Tom Dienhart from Yahoo! Sports injects some new names into CRN’s search for a new DC:

Neuheisel in search mode

With DeWayne Walker off to be coach at New Mexico State, UCLA needs a defensive coordinator.

Many feel a top target may be Montana coach Bobby Hauck, who has done a masterful job in six seasons as coach of the Grizzlies. Hauck's ties to Rick Neuheisel run deep, having served on Neuheisel's staffs at Washington (1999-2002) and Colorado (1995-98). But Hauck may not be interested.

Two other names are Georgia State defensive coordinator John Thompson and former Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove. Thompson was coach at East Carolina from 2003-04 and has been a defensive coordinator at numerous schools in the Southeast. Cosgrove helped make Wisconsin a national power as Badgers defensive coordinator from 1995-2003. Both are accomplished recruiters, too.

Another possibility is former Syracuse coach Greg Robinson, though he may land back in the NFL.

Another possibility is former Syracuse coach Greg Robinson, though he may land back in the NFL.

So the two new names are: Kevin Cosgrove and Greg Robinson. It seems like a bad news/good news kind of deal. Let’s start with Cosgrove.

I went over to Corn Nation, our SBN colleagues covering Nebraska to look up info on Cosgrove. The feedback is not pretty in reaction to news Cosgrove is showing up in stories related to coaching searches (he is also in the mix for the DC position in Minnesota):

According to Husker Extra's Steve Sipple, Kevin Cosgrove could be headed to Minnesota to replace Gophers’ ex-DC Ted Roof who’s headed to Auburn.

I know what you’re thinking. Someone would hire the guy that took a Blackshirt defense and turned it into the biggest pile of steaming poo in over 100 years of football? Someone would hire that guy?

Apparently Kevin Cosgrove had no clue about how to stop the spread offense.

Needless to say that’s a little disconcerting. However, one factor to consider is often a terrible head coach (in this case Bill Callahan) has the ability to make his assistant look awful. Remember Nebraska fans also were not all that crazy about Jay Norvell (look up BN archives for posts on Norvell when he was being rumored as the next UCLA OC) either. Jay turned out to be a dud in Westwood (I won’t go into details because there are plenty of discussion on that topic here on BN). Yet apparently Training Jay is now getting profiled in the NY Times thanks to being part of Stoops program in Oklahoma. So keep that in mind. Still the feedback on Cosgrove from Corn Nation (who I have a lot of respect for) is disconcerting).

On the other hand, Greg Robinson is an intriguing possibility. He has UCLA connections as he has coached in Westwood before (during the Donahue years). Of course he got fired from ‘Cuse this year for not being able to kick start that program (and failing terribly at it in fact). Yet, Robinson seemed to have made a pretty good impression on Texas fans from his time as a DC for Mack Brown. Longhorn fans on Burnt Orange Nation are nostalgic about Robinson’s defense because they “seemed to play hard until the whistle blew”:

Not to say that I want Greg Robinson and Dick Tomey back, but I loved the fact that Robinson's defense seemed to play hard until the whistle blew.  I think he even had some drills where he did not blow the whistle until at least 3 or 4 players got to the ball carrier.  I just don't see that kind of determination out of this year's squad.

BONers also praised Robinson for making “Texas more physical” and teaching them "to create turnovers":

Texas really hasn't had a dominating defense since the Fred Akers days, but Robinson had the next best thing. He took the bend-but-don't break approach, made Texas more physical and taught them to create turnovers. In the Rose Bowl he made the mistake of sticking to zone and Henne lit them up. He was also limited by personnel (slow white LBs).  

Hmm. While Texas fans talked about Robinson going with a “bend-but-don’t break” approach in Austin, he was liked by Denver Broncos fans (where he won 2 superbowls as Shanahan's DC) for blitzes and bringing heat. He also led one of the best NFL defensive turnarounds when he was in Denver. Again Denver fans at MIle High Report praised him as their "last really good DC" who was seemingly scapegoated by Shanahan despite having a successful season.

From the descriptions above it seems like Robinson is one of those coaches who is a perfect Donahue clone: solid but not necessarily spectacular. Still overall the feedback on Robinson is much more positive at BON and at MHR than the ones on Cosgrove at CN. Then again that might also have to do with the factor of leadership at the very top. Cosgrove coached under a clown like Callahan while Robinson worked for one of the better coaches in college football.

