FOR FIFTH-YEAR SENIORS JASON ZDENEK FROM UCLA AND ERIC DENMON FROM USC, IT'S...WORTH THE WAIT IT'S ZDENEK AT THE FINISH.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

There comes a time in every game when UCLA free safety Jason Zdenek allows himself to take it all in. He stands in the middle of the field and privately soaks up the sounds, the smell, the emotions - bathing himself in the atmosphere of a special place.

``I get that feeling every game,'' Zdenek said. ``I take a moment to absorb the crowd cheering, the band blaring, the opponent standing on the opposite sideline, and just feeling much more a part of it, rather than the outside view I'd had before this year.''

Zdenek, the former star at Chaminade Prep of West Hills, knows all about standing on the sideline. Knows all about observing big-time college football. For four years he watched. Watched while others - at first older, then younger - played his position.

Only now Zdenek is that rare college football player, someone who barely received a whiff of the field for four years, starting in his final season and playing well.

Zdenek spent four years playing on the scout team. Four years believing he could play but unable to prove it. Four years waiting, maybe privately doubting, if there ever would be a payoff for his tenacity.

And now here he is, the second-leading tackler on the team. A player who had appeared in only two games in four years, now playing every down. Someone who could easily have disappeared under the crush of high-stakes college football, not only surviving, but left triumphant.

``It speaks volumes for his character, for his competitiveness, his patience and perseverance,'' said UCLA defensive coordinator Bob Field. ``I'm sure there were times when he wondered if all of his hard work would ever pay off, but I think he's been a great example to a lot of players. He's proved to a lot of people, and to himself, what kind of person he is.

``It has not only paid dividends for him this year, but those same qualities and characteristics that enabled him to do this will be with him for a lifetime and will serve him well in whatever he's doing.''

Zdenek's bio is as brief in the UCLA media guide as his playing career had been, though a small aside might be telling: Enjoys family vacations. Not the usual offering from a typical football player.

Yet Zdenek might be more what college football is about than the NFL-bound superstar. An honor student, he will graduate next summer with a degree in mechanical engineering. He will leave UCLA with a top education and depart the football program with lessons learned beyond knowing the right defensive scheme for three wideouts.

``I couldn't even express all the emotions I've gone through to get to this point,'' Zdenek said. ``Those have taken their toll and at the same time taught me what I wouldn't have learned if I'd just gotten this starting position earlier in my career.

``I've learned from the path I've taken. If it had been otherwise, I would have missed out on the important traits you can gain from going through difficult times.''

Zdenek came to UCLA hopeful of playing some as a true freshman and then making an impact as a sophomore.

Instead, he redshirted his first year at UCLA. He saw limited special teams action as a reshirt freshman, got into one game as a sophomore and then was in for 17 plays in a game last season against Boise State.

``In terms of persevering through four years of rough times, football's not the only thing I have in my life,'' Zdenek said. ``When times got extremely difficult with football, I was able to concentrate on other aspects of my life, whether it was my relationship with my girlfriend, or engineering, or trying to spend more time with my family. Being able to hold onto to those things helped getting through the hard times in football.''

He took engineering internships at Boeing's Rocketdyne and a start-up personal-watercraft company, Aquajet. Zdenek said he never really considered transferring or quitting football.

``To me, that would have been giving in,'' he said.

But after a strong spring camp last year, Zdenek had finally emerged. In the season opener, the inexperienced redshirt senior started.

``Quite honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when we had that opening game against Alabama,'' Field said. ``I felt confident he was the guy we should start at that position, but having never really seen him in a game situation before, you just never know how a player is going to peform. And he really had a very good game and has played very consistent throughout the year.''

Zdenek, of course, wonders how good he might be now if he had been given this opportunity earlier.

``I felt in the spring of his junior year he had a great opportunity to establish himself at one of those starting positions, and either he did not perform and take advantage and seize that opportunity, or I misevaluated him at that time,'' Field said.

Now as UCLA readies for its annual showdown with USC, Zdenek prepares to play in the cross-town rivalry for the first time.

``For sure, it's unlike any other game in terms of players, school support, rallies they have and bonfires,'' he said. ``All that just adds to the excitement of Saturday's game.

``It's one of those games that is sure to carry on through the rest of the year and into next season.''

For Zdenek, there is unspoken vindication and a special appreciation for every moment on the football field.

``But even if he didn't get on the field and play, he was going to give a great effort,'' Field said. ``He was going to go to school and get an education. Unlike a lot of players, he could see the big picture. He was preparing himself for a lifetime.''

USC at UCLA

Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

TV: FSN2

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: (color) JASON ZDENEK

Box: USC at UCLA (see text)