by Ross Coleman - Contributing Editor
October 13, 2009 03:32
After starting 3-0, the Bruins have dropped two in a row in Pac-10 play. Their 3-2 record is not as nice as we would have hoped, but it is also not something to be down on.
Yes the Bruins started strong, but the competition they played against was not good. Yes we won at Tennessee, but aside from it being a road win against an SEC opponent, there is not much else to be happy about there.
Against Stanford, the offense looked sloppy and conservative. The defense looked tired and unemotional. Against Oregon, 4 minutes is all the Ducks needed to string together three big plays to win.
Now if anything this has reiterated to us what we already knew: UCLA is not there yet.
Yes we could still win anywhere between 6-8 games, but UCLA is still at least a year away from competing in the Pac-10. But that hasn't stopped the players from giving up on this season. They called a players only meeting this week to get their minds ready for Cal.
The Bruins have also been making some much needed noise in the recruiting world.
The number one running back on the west coast, Malcolm Jones committed to the Bruins last week after taking his official visit to watch Stanford beat the Bruins. Jones comes out of Oaks Christian, a football powerhouse that UCLA has been notorious for recruiting poorly. In fact Jones is only the second prospect from Oaks to commit to the Bruins. The other is Senior Safety Aaron Ware.
The Bruins also got a huge commitment from offensive linemen Chris Ward. Ward comes from USC pipeline school Mater Dei. Mater Dei has produced Trojan quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart. But now with the commitment from Ward, hopefully the Bruins will be opening up that school to more Bruins in the future.
Also news has leaked that the Bruins also have two silent verbal commits from players that the coaching staff covets. We don't know when those players will be made know, but at this point it seems apparent that although the Bruins have been struggling the past two games, we must not forget the bigger picture that Coach Neuheisel has. That plan is for the Bruins to be a power for the long haul.
I for one, trust that he is doing things right.