AT THE POINT OF NO RETURN; WILL FARRIS CHOOSE NFL OVER UCLA?

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

The day Kris Farris came home with a D in freshman English at Santa Margarita High, his father, Marty, went wild. ``We're not paying $5,000 to send you to school to get D's,'' Marty screamed.

The 6-foot-9 Farris is as bright as he is big, but his study habits were needing. So each night, his mother, Debbie, sat at the kitchen table and reviewed his assignments. She taught him how to make an outline and how to allocate his time. She taught him to identify themes and weed out extraneous material. They even watched a video: Where there's a will, there's an A.

``Those nights at the kitchen table taught him the process of how to study,'' Debbie said. ``It turned his life around.''

Farris made straight A's as a senior and is applying those skills to his latest project: whether or not to leave UCLA a year early and apply for the NFL Draft. A left tackle - one of the most valued positions in football - Farris recently won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman. The deadline for juniors to apply is Jan. 8, and he plans to spend every hour researching his option.

``I don't want people to think this is on a whim,'' he said. ``I'm at the point I could go either way. It's not going to be 100 percent right or wrong. There are pluses and minuses for both.''

Farris has a two-pronged plan to determine his value. Following standard procedure, he has asked the NFL's draft advisory board for its recommendation and expects a response this week. Most likely, it will identify Farris as a first- or second-round selection - the highest grade available.

But the board is little more than an educated guess by a handful of teams, and some may not need left tackles. So to reduce his margin for error, Farris is doing his own research: He and coach Bob Toledo are calling teams and speaking directly to general managers and personnel directors.

``I know New Orleans and Arizona are on the advisory board, and I wouldn't take their word for it,'' said one personnel director who requested anonymity.

``Farris is a left tackle, he's smart and he'd probably go in the first round, but he'd scare me to death. We'd have trouble taking him very high. Based on everything I've heard from scouts and coaches, he's not real tough. He's no Jonathan Ogden or Tony Boselli.

``He needs to mature and get stronger. He needs to stay in school. I know he didn't allow a sack, but there are no draftable defensive ends in the Pac-10.''

UCLA offensive line coach Mark Weber also believes Farris needs another year, although Weber admits his bias.

``Obviously, he's ahead of all the juniors, but there are some things I think he needs to do to better prepare himself for the next level,'' Weber said. ``He needs one more year in (strength coach Kevin) Yoxall's program to get bigger and become a more physical player and a more punishing run-blocker.''

If he returns, Farris could join Nebraska's Greg Rimington as the only players in NCAA history to win the Outland Trophy twice. He could become the first UCLA player to win the coveted Lombardi Award, given to the nation's best lineman/linebacker. (Ogden won the Outland in 1995.)

He'd be the leader and most recognized player on what could be a top-10 team, and he'd have one more year in a college environment - one more year to pal around with housemates Brad Melsby and Pete Holland.

Money isn't an issue, but timing is. A fourth-year junior, Farris may decide he's tired of the 6 a.m. weight workouts and bored with the Pac-10's second-rate defensive linemen.

There's no guarantee a senior season will increase his value. What if UCLA struggles with an untested quarterback? What about injuries? Ex-Bruins J.J. Stokes, Kevin Jordan, Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Donnie Edwards all returned for their senior seasons - and all got hurt.

Whether he's in Toledo's office or sitting at the kitchen table, it's all the same for Farris. He's compiling volumes of information and must identify the pertinent material before making a decision.

``It haunts me,'' he said. ``Everyone has an opinion. At the (team) banquet it was, `Stay, stay, stay.' Others say, `Are you kidding? It's the opportunity of a lifetime.'

``I was so naive in August. I thought it would be black and white. I thought the decision would be made for me.''

After Farris weeds through the pros and cons, determines his value and his desire, he'll have a final consideration: his allegiance to UCLA - and its faith in him.

On a crisp late-November afternoon four years ago at Santa Margarita, Farris was denied a first-team spot to the All-Sea View League. Stunned, then devastated, he went home and feared the omission would affect his recruitment.

Hours later, USC called with bad news. The Trojans recommended a year at a local junior college. Farris would study and get stronger, then transfer to USC and redshirt. In other words, the Trojans wanted him to sit for two seasons.

``It was the worst day of my life,'' he said.

He was sobbing in his bedroom when the phone rang one more time. It was UCLA assistant coach Bob Field.

Farris trembled as he spoke.

``Coach, I made second-team all-league,'' he said, ``and a lot of schools have stopped recruiting me.''

``I hope so,'' Field responded, ``because we really want you.''

Four years later, an Outland Trophy in hand and the NFL within reach, Farris mulls his future with a full plate and a heavy conscience.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO KRIS FARRIS

The Outland Trophy winner must decide by Jan. 8 whether or not to enter the NFL Draft.