UCLA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: PAULSEN TRIES TO CATCH ON.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY -- As teammates and coaches conducted the customary interviews after a Wednesday practice, UCLA tight end Logan Paulsen remained on the field to catch more passes.

Or, some passes.

As No. 11 UCLA tries to sort out its offense, Paulsen, one of its top receivers from 2006, has yet to catch one this season as the Bruins (2-0) head into today's meeting with Utah (0-2) at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"(The coaches) are just asking me to do different things," Paulsen said. "In the game against BYU, I played more of a fullback, kind of a blocking back type of thing. The passing game wasn't quite there because they dropped nine guys (into coverage)."

Paulsen had 27 catches last season, but UCLA's only two receptions by a tight end this season have been made by William Snead.

"This year they're moving me around a little more, and trying to get me in space," he said. "That's a little more difficult, just because when you're on the line of scrimmage, you're going against someone and you know exactly what they're going to do. When you're in space, it's different."

When UCLA and Utah met last season, Paulsen quickly became quarterback Ben Olson's favorite target in a 31-10 win. Paulsen caught a team-high five passes for 90 yards.

"They played a lot of man and I got a little bit of a mismatch on some of their linebackers," the 6-foot-6, 252-pound Paulsen said. "I think this year they're going to be a little more prepared to cover the tight ends. They run pretty much the same defense they ran last year."

Harwell update: Joe Williams, the brother of injured UCLA senior defensive tackle Brigham Harwell, said the two spoke about Harwell redshirting.

Harwell is out at least four weeks because of a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

"He told me, 'I'm not coming back unless I feel I can come back and be healthy,' " said Williams, who gained legal custody of Harwell before high school. "He said, 'I'm not going to let them force me to come back.' When it gets closer, I will talk to (UCLA) coach (Karl) Dorrell and (offensive line) coach (Todd) Howard."

UCLA has not made Harwell available to speak to the media since he was injured last Saturday against BYU.

"If he can be an asset and help the team later in the season, of course, he's going to do that," Williams said. "All he can do is try to get the knee better. We talked about redshirting, and that is an option."

Price watch: Barring a weekend ruling from the NCAA, Bruins freshman defensive tackle Brian Price will not be eligible to play next week against Washington, which would be the fourth game he misses because of eligibility issues.

According to the NCAA, Price, if he is deemed eligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse, must go through five practices before he can play in a game.

Price practiced once before he was pulled off the field because of clearinghouse issues.

Because UCLA practices Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday, there will not be enough practices next week for Price to finish the NCAA-mandated acclimatization period. The NCAA said a Friday walkthrough does not count as a practice.