I think CRN is taking his time because he wants to talk to some coaches in the NFL as well. Most notably I would look through the bios of defensive coaches of Baltimore Ravens who are still in the playoffs. I wonder if CRN will reach out to candidates such as Chuck Pagano, Mike Pittine or Mark Carrier. I like Mark’s credentials:

Mark Carrier entered his 2nd year with the team as the secondary coach in 2007.  The Ravens were 1st in overall defense (a Ravens' 1st), including 6th against the pass and 1st in INTs in the NFL in 2006. Baltimore also had 5 of their 28 INTs returned for TDs (tops in the NFL), tying their 2004 team record. Carrier, a 3-time Pro Bowl safety and 1990 NFL-Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Chicago Bears, played 11 years in the NFL: 7 with the Bears, 3 with the Lions and 1 year with the Redskins.

Overview: Joined Baltimore in 2006 as secondary coach...The 11-year NFL veteran player also coached the Arizona State CBs for 2 years (2004-05)...Carrier retired from the NFL after the 2000 season (post-Redskins) and launched a career as a sports commentator with various radio and television outlets, including WGN in Chicago, ESPN's XTRA-910 and the USC Football Radio Network... Carrier, who earned 3 Pro Bowl trips while with Chicago (1990-91, ‘93), was the NFL-Defensive Rookie of the Year (1990) after leading the NFL with 10 INTs.

Bringing a rising coaching star like Carrier with Trojan background would be priceless while Kenny is busy with those fingertapes across town. Just something to think about.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s continue to build our game files for Sunday night. Mdjohns4 talked about how staying out of foul trouble will be critical on the defensive side. In addition to that we will have to a better job in the department of defensive rebounding. Defensive rebounding seems to be the dominant theme in this week’s practice heading into this weekend. Here is Coach Howland in the Daily News:

"We have to do a better job rebounding," Howland said. "I was disappointed in our rebounding numbers in the last game. I don't think we're doing a great job blocking out, and that will cost us. We will lose on Sunday night if we don't do a better job of blocking out and rebounding because they're such a good rebounding team, and so athletic."

UCLA is second in the league in offensive rebounds, averaging 12.9 per game, but the 21.7defensive boards per game rates last.

Howland said one of the reasons is UCLA doesn't have a designate big rebounder, like a year ago when center Kevin Love snatched every loose ball, or like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute did before Love's arrival.

For Ben Ball warriors to get better they will have to do a better job of getting back to fundamentals:

"We have to do the fundamentals; blocking out, put a body on somebody to create more room to get the ball," Aboya said. "Rebounding is not about height. It's more about your will to get the ball."

And get increased contributions from the entire team:

In the absence of a pure rebounder playing big minutes, UCLA is counting on contributions from the masses.

Aboya, power forward James Keefe (4.6 rpg), backup center Drew Gordon (4.4 rpg), guard Jrue Holiday (3.9 rpg), backup power forward Nikola Dragovic (3.2 rpg) and wing Josh Shipp (3.1 rpg) are each averaging at least three rebounds per game, but more is being requested.

"We need to give a little more effort, I guess, and not try to leak out to get on a fast break," Roll said. "We're all supposed to stick around and rebound."

More on the need for team rebounding in the LA Times:

All five men are supposed to go to the glass every time the opponent shoots, but players said they have been getting sloppy, trying to sneak off to start the fastbreak.

"It's really a team thing," center Alfred Aboya said. "Something we definitely need to fix."

Well the team will hopefully get a boost via return of ML, who appeared to be “fine” after practicing with the team yesterday:

According to UCLA head men's basketball coach Ben Howland, freshman guard Malcolm Lee participated in about one hour and 10 minutes of this afternoon's practice.
Howland said that Lee looked good and that everything appeared fine, other than Lee being a little winded.

ML is still listed as probable for Sunday night. Also on the injury front JM is listed as “questionable” for Sunday’s game as he apparently strained a groined muscle against Oregon last Sunday. Howland is hoping JM will be able to practice on Friday. Hope JM gets healthy soon.

GO BRUINS.

