BRUINS PLACE WARD ON SPOT : BUT SENIOR LIKES CHANGE TO LB.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

There would be no discussion. There would be no debate. The UCLA coaches could beg and plead all they wanted, but Phillip Ward would not spend the 1996 season at defensive end.

No way, no how.

Former head coach Terry Donahue asked him to move from linebacker to lineman in 1995 to help a revamped scheme based on speed. Ward agreed - and hated it. Never felt comfortable. Never adjusted to the three-point stance or taking on hulking guards and tackles.

And besides, wasn't he so promising as a sophomore linebacker in '94 that people compared him to Jamir Miller? Didn't he record three sacks in the second half against USC that year?

So for '96, his final season in Westwood, Ward would be a linebacker again - blitzing the passer and roaming the line and dropping into coverage, blitzing and roaming, roaming and blitzing. He walked into rookie coach Bob Toledo's office a few months ago with resolve in his breast pocket. No discussion, no debate.

``Coach,'' he said, firmly, ``I want to move back to linebacker.''

``Well, Phil,'' Toledo responded, ``we want you to move back to linebacker.''

And it was done.

``I'm as happy as I've been since I became a Bruin,'' Ward said last week, after the sixth of UCLA's 15 spring practices.

``Being a linebacker allows me to make plays all over the field. I can see everything, and the offense doesn't know where I'm coming from. I like to see the field, and in the (three-point) stance you can only see half of it. Plus, I had to go against double teams.''

Ward, a 6-foot-3, 231-pound senior, began feeling comfortable at defensive end in the fifth game, against Fresno State. He learned to combat double-teams and read plays from a lower angle. But a knee injury slowed his progress, and he finished with one sack and five tackles for loss. (In '94 he had 7-1/2 sacks and 12-1/2 tackles for loss, both second-best on the team.)

``We felt linebacker is Phil's best position,'' Toledo said. ``It's the best position for us and the best position for his future.''

In new defensive coordinator Rocky Long's system Ward will play on the line, often over the tight end. But he'll be in a standing, two-point stance, able to blitz or drop into coverage like Donnie Edwards did as an all-conference player in 1994.

``Coach Long's system gives me a lot of freedom,'' Ward said. ``I can just go out and play. There isn't too much thinking, it's more reacting, and everybody plays better when they just have to react.''

Ward's revitalization is symbolic of the defense as a whole. Long, who spent the past five seasons at Oregon State, has sold the Bruins on an unusual scheme featuring three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs: two corners, one free safety, plus interchangeable strong safety and rover positions.

``It's the same philosophy we had at Oregon State: attack, attack, attack,'' Long said. ``The scheme may change some from game to game, depending on the best 11 players available. I don't even know who those 11 are, yet. That's what spring practice is for.''

These 11 started in several brief, recent scrimmages: Travis Kirschke, transfer Damon Smith and Jason Nevadomsky on the line; Ward, Brian Willmer and Danjuan Magee at linebacker; Paul and Javelin Guidry at cornerback, Shaun Williams at free safety, and Abdul McCullough and Larry Atkins at the strong safety/rover positions.

It hasn't been all work, though. Last week, Long used valuable minutes to conduct a sumo wrestling contest.

``The majority of players came into spring with a positive attitude,'' Ward said. ``A lot of doors have been opened with the new coaches, and a lot of guys are looking forward to that.''

Notes: Fullback Greg Ford's comeback attempt is over. Ford will not play in '96 - or ever again - because of a back injury that forced him to miss 1995. . . . Tailback Skip Hicks is at full speed this week after a hamstring injury.

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