Hundley and Lucien might be pressed into duty against Cal.
By ADAM MAYA / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Freshman quarterback Brett Hundley and freshman receiver Devin Lucien are thought to be the future of UCLA football. Coach Rick Neuheisel said he's trying to figure out whether the future should begin Saturday against Cal at the Rose Bowl.
Just two weeks ago Hundley and Lucien were near-locks to redshirt this season. But an injury to quarterback Richard Brehaut and suspensions to four receivers have left the Bruins thin at both positions.
Neuheisel said he considered using Hundley, currently Kevin Prince's backup with Brehaut recovering from a broken leg, in the Arizona game this past Thursday. The Bruins scored a season-low 12 points and fell behind 42-7 by halftime.
"In that kind of game, I just didn't think it was the right thing to do in terms of the rest of the year," Neuheisel said during a Sunday night teleconference. "I think when you decide to use Brett Hundley, you got to commit to doing it the rest of the time, at least in a package."
Neuheisel, who had hoped to redshirt Lucien given the Bruins' nine scholarship receivers, called Lucien's situation a "family decision." UCLA is down to five receivers for the Cal game after the Pac-12 served Taylor Embree, Randall Carroll, Shaq Evans and Ricky Marvray with one-game suspensions for their actions in the benches-clearing brawl with the Wildcats.
Offensive guard Alberto Cid received a half-game suspension and defensive tackle Cassius Marsh was suspended for two games. Neuheisel said he will not take any further action against the disciplined players.
"We'll have to use personnel groupings that only use two receivers," said Neuheisel, adding that F-back Jordon James is an alternative at receiver. "It's a precarious situation. But we feel with our athletes and our running game we can neutralize the effect of it."
That's the same running game that collected a season-low 37 rushing yards against Arizona's 100th-ranked rushing defense. Tailbacks Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman, who came into that game averaging 140 yards combined per contest, carried the ball just 11 times for 24 yards.
Neuheisel said UCLA's defensive struggles have had a rippling effect on the offense.
"Our offense unfortunately is not one that lends itself to being behind by a great deal," Neuheisel said. "When we fall behind, we come out of our ability to control the ball. We have to find a formula where we can keep guys at bay defensively so we can stay in our rhythm offensively."
NOTES
UCLA had a light practice Sunday. Neuheisel said offensive guard Chris Ward (knee) is between questionable and probable for Saturday. Cornerbacks Andrew Abbott (shoulder) and Aaron Hester (shoulder) are probable.
Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com
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