UCLA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: TAYLOR: NEXT GOAL IS A PAC-10 TITLE.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

Matching a school-record for wins in 2005 was a start, but UCLA senior receiver Junior Taylor said the program will only be back when the Bruins win the Pacific-10 Conference title.

Taylor made the remarks Thursday morning, shortly after the Bruins were selected to finish fifth in the preseason media poll at the league's football media day.

``The next step for UCLA football is a Pac-10 championship,'' Taylor said. ``Everyone wants to win a championship at our level, and that's what we want and what we're going to go after. It's going to be hard, but it's not impossible. Who would have thought we would go 10-2 last season after the season before?''

Bruins coach Karl Dorrell compared his feeling of last year's media day -- when the Bruins were coming off a 6-6 season and a loss to Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl -- with this year's.

``I feel UCLA has to prove it again, that we have to back up what we did last year,'' Dorrell said. ``I feel we have to come out and prove each week we're capable.''

Respect -- or lack thereof -- was a motivating factor throughout 2005 for the Bruins, and it sounds as if it will be a primary theme again.

Despite a third-place finish in the Pac 10 last season, Taylor said UCLA will not gain national credibility without a marquee win. He cited Oct. 21 at Notre Dame and the season finale against USC as the best chances to do it.

``We're not going to get respect until we beat a powerhouse ... ,'' Taylor said. ``Even when we beat Cal last year, we didn't get respect. It was, `Cal is banged up. It was lucky.'''

Taylor nearly ready: Taylor, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery in the fall, said he expects to be fully cleared by his doctors next week, then get the final approval from UCLA doctors in time for the Aug. 7 start of training camp.

``I've been doing all the running, doing all the routes,'' Taylor said. ``I'll be ready.''

But the rehab wasn't easy. At first, Taylor said, it was a chore to go to the bathroom, or even get out of bed.

``I'm not going to lie,'' he said. ``I wanted to quit.''

Non-committal at QB: The expectation is that redshirt sophomore Ben Olson will be UCLA's starting quarterback, but Dorrell continues to say Patrick Cowan can win the job.

``There's a lot of anticipation that (Olson) is going to be the guy, but he's got to show it to the team that he is the guy,'' Dorrell said. ``But that's easier said than done because the other guy (Cowan) is pretty good, too.''

Injury update: Starting defensive end Nikola Dragovic, who had anterior cruciate ligament surgery last season, is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. In fact, Dorrell said he expected all but one of the injured players from last season and spring practice to be ready for the start of camp, except offensive tackle Tony Lee (knee).

However, Dorrell said many of those players, including Taylor and Dragovic, would be held to one practice during two-a-days.

Also: UCLA made a subtle change to its away jerseys. The jersey will remain predominantly white, but the trim will now be gold and the same shade of blue as the Bruins use on their home jerseys. -- The synthetic surface is ready at Spaulding Field, but the Bruins will hold training camp on the intramural fields on the other side of Pauley Pavilion because the natural-grass surface on the other half of the field needs more time to mature.

[e-mail]

[phone]