As if we didn't have enough from BlueReign's excellent effort to analyze the stretch run to to signing day, Greg Biggins from WWL offers up more thoughts on the status of few recruits from the West who are subject to ferocious lobbying during these next few weeks. Biggins analysis includes comments on seven UCLA recruits. Here are his thoughts on Randall Carroll:

Randall Carroll, 5-11, 175 WR Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Few players have been talked about as much recently as the USC commit. We haven't talked to anyone close to Carroll recently who feels he'll end up at USC. On Tuesday, we talked to Cathedral head coach Kevin Pearson who echoed those statements and said UCLA or Cal is where his athlete will end up.

Carroll has already visited Cal, will trip to UCLA this coming weekend and Arizona State the following weekend. There is also talk of a possible visit to Florida but I honestly can't see that happening. Everyone I've talked with has said Carroll wants to stay close to home but no one has gone out on a limb to say if it will be the Bruins or Bears. We should find out later this month.

Again Cal is the team to beat here we think.  Moving on to Hasiak:

Stanley Hasiak, 6-6, 340 Kapolei (Hawaii)
Hasiak committed early in the process to UCLA but had always planned to take a few more trips. The lineman, who could be as talented as any lineman in the entire West region, committed to UCLA back on his official visit in October. He then visited Cal in November and said he will take January visits to Oregon State, Utah and USC.

The recruitment of Hasiak will be very interesting to follow. Although he sounds solid with the Bruins, USC should not be ruled out, especially after landing a commitment from his linebacker teammate Simione Vehikite. I still think Cal is a player here although I liked their chances more before, then offensive line coach, Jim Michalczik left for Washington. No matter when Hasiak announces, expect him to continue to be recruited all the way up to Signing Day.

Feeling good about Stanley. Checking in on Tepa, Pollard and Flournoy:

Iuta Tepa, 6-3, 230 DL Long Beach Poly (Calif.)
Tepa committed early to Hawaii and then saw his stock soar after a big senior season. Soon scholarships flooded in from all over and the talented rush end told us recently he no longer considers himself a commit but open to everyone recruiting him.

Tepa will visit Hawaii this coming weekend followed by visits to Oregon, Colorado and UCLA. I've heard from some of the Poly coaches that Oregon is the team to beat here but to also watch out for Washington. UCLA being the local school also has a great shot and I wouldn't rule out Colorado either. So basically, this race looks wide open.

Marlon Pollard, 6-0, 160 DB Cajon (San Bernardino, Calif.)
Pollard committed as a junior to UCLA and was the first recruit in the Bruins class of 2010. He then visited Notre Dame last summer and committed to the Irish a few weeks later. Now Pollard will take an official visit to UCLA this weekend and there has been talk in recent weeks that the corner could switch back to his original school.

Pollard has been one of the toughest players to reach this year so no one really knows what's going on with him. One thing I did hear was it was Pollard, late in the season, who initiated the contact with UCLA and asked to be re-recruited. Will he switch back to the Bruins? We should know very shortly but the feeling is there's better than a 50-50 chance he will.

De'von Flournoy, 6-1, 180 WR Birmingham (Van Nuys, Calif.)
Flournoy committed to USC shortly before Signing Day a year ago. He looked like one of the more solid commitments in the Trojans class but has now decided to take a few official visits. He tripped to Cal back in December and will head to UCLA this coming weekend.

Flournoy will likely visit USC as well and could also check out Oregon. Unlike Carroll, Flournoy does still have a sincere interest in the Trojans and I would put them as the leader but far from a slam dunk. The talented receiver said he loved his visit to Cal but the general feeling is UCLA has the best chance to steal Flournoy. He's very close with former teammate Milton Knox and said early playing time is at the top of his list among things he's looking for in a school.

Flipping any of them would be gravy.

Finishing with Maka and Sanders:

Taniela Maka, 6-1, 215 LB Jordan (Long Beach, Calif.)
Maka is one of the best and most underrated 'backers in the West. He committed early to Arizona and still looks solid for the Cats although he'll take several official visits this month. Maka's first trip will be this weekend to UCLA followed by trips to Hawaii, Washington and Arizona State. Maka's parents are pushing UCLA hard and would love to see their son stay local. The feeling is, if Maka leaves Westwood this weekend still committed to the Cats, he'll stick with his original commitment.

