DREW'S UCLA DREAM ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN TAILBACK OVERLOOKED UNTIL COACHING CHANGE.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer Pick any of Maurice Drew's weaving, cutback cut·back n. 1. A decrease; a curtailment: "The political effects of food cutbacks could be devastating" New York Times. 2. touchdown runs against Washington, or maybe the 57-yard scoring run with the spin move against San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. State. His well-worn path to the end zone reminds some of NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga Hall of Famer Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a Hall of Fame and Heisman Trophy winning American football running back who spent his entire professional career with the Detroit Lions of the NFL. , but it is not nearly as winding or complicated as the recruiting trail that nearly took him to at least four other schools before he enrolled at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , a 365-mile drive from his home in Antioch, east of Oakland. There were near commitments to Colorado, Oregon, Washington and USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , a perplexing per·plex tr.v. per·plexed, per·plex·ing, per·plex·es 1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. lack of recruiting from UCLA, before the 5-foot-8, 198-pounder became a Bruin. Drew said it was a long-time dream, which only made it more frustrating when the school's former coaching staff ``didn't recruit me.'' Drew, now a record-setting sophomore tailback, makes his return home Saturday when the Bruins visit No. 8 Cal, and he does so with a target on his chest bigger than the Superman tattoo that canvases his right shoulder. ``I think this is real important for him,'' said Drew's mother, Andrea. ``He played at Stanford last year, but that's not really close to home. He's coming back to his home town. He played in (Memorial) Stadium before with (Concord) De La Salle De La Salle is the name of several educational institutions affiliated with the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the Lasallian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by French priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: Take his mom's word, because Maurice doesn't usually talk about stuff like that. In fact, he doesn't like to talk about very much when it comes himself. He is second in the Pac-10, eighth nationally, in rushing at 138.2 yards per game. Drew's school-best 322 yards rushing at Washington came in the middle of a three-game stretch in which he ran for 625 yards and scored seven touchdowns. It caused a brief national stir, something he doesn't understand. ``All I do is run,'' Drew said. ``All I have to do is make a move on the safety one-on-one, which is really easy because they always bite on the first move. I've been a runner the last couple of weeks. I'm not the guy you should talk to. I'm just a runner.'' When Drew gained just 22 yards in last Saturday's victory against Arizona, he said he did a poor job of finding running lanes. A tweaked groin didn't help, forcing him to miss much of the second half. He politely told reporters to talk to tight end Marcedes Lewis Marcedes Alexis Lewis (born May 19, 1984 in Los Alamitos, California) is an American football tight end who plays for the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. , who caught three touchdowns in the game. ``He's just a wonderful kid, a great kid,'' said Bob Ladouceur Bob Ladouceur is an American football coach. He began coaching the De La Salle High School in Concord, California in 1979, when he was twenty-five years old. He took over a team that had never enjoyed a winning season since the school's founding in 1965 and turned it into a , Drew's coach at national-power De La Salle. ``He's not full of himself. He's a wonderful team player.'' Two years ago, when De La Salle played Long Beach Poly in the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 high school game in the country, Ladouceur asked Drew who was the most important player in the game. Drew mentioned the quarterback, two other De La Salle running backs, a few defensive players and then some others. ``He never mentioned himself,'' Andrea Drew said. ``It started when he played Pop Warner Pop Warner refers to
Born June 21, 1863 at Trawsfynydd, Meirionnydd, he was educated at the local schools, and with scholarships, proceeded to Christ College, Brecon, and then Jesus College, Oxford, ) told him football is a team sport, and you win as a team and lose as a team.'' De La Salle defeated Poly, but it was Drew's individual performance that has become legendary in high school circles. He scored all four of De La Salle's touchdowns in a 29-15 victory and was so dynamic that Jon Embree, an assistant at Colorado, offered Drew a scholarship after seeing it. ``I thought I found something that nobody else knew about,'' Embree said. ``I saw him and I was like, 'You know what? I haven't seen his grades yet and all that, but I know this guy's got it.' '' Embree, and Eric Bieniemy Eric Bieniemy, Jr. (born August 15, 1969 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former professional American football running back in the NFL from 1991 to 1999. He was an All-American out of the University of Colorado and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 2nd round of the , who was Colorado's running backs coach, built a relationship with Maurice and Andrea. When Maurice took his official visit to Colorado, Andrea went along. Things went so well, and the connection was so strong, Drew told his friends in late December 2002 he was going to Colorado, although he never gave a verbal commitment. This is when UCLA got an unexpected break. Drew was preparing to play in a California/Florida all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games at Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. in January when his mother read a startling star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. newspaper article. Embree and Bieniemy left Colorado to join the staff of new Bruins coach Karl Dorrell. ``His mother called me on my cell phone and she was like, 'Hey, when were you going to tell me?' '' said Embree, now in his second year as a UCLA assistant. ``I told her to call coach Dorrell and he would explain everything.'' Embree said part of his agreement in leaving Colorado was he would not contact Drew. When Drew learned of the coaching changes, he called Colorado and said he would not be going there. Buffaloes coach Gary Barnett, in turn, allowed Embree to recruit Drew again, but this time for UCLA. Dorrell placed UCLA's first call to Drew, and the recruiting process began again. Drew said he thought about going to USC, which wanted him to play defense and Oregon, where the brother of a De La Salle assistant was coaching. ``I wanted to go to Washington because my cousin went there, but they had offered me and they took it back,'' Drew said. ``They felt I was too small and I couldn't play for them. I really went up there with a purpose. It was pretty bad. ``I always wanted to come here, but I never got recruited until coach Dorrell came.'' Andrea Drew said UCLA was the first school to send Maurice a recruiting letter, but there was little contact during Drew's prep career. He said UCLA wasn't interested because of his size. ``I didn't care how big he was,'' Dorrell said. ``I saw him play.'' When Dorrell announced his first recruiting class in February 2003, Drew was the prize. His freshman season began as a backup and he fumbled his first carry and muffed two kickoffs in a season-opening defeat at Colorado. It was his first loss since the seventh grade. But Drew finished the season leading the Bruins with 582 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He was second behind Craig Bragg with 1,219 all-purpose yards. Now, he is considered one of the top tailbacks in the West. He averages 7.6 yards per carry, but his massive legs, which help him squat 620 pounds, have taken a pounding. Drew was so banged up after the San Diego State game he limped around campus for a few days and spent hours soaking in a cold whirlpool. ``He is strong, physical and has a low center of gravity,'' San Diego State coach Tom Craft said. ``He's got great body control, and he spins out of tackles really well.'' Drew's peripheral vision peripheral vision n. Vision produced by light rays falling on areas of the retina beyond the macula. Also called indirect vision. Peripheral vision also is superb. He spotted a student walking toward him from his left, at nearly a 90-degree angle, and noted the person ``was wearing something blue. It's pretty cool.'' Drew also was clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash this summer. The ability to absorb a hit and remain on his feet has led to many big plays in his young college career. Of his 14 touchdowns, eight have measured at least 47 yards. ``I think he has Barry Sanders-type characteristics,'' Ladouceur said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if he'll be as good as Barry Sanders, but he finds seams really well, and that's what the NFL looks for. They look if you can get to the seam, and can you do it with power. He can.'' Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (Maurice Drew) (2) UCLA's Maurice Drew, second from left, has drawn comparisons to Barry Sanders because of his knack for finding seams. Edna T. Simpson/Daily News Box: (1) THE NUMBERS (2) TOP 10 |
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