PAGE BRINGS CONFIDENCE TO SECONDARY SAFETY READY TO TAKE ON MENTOR ROLE FOR BRUINS.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Jarrad Page Jarrad Page (born October 19, 1984) was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played for UCLA in his collegiate career. Before attending UCLA, Page grew up in San Leandro, California, attending San Leandro High School, where Page was the top seems to instill in·still v. To pour in drop by drop. in  stil·la tion n. confidence in everyone around him.
As the only veteran in a 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 secondary ripe with constant alterations, doubts and youth, there's no doubt about Page, the hard-hitting strong safety with the infectious attitude and a ticket for next year's NFL draft The NFL Draft (officially the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting[1]) is an annual sports draft in which National Football League (NFL) teams take turns, through seven rounds[2] . ``He's an electric safety back there,'' UCLA linebacker Justin London said of Page. ``He's so strong in the air. When receivers go up for the ball, they're going to have to compete with him to get that ball. He fights for the (ball) like it belongs to him. It energizes us to see him making plays.'' The UCLA coaching staff was energized when Page informed them he'd return for his senior season. Page, a two-sport standout, was selected in the 32nd round by the Colorado Rockies For the National Hockey League team (1976 – 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see . The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. in baseball's June amateur draft. The decision to return to UCLA was easier than the one he had to make as a teenager when he was a fifth-round pick by Milwaukee in 2002 and decided to turn down $750,000 and play college football instead. Page, who has started 33 games and has eight interceptions and 177 tackles during his Bruins career, shelved baseball this summer and made football his sole focus. Page did not participate in spring football, preferring to play baseball. He struggled, batting .149 with 48 strikeouts, and never gave the sport his full attention. That's not the case when it comes to football. ``He just has to go out and play within his abilities,'' UCLA defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a football team in the National Football League or college football who is in charge of the defense. This position aids the head coach a great deal in many ways by delegating play calling to other coaches and allowing the head Larry Kerr said. ``He's got enough ability to go to the next level. It's not going to be going out and doing anything special. It's going to be being a consistent player week in and week out with his coverage. He's physical. He has to show he's not getting beat. When a guy is consistent like that, big plays come to him and he gets noticed more.'' An emotional player, Page, along with London and linebacker Spencer Havner Spencer Rhett Havner (February 2, 1983 in Sacramento, CA) is a linebacker on the Green Bay Packers. High School Havner earned two varsity letters as an inside linebacker and tight end at Nevada Union High in Grass Valley, CA. , has instilled a new attitude among the Bruins' defense during training camp. There is more yelling and dancing when the defense makes plays, something that was missing in previous seasons. Page, who is playing with a dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. finger, strained a calf muscle The calf or gastrosoleus is a pair of muscles—the gastrocnemius and soleus—at the back of the lower human leg. The gastrosoleus complex is connected to the foot through the Achilles tendon, and contract to induce plantar flexion and stabilization of the Wednesday, the final day of two-a-days. Neither injury has slowed him down. This week, he started working out at free safety, at which he could play until Chris Horton returns from wrist surgery. With defensive backs Matt Ware Matthew Jesse Ware (born December 2, 1982 in Santa Monica, California) is currently an American football defensive back in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals. He was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles on September 2, 2006 and picked up by the Cardinals. and Ben Emmanuel gone, it's up to the veteran Page to pick up the slack. ``It's going to be a big change to see how guys will play and good to see how they react,'' Page said. ``I know there's going to be times when they're confused and I need to help them out on the field, but that's fine. I've always been ready to do that anyway. It'd be nice to play on a team full of seniors and juniors and a lot of experience, but as long as you have a team with talent, you're fine.'' It remains to be seen if UCLA's secondary will be fine in the pass-happy Pac-10. The untested secondary undoubtedly will be challenged early and often. Page said he is comfortable because cornerbacks Rodney Van and Trey Brown gained some experience last season. Van remembers Page's comforting words last year after giving up a touchdown in the Bruins' 45-28 loss to Cal. Van missed a tackle, allowing receiver Geoff McArthur to turn a short-yardage catch into an 80-yard touchdown. Van played only sparingly, and Page knew an experience like that could be devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to the freshman. ``I go to Jarrad a lot,'' Van said. ``Anything I'm unsure about, I always go to him. When I gave up that touchdown in the Cal game, he helped me. He didn't want me to be down on myself.'' In addition to being a mentor, Page also has a knack for making pivotal plays. During his freshman year, he returned an interception for a touchdown to put away New Mexico in the Las Vegas Bowl The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1992. . He had a career-best 10 tackles in last year's win at Washington. In 2003, he returned an interception for a score against the Huskies. His 79 tackles in 2004 were second-best on the team. ``I'm trying to play this year to be among the top safeties,'' Page said. ``All I can do is play my hardest. I can't go outside myself to try to do extra, that's when you mess up. I'll try to play hard and make plays and see where that lands me. I want to make myself No. 1.'' Jill Painter, (818) 713-3615 jill.painter(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: PAGE |
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