ESPN

UCLA reserve quarterback Nick Crissman plans to transfer to another school for his final year of eligibility, coach Jim Mora confirmed Monday.

Crissman, a redshirt senior, has been plagued with injuries throughout his tenure at UCLA, including missing the 2008 and 2010 seasons after shoulder surgeries. He played in only two games during his three seasons and did not complete a pass.

Mora said Crissman would graduate in June and would be immediately eligible to play because he has graduated. Though finally healthy, Crissman, the No. 10 quarterback in the nation coming out of Edison High in Huntington Beach, was a longshot to earn playing time next season because of a logjam at the position.

Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, who split the starting job last season, both return as does Brett Hundley, the highly-touted recruit who sat out as a redshirt last season. Incoming freshmen T.J. Millweard and Devin Fuller, both four-star recruits, are also expected to challenge for the quarterback spot. Millweard is enrolling early and will participate in spring practice beginning next week.

It was either a symbolic gesture or mere coincidence. But moments before UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel walked into the crowded press room following the the Bruins' lopsided 45-6 win over Colorado on Saturday night, a Rose Bowl staffer changed the channel of the flat screen television which had been showing the fourth quarter of USC's 38-35 win over No. 4 Oregon.

Most folks in the room groaned knowing they'd miss the final minutes of the game. They also understood: Let the man have his moment. UCLA will need to start dealing with the Trojans soon enough.

"I didn't see much sun today, but I'm assuming it did come up," Neuheisel joked at the start of his weekly conference call Sunday night.

He was talking, of course, about the heavy rains that drenched Southern California on Sunday. But he easily could've been referring to the giant USC has quickly become this season.

The Trojans (8-2) haven't just improved over the second half of the year. They've grown into one of the best teams in college football, earning a No. 10 ranking in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.

"You're wanting to know if I'm surprised by how well they've come together? Not really," Neuheisel said. "They've got an experienced quarterback [Matt Barkley] which is such a huge place to start.

"He's had a magnificent year and he's got some real talent to throw to. They've certainly had some holes to fill with respect to their offensive line, but they've done that well. The offense is on all cylinders especially with the quarterback being as efficient as he's been."

For the first time in a long while, UCLA can almost say the same.

No one is putting Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince in the same class as Barkley, who just might have played himself into Heisman Trophy contention the last few weeks, but Prince had his best game as a starter Saturday -- completing 15-of-19 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns and running for 84 yards -- and seems to have finally figured out how to succeed in the Pistol offense.

"When Kevin really decided he was going to run, I think that opens up a lot of things, a lot of the possibilities of the offense," Bruins offensive coordinator Mike Johnson said. "There came a certain point in the season where he said, 'I'm going to go. I'm going to go and do it.' And when he did that he started playing better."

(Read full post)

With Richard Brehaut out indefinitely because of a broken left fibula, Kevin Prince resumes his spot as UCLA's starting quarterback and true freshman Brett Hundley will be No. 2 on the depth chart, coach Rick Neuheisel said.

That means if anything happens to Prince, Hundley -- a highly touted recruit who's debut is eagerly anticipated by Bruins fans -- will get the call.

"With Richard not being able to go, Brett would get more work in practice and he’ll have to be ready in the event that Kevin gets nicked," Neuheisel said. "That’s happened before as we all know so we’ve got to be ready."

Prince has missed 10 starts in his career because of injuries, so getting Hundley game ready is imperative.

Neuheisel said with an off week this week, he would create a training camp like environment to help get Hundley up to speed. Hundley, who enrolled at UCLA early so he could participate in spring football, has gotten only limited reps since the spring because he had offseason knee surgery and missed much of fall camp.

"We have this off week so we can have a training camp-like experience for Brett," Neuheisel said. "We can really accelerate his learning and get him caught up when you don’t have that luxury when you are game planning for a particular opponent."

Hundley, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound dual-threat quarterback, was among the top recruits in the nation last season, but his injury set him back too far to seriously compete for the starting job this season. Neuheisel has discussed putting in a package of plays of Hundley so that he wouldn't have to know the entire offense, but also has been hesitant to burn Hundley's redshirt year by using him in a limited role.

Now, however, seeing Hundley in a package at some point this season is all but a certainty.

"I’ve toyed with that idea to date, but I just haven’t felt that it was worth throwing a year away for him," Neuheisel said. "But now we’ve got a situation where he may very well have to play and rather than wait for that time when he has to, we might get him involved."

But Neuheisel doesn't want to give up any information on exactly how Hundley will get involved.

"I’m going to keep my cards close to my vest on this one," he said. "I don’t know when and what situation will prompt me to put him in the game, but I’m going to have him ready. That I need to do."

Nick Crissman, who has worked with the scout team this season, will now move into the No. 3 quarterback role.

