the other
coaches. Particularly with that position, you want someone who
wants to do it. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get them
to do regular special teams,” Toledo added.
Short necks and other side effects With six
tailbacks on the depth chart, the Bruins are in good hands.
“Obviously there are two guys we feel very comfortable
with,” Toledo said, referring to junior Akil Harris and
sophomore Manuel White. Harris carried for 375 yards and White for
290 yards, each player scoring three touchdowns. The other
tailbacks on the roster are senior Ken Pritchett, and redshirt
freshmen Tyler Ebell, Wendell Mathis and Jason Harrison. White, who
at 241 lbs outweighs Harris by 38 lbs, has seen action at fullback
during spring ball as well. “We don’t want to shorten
his neck too much, blocking all the time. But we want the best guys
on the field,” Toledo said. Sophomore Pat Norton is the
current leading candidate for the fullback vacancy left by Ed
Ieremia-Stansbury. Hold your horses! Long Beach
Poly recruit Marcedes Lewis won’t arrive until August but the
top tight end is heavy on the minds of the coaching staff.
“We’ve got a plan intact already for him,” Toledo
said. “He’s going to play as a true freshman.
We’ve developed some things already to take advantage of his
ability.” With senior Mike Seidman the leading candidate at
tight end backed by junior Blane Kezerian, redshirt freshman and
scout-team player-of-the-year Keith Carter, and senior Saia
Makakaufaki, Lewis could be used at other positions as well, such
as wide receiver. “I’m sure several coaches will be
playing tug-of-war over him,” Caragher said. “The
question with his future is how big is he gonna get. I think he is
235 now and if he can stay that weight, he’ll probably have a
position playing receiver. But if his body naturally fills out to
250 and above he will outgrow the position.”
Notes compiled by Hannah Gordon, Daily Bruin Reporter