BRUINS ARE SHOWING THEY'RE IN IT TOGETHER OFFSEASON WORK BUILDS VALUABLE COHESION.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

UCLA linebacker Spencer Havner spent his final pre-college summer hanging out with friends and training near his Northern California home. After his freshman year, he did the same thing.

Now, as Havner joins more than a dozen UCLA seniors in their last game at the Rose Bowl today against Arizona State, nearly every player remains on campus during the summer to prepare for the upcoming season.

It is the culture created by Bruins third-year coach Karl Dorrell. It is enforced by the current senior class, which could become the turning point for the program.

``I'm very proud of this class,'' Havner said. ``It's turned around. It really has. The recruits are starting to come back. The coaching is in place. The structure is in place. We should just keep moving.''

For the first time in years, leadership within the program is genuine, and without agendas.

Following last week's 52-14 thrashing at Arizona, several players roamed the isles of UCLA's charter flight home to speak with the younger players. Although UCLA (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) had just lost its first game, many of the seniors - like tight end Marcedes Lewis, Havner, linebacker Justin London and safety Jarrad Page - communicated the importance of finishing strong.

The following day, senior quarterback Drew Olson organized a players-only meeting to echo it, and let everyone know a win against the Sun Devils ensured the Bruins play for at least a share of the Pac-10 title Dec. 3 against USC.

UCLA is also one win away from its first nine-win season since 1998.

``It took a couple of years for them to get it, but this group does,'' Dorrell said. ``I just take my hat off to the work they put into it, and we're playing for a happy ending.''

The seniors set the tone after the humiliating bowl loss to Wyoming. They met with teammates, and the coaching staff. The seniors helped break the cliques that broke apart other teams, and cultivated a culture in which flimsy excuses for missing ``voluntary'' workouts and meetings were not tolerated.

Page said the camaraderie built in the offseason is why UCLA is now viewed as resilient - as four fourth-quarter comebacks suggest - instead of mentally weak.

``It's not the running or the weight lifting, really,'' Page said. ``It's everybody being here as a team. It's everybody seeing everybody else going through the same thing. You can go train with someone else and (be in shape), but it's the fact that the whole team is seeing you go through it with them.''

The group also bought into Dorrell's demand of accountability and discipline.

Perhaps nobody illustrates the change in attitude better than London, who played with a badly injured ankle the past two seasons.

In 2003, UCLA was ripped apart by selfishness, with several players refusing to play because of injuries.

Now, as the current crop of underclassmen mature into future leaders, their learning environment changed. Most are unaware of the pitfalls of former teams. Instead, they believe the current way of doing things was always the way things were done.

``Why wouldn't you come here to work out in the summer?'' freshman receiver Gavin Ketchum said. ``Even when we won a few games in a row, the seniors made sure we stayed on track, and didn't get ahead of ourselves.''

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com

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(color) UCLA coach Karl Dorrell is pleased with the team's senior leadership.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

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No. 14 UCLA vs. ARIZONA STATE