Reserve quarterback Nick Crissman joined the group of UCLA players stricken with food poisoning and sat out the afternoon session of practice Saturday.

Crissman practiced Saturday morning, but was sick after and came out late during the afternoon session dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and shorts.

Tight end Joe Fauria, who earlier said via Twitter that he had been in the bathroom with his pillow at 3 a.m., skipped the morning session but returned for the afternoon and scored the only touchdown in a mini-scrimmage. Safety Dietrich Riley dressed for both practice sessions but did not participate. Jerry Johnson and Jared Koster did not attend either practice session.

Neuheisel was optimistic that the ill players as well as some of the injured -- Tony Dye, Jamie Graham, Tevin McDonald, Taylor Embree and Anthony Barr -- would return on Monday for the next practice session.

"We’ll be back Monday morning and I think we’ll have a full team," he said.

That could also include freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, who threw on the side Saturday morning for the first time since July knee surgery, ran minimal drills with the quarterbacks Saturday afternoon and then stayed after practice to throw some more.

With UCLA preparing to open fall camp on August 8, we will break down the depth charts at each position in order to look at how the Bruins stack up heading into this season. We begin with the quarterback, which figures to be the most closely watched position battle during camp.

Current depth chart:

1. Kevin Prince (6-2, 223, Jr.) OR
2. Richard Brehaut (6-2, 226, Jr.)
3. Brett Hundley (6-3, 210, Fr.)
4. Nick Crissman (6-3, 221, Jr.)
5. Darius Bell (5-11, 226, Jr.)

It's no secret that lackluster quarterback play has plagued the Rick Neuheisel coaching era at UCLA. Since Neuheisel took over in 2008, Bruins quarterbacks have thrown 28 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. Receiver Dominique Johnson, who completed a touchdown pass in his only attempt, is the only UCLA player under Neuheisel with more touchdowns than interceptions.

"The position has to get better," said Neuheisel, who is taking over as quarterbacks coach. "It’s been woeful."

(Read full post)

After four weeks of spring football practice, including several scrimmage sessions and a spring game, here is all we know about UCLA's starting quarterback for next season: The Bruins will have one.

Just exactly who that will be probably won't be decided until the final week of fall camp.

Kevin Prince, last year's starter, didn't fully participate in spring practice because he is recovering from October knee surgery. Richard Brehaut, his replacement, showed signs of improvement after a nondescript performance in relief of Prince last season, but did not seize the job with a standout spring.

True freshman Brett Hundley showed flashes of the ability that made him a highly-sought recruit, but his performance this spring also served as a reminder of just how difficult quarterback can be for true freshmen.

By the end of spring practice, Nick Crissman had worked his way into the mix and seems on his way back to full health after an injury-riddled career, but he didn't get enough of an opportunity to stake claim to the starting role.

And that means UCLA will enter fall camp without a clear-cut choice to start the opening game Sept. 3 at Houston. In fact, coach Rick Neuheisel said, the Bruins broke spring camp without so much as a depth chart for the position.

"I don’t have a depth chart yet at quarterback because Kevin is not in the race," Neuheisel said. "So we’ll see."

Prince did some throwing drills this spring, but didn't participate in contact drills and Neuheisel seems intent on seeing if Prince has lost anything and if the injury-prone two-year starter can stay healthy.

But most of all, what Neuheiesel wants is to find someone who can routinely make the plays that is required of the one player on the field who touches the ball on every play.

"You have to have guys that can execute," Neuheisel said. "You have to run the route correctly and put it on the money when the guy is open and we don’t have a quarterback yet consistent that can do that. We’ve got to find one."

Brehaut showed this spring that he has better command of the offense, but still lags in his ability to execute. He's still missing throws--overthrowing and underthrowing more often than the Bruins offensive braintrust would like. And the ball comes out of his hand wobbly far more than it should.

Hundley, the highly-touted recruit who is the quarterback of the future, has too many thoughts swimming around in his head at the line of scrimmage and can't quite read a defense well enough to be considered a realistic opening day starter at this point. Crissman is a surprise entry into the competition, but he has missed two full seasons because of shoulder injuries.

That probably leaves Prince as the frontrunner even though he missed most of spring practice, but he'll have to prove he hasn't lost a step after missing more than six months after surgery.

"We’re going to have four healthy guys once Kevin gets back fighting for that starting spot and that’s the way it should be," Brehaut said. "We should have plenty of guys competing for that spot all the time."

Realistically, the competition will be between Prince and Brehaut--the only two who are game tested. Crissman is a wild card because nobody has seen him play much and Hundley could emerge as the season progresses, but it's doubtful he'll have enough of a command of the college game by opening day and he even acknowledged that he's a longshot at this point.

