By Brian Dohn, Staff Writer
UCLA senior cornerback Marcus Cassel never thought the coaches lost confidence in him in past seasons, but he couldn't say the same about himself. That is the biggest change in Cassel, who said Tuesday his confidence remains high even after watching redshirt freshman Byron Velega play much of the fourth quarter against Washington. And the coaching staff's confidence in Cassel is intact, as well, which is why Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said Cassel will start Saturday when No. 20 UCLA hosts No. 10 California. "Cassel played well," Dorrell said. "He had nine tackles. I wouldn't read into anything that he's going to lose his starting job, or we lost confidence in him. He's still going to start, and Velega is still going to play as his backup." Opponents have thrown Cassel's way more often than to the other side of the field, but he said that is a product of his style.
"I play a lot of press coverage, and that's what teams are going to do," Cassel said. "I'm ready for that. That's not a problem. Sometimes they're going to complete some of those, and the next time it comes up, knock it down. Just keep on going." Dorrell added UCLA will continue to use Cassel and Velega at right corner, and starter Trey Brown and Rodney Van at left corner. "I have a lot of confidence in all four of those," Dorrell said. "(Velega) has very good cover skills and he's fearless in coming up and making plays on the line of scrimmage. That's how we're building all the corners. They're on an island. "They're going to have to make plays on their own and they're going to have to come up and do some great things. All four of those guys really have the same mind-set when they play."
Punting inconsistencies: After having Chris Kluwe for two seasons, the Bruins are leaning on redshirt freshman Aaron Perez for punting duties, and are experiencing the growing pains associated with inexperience. Perez had a 13-yard shank against Washington, but followed with a 50-yarder downed at the 2. He is averaging 39 yards on 16 punts, with a net 37.6-yard average. "I'd like for him to be at a bigger average," Dorrell said. "I'd like him to be at 42 yards, and net at 38 yards, and we're not quite there yet. He's a young player that's working his way through this experience. He's getting better and better. Experience takes care of a lot of things, and the more he punts in game-like situations, the better he'll be."
Odds and ends: Cal left tackle Andrew Cameron, a second-year starter, is done for the year after tearing a knee ligament against Arizona. Junior Scott Smith will make his third career start in Cameron's place. ... After a dismal week of practice against Washington, Dorrell said "you could tell there's a different direction of intensity that's going on right now" in regards to UCLA's first day of practice in preparation for Cal.
No comments:
Post a Comment