Sophomore defensive tackle Cassius Marsh and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ricky Marvray engage with Arizona players in last week’s pre-halftime brawl. Marsh was suspended for two games, Marvray for one.
They usually spend their days practicing as Beavers, Cougars, Wildcats or whoever the UCLA coaching staff is scheming against that week.
On the days they get to be Bruins, wide receivers Jerry Rice Jr. and Devin Lucien put on their blue and gold jerseys but take them off without breaking a sweat.
It’s not a surprise that Rice, a redshirt sophomore walk-on, and Lucien, a true freshman, haven’t seen the field. There’s a meager amount of passing attempts available to catch in UCLA’s pistol offense, and the Bruins’ receiver rotation is already six deep.
That doesn’t make it any easier to watch.
“It sucks going to sleep the night before a game,” Lucien said.
In a normal week, Rice and Lucien would have stayed at the bottom of the wide receiver depth chart and continued to practice as scout team members, whose sole job is to mimic the tendencies of the opposition in practice.
But this week is far from normal.
The Pac-12’s discipline after a benches-clearing brawl between UCLA and Arizona annihilated the Bruins’ receiving corps, and now their depth chart at wideout shows anything but depth, with two-thirds of the usual rotation denoted as “SUSPENDED.”
For a week, Rice and Lucien are listed as second-string wide receivers, the biggest opportunity either has received in college.
Both got the call, but only one gets to answer. Rice will play, a dream for a hard-working practice player with a Hall of Fame pedigree. Lucien will not, a maddening situation for an eager 18-year-old itching for time on the field.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel insists there are ways to keep the Bruins’ passing game intact for the week that he has to deal with the suspensions. That includes inserting Rice, but not Lucien. By not playing this year, Lucien can redshirt the season and keep four years of eligibility intact.
“These (suspended wide receivers) are all going to be back one game from now,” Neuheisel said. “I think we have other ways to play. There was a reason to redshirt Devin. I don’t know that (playing him) is the prudent thing to do for a one-game deal.
“Jerry is one of those great kids you have in your program and you’re just trying to find a chance to give him that opportunity. Here he finds himself with a golden opportunity.”
The 5-foot-10-inch, 182-pound Rice is slightly smaller in stature than one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, his father and namesake, but bears an unmistakable resemblance to his dad.
He hasn’t gotten anywhere near the same amount of attention but has learned one thing while waiting on the sidelines.
“Always knowing patience is a virtue,” Rice said. “All my family’s been talking about that. Patience is a virtue. When a situation like this arises, you’ve got to take advantage because this could be the start of something.”
When he finally gets to dig his cleats into the fresh Rose Bowl grass Saturday against California, his dad and a large group of family will be there.
Lucien, however, will stay planted on the white sideline turf. The final decision was made by his parents ““ if Lucien played, the redshirt year would be lost and he would have six wide receivers ahead of him on the depth chart next week ““ and everyone involved seems to think it’s the right one.
Except maybe Lucien.
“It’s very tough, because I wanted to make the most of the opportunity,” Lucien said.
“I’m not going to say I’m happy with it, I’m not going to say I’m not happy with it. It’s in between right now.”
As precarious as the wide receiver situation is, the more talented and highly regarded of the pair of scout team wideouts will not see the field this week. Still, the opportunity presented in front of Rice is one he has never had before, and may not ever see again.
For the first time in a long while, he gets to be a Bruin and not a Golden Bear.
“I wouldn’t like it to happen like this, but at the same time you can’t bring the guys that got suspended back,” Rice said. “This is my time when I can show the coaches and everybody that I can play. Hopefully when the ball comes to me, I can make a play.”