"Those quarterbacks we have right now are juniors and seniors, so I can’t really measure myself against them because they know the offense," he said.

That brings up an interesting dilemma: should UCLA redshirt Hundley if, as it appears he will, he ends up No. 3 or 4 on the depth chart when the season begins.

"Redshirting is not a problem to me," Hundley said. "If I have to, I have to."

The other option, f he does not win the starting job, would be to try to gradually get him game experience by giving him a drive here and a drive there throughout the season. Asked if he'd prefer that over redshirting, Hundley said he would have have more information.

"We’d have to talk with the coaches and see what the role would be and stuff like that," he said.

The door is wide open.

One quarterback hasn't completely healed and will be limited to non-contact participation during spring practice. Another signal caller has spent some of his offseason behind the plate, calling fastballs and sliders at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium. Two other candidates underwent shoulder surgery -- one will be limited, one will miss the four-week period entirely.

With that being said, it's safe to assume that true freshman Brett Hundley will get his share of opportunities when the Bruins open spring practice on March 29.

Only one other quarterback, rising junior Richard Brehaut, will be a full-go at Spaulding Field. Brehaut has endured a busy schedule the last few months, alternating between football cleats and baseball spikes, pigskin and cowhide. How his body responds to the rigors of both sports remains to be seen.

At the very least, Hundley will have a chance to impress new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson. It'd be a different scenario if Norm Chow was still on campus -- Chow would know the capabilities of each quarterback, injured or not. Johnson's mind is a clean canvas. Hundley, who just completed his first batch of courses, will have an array of colors and brushes to choose from.

The others will be restricted to monochrome.

Two-year starter Kevin Prince, who is still recovering from right knee surgery, is expected to participate in individual drills only. Johnson won't be able to fully gauge his ability until fall camp. The same goes for the oft-injured Nick Crissman (right shoulder surgery), who has two pass attempts in three years. Darius Bell (left shoulder surgery) will be out entirely but is expected to be ready for fall camp.

There's hype and hope with Hundley. Fans and students see him as "the savior" of the reeling program. He's a fresh start.

On the field, Hundley is more than just a scrambler -- he won the passing competition at the Under Armour All-American Skills Challenge. He was pegged as the No. 6 quarterback in the 2011 class and is the first UCLA quarterback recruit to earn a five-star ranking.

Hundley will have the opportunity to open eyes and raise eyebrows this spring. Regardless of Hundley's production, coach Rick Neuheisel will probably hold off on naming his starter until Prince is fully functional.

But for now, the door is wide open.

Note: This is the first of five questions leading up to the March 29 opener.

Some notes and video from UCLA's third fall camp practice:

-- Consistent with the alarming trend in recent years, the defense controlled the first portion of practice Wednesday. It didn't help that sophomore quarterback Kevin Prince was limited because of a slightly strained oblique muscle -- an injury that coach Rick Neuheisel did not seem too worried about. Instead, Neuheisel talked about the offense's concentration being "nowhere near where it needs to be."

-- More Neuheisel: "Rahim (Moore) and Co., Akeem Ayers, those guys are bringing it. Offensively, we've got to match that. If we do, we'll be a good team."

-- With Prince hindered, sophomore Nick Crissman made most of the throws during the day's first practice session. Ayers, a junior linebacker, and sophomore cornerback Aaron Hester both victimized him for interceptions and long returns. Ayers jumped on a short slant route and took the ball all the way back, similarly to what he did in the EagleBank Bowl against Temple last December. Hester capitalized on what seemed to be a miscommunication between Crissman and his receivers -- the ball was nowhere near any white offensive jerseys when Hester gobbled it up.

-- Neuheisel provided more details on Datone Jones' broken foot, saying that the junior will have surgery to place a screw on the fifth metatarsal on Friday:



-- Neuheisel was pleased with the second unit's energy level. "It's just an indication of what people can do to an offense by bringing the energy," he said. "I thought Ricky Marvray and Johnathan Franklin brought that kind of energy. It increased the tempo of the offense."

-- Transfer quarterback Darius Bell improved from his shaky first day but still has work to do. He and tailback Derrick Coleman botched a handoff in the "revolver," and the fumble was scooped up by the defense. Bell was also picked off by freshman cornerback Marlon Pollard on perhaps the most impressive defensive play of the day.

-- True freshman cornerback Anthony Jefferson has been given the chance to practice while his waiver is reviewed by the NCAA clearinghouse, Neuheisel said. Jefferson wore a no-contact red jersey without shoulder pads. He came away with an interception.

-- True freshman tailback Malcolm Jones scored on a long touchdown run in the second session. Jones sped through a hole created by junior guard Jeff Baca, who is still awaiting a decision on his academic ineligibility.