Neuheisel hopes to turn back the clock at UCLA
editor1 |Aug 23,2008
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By Brian Fitzsimmons
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer
It started with a vision.
A skinnier and much younger Rick Neuheisel dropped back and
frantically glanced over the line. The gunslinger heaved a
perfect spiral into the end zone for a scoring strike, which
landed in the hands of wide receiver Karl Dorrell.
It appeared Neuheisel, a former walk-on, had arrived. After
all, three years prior to the fact, he was a holder for the UCLA
practice squad.
But that was just the beginning.
Neuheisel then connected with Dorrell once more and threw two
other touchdowns en route to becoming the 1984 Rose Bowl MVP.
The impossible had become a reality, as unranked UCLA, with its
6-4-1 record, humiliated fourth-ranked Illinois, 45-9, on one of
college football's biggest stages. Neuheisel played a nearly
flawless game, completing 23-of-31 passes for 298 yards with no
interceptions.
Now, 25 years later, Neuheisel is back with another vision:
revamp the Bruins' football program as its head coach.
"It's very exciting," Neuheisel said. "I think I share the same
excitement with the team. There's the right kind of energy."
A twist of fate has taken place as well, since Neuheisel will
try to finish what Dorrell began.
The school's head coach for five years, Dorrell was fired for
turning in a rather pedestrian 6-6 campaign in 2007. Overall,
the wide receiver that once complemented Neuheisel couldn't
bring the Bruins back to relevance, as he coached them to a
35-27 record during his tenure.
How appropriate that a damaged program turns its desperate eyes
toward a man with some cleaning up to do, too.
"The guys are proud of themselves for the effort put forth in
spring and summer," Neuheisel said. "I think they believe they
are capable of a great deal this year, and I'm looking forward
to get started."
In four seasons at Colorado, beginning in 1995, Neuheisel went
33-14 (a .702 winning percentage) with two top-10 finishes.
After Neuheisel left, Colorado lost five of 25 scholarships for
one year and was put on two years' probation for 53 rules
violations - 51 when he was the coach.
It turns out the NCAA doesn't take a liking to illegal
recruiting processes. Eventually, those in-house sins prompted
the football world to refer to Neuheisel as "Slick Rick."
He took his near-tarnished name and gaudy resume to Washington
in January 1999 and then won some more. In 2000, the Huskies
won the Rose Bowl, went 11-1 and finished third in the nation.
But again, Neuheisel was bludgeoned by a messy exodus when he
was caught participating in a neighborhood pool for the 2003
NCAA college basketball tournament.
Neuheisel first denied the accusation to investigators, and the
case became a local sensation when it was revealed that he had
received an internal memo which authorized gambling in
off-campus tournament basketball pools.
That fall, the NCAA infractions committee found Neuheisel
violated rules against gambling but didn't sanction him, citing
the memo by Washington's former compliance officer that
mistakenly authorized this type of gambling.
It's funny where the road to redemption can take you.
"I'm an optimist," Neuheisel said.
And he has reason to be.
After spending two years as the offensive coordinator for the
Baltimore Ravens, Neuheisel was introduced as the head coach of
the Bruins on December 29. He immediately began to consolidate
his coaching staff by retaining DeWayne Walker, who was
Dorrell's defensive coordinator and interim coach for the
Bruins' 2007 bowl game.
Neuheisel made a major move by hiring Norm Chow, the offensive
coordinator of the Tennessee Titans and previously the offensive
coordinator of the University of Southern California's 2003 and
2004 national championship seasons.
Chow's claim to fame, however, is nurturing the arms of two NFL
star quarterbacks named Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.
"I'm as excited as can be about the coaches," Neuheisel said.
"They bring a great deal of experience and they're going to
create good teachers for the kids."
Neuheisel's newest wingman brings an extensive track record to a
program in dire need of stability under center.
Oft-injured starting quarterback Ben Olson likely will miss at
least eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his right foot.
His replacement, Kevin Craft, is a redshirt junior that
transferred from Mt. San Antonio Junior College in time for the
2008 spring quarter and was able to participate in spring
practice.
"We have high hopes for (Craft)," Neuheisel said. "We hope he
calms down, gets comfortable after having a nice summer throwing
the ball."
Craft put up impressive numbers last year in junior college,
completing 313-of-511 passes (61.3 percent) for 4,231 yards, 44
touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading his team to a 10-3
record and the Southern California Junior College championship.
An improved offensive line will help an inexperienced general,
too.
"They looked better than they did in the spring," Neuheisel
said. "We look a lot more like a college line."
A tough schedule will prove to test the Bruins, though, since
they face six programs in the nation's top 25 preseason poll.
"We're going to be a solid football team," Neuheisel said.
"We're going to have to play smart football, especially with the
schedule we have. With that, guys are going to have to be
mindful to pay extra attention to details."
It sounds like the groundwork to a positive plan is in place at
UCLA. And just like 25 years ago, it started with a vision.
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