Billy Sanders, 6-4, 235 ATH Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)
Sanders committed shortly after Signing Day to Miami last year, the first school to offer him. The plan was for Sanders to play tight end but he can also play defensive end. Sanders will in fact visit UCLA this weekend and the Bruins are recruiting the athlete as a defensive end.

At the time of his commitment, Sanders called the Canes his dream school and said that was the school he grew up wanting to play for. However in recent weeks, UCLA has not only made up ground but is now a heavy leader. In fact, it will be somewhat of a surprise if Sanders doesn't change his commitment while on his visit. I've also heard Sanders could graduate early and enroll in time for spring ball at the school of his choice.

Here is to hoping Sanders, Maka and rest of the recruits enjoying a beautiful weekend in Westwood.

Again it's been a while we have sensed this much energy and anticipation from the recruiting front.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s see. RW was just named the NBA Rookie of the Month.

All those sick dunks we got so accustomed to in Westwood:

UCLA's Russell Westbrook dunk (via hawk10101)

Russell Westbrook Shares His Get-Out-And-Vote Song (via NBA)

Same stuff now popping up all over the NBA youtube reels.

Tydides noted how he is also shining on the defensive side just like other Ben Ball warriors who jumped to the draft this past season.

BruinGold82 noted today how RW is now starting to get serious consideration as possible ROY.

So, what else can we all do to take the RW hype to whole another level?

Easy. Vote for RW so that we can get him into the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He is asking singing for your vote:

Russell Westbrook Shares His Get-Out-And-Vote Song (via NBA)

So please vote now, vote early and vote often.

Let RW dunk!

GO BRUINS.

Now that we are on Humpday let’s start compiling our notes on our next opponent: Southern Cal Trojans. These guys are going to be a little more fired up for this game on Sunday which will pretty much define their season. How fired up they are going to be for UCLA? Well apparently they were thinking about UCLA prior to their last game against Oregon State. As bruinhoo noted here was Daniel Hackett before their game against UCLA @ the Costco Center:

"We have a big opportunity at home," guard Daniel Hackett said. "I don’t see why we can’t go on a streak."

Well we know how that worked out. The Trojans despite building a double digit lead in the second half choked away a win by coughing up the ball 17 times, getting outhustled on the boards, and flailing away against the Beaver’s effective zone defense. After the game I caught a little bit of the "Trojan Live" which was a little hilarious. Some bald headed guy who was playing the role of a "Trojan basketball analyst" was telling Leslie Sotto how Trojans could see more zone defense from UCLA because of the way they struggled against the Beavers on Sunday night. He actually said on tveee that Howland might throw zone against the Trojies. LOL Also, apparently the Trojan beat writer in the LA Times have been pathetically trying to denigrate Oregon State’s win this week ignoring the real story about how the Trojans didn’t learn their from the football team this season.

Anyway, so Timmeh’s Trojies are going to be an angry bunch this Sunday night (why is this game on so late on Sunday night BTW?). They are going to come out with focus and locked in to make a point. And they are more than capable pulling off an impressive win (like a Lavin "coached" team). Here is the current rotation for Timmeh’s bunch:

Usual Starters -- F DeMar DeRozan, F Keith Wilkinson, C Taj Gibson, G Dwight Lewis, G Daniel Hackett. Key Subs -- G Marcus Johnson; G Donte Smith.

They don’t really have true pg. However, Hackett and Lewis is a tough combination who will pose extremely physical matchups against DC and JH. I saw lot of the second half and OT against the Beavers last Sunday and I also caught their game against Georgia Tech (in which they won in an impressive fashion). From what I saw in their Georgia Tech, I think it will be extremely important for DC, JH and rest of their team-mates to stay CALM and POISED because I think it’s a good bet that Hackett and rest of this bunch will try to get on our nerves. In case anyone wants a reminder of how this bunch can play, remember what they did to Oklahoma's Blake Griffin earlier this season:

Blake Griffin hit in balls (via jt4643)

I know that's not really a shock around here but our guys will have get mentally prepared for that kind of nonsense because you can bet they will try every dirty trick goading UCLA players to lose their poise.

The other tough matchup for UCLA will be containing Taj Gibson. He scored his 1,000th career point in the win at Oregon and broke Sam Clancy's school record of 196 blocked shots. He scored 15 more points at Oregon State and now has 1,023. He is a load inside and will be a tough matchup for AA2. I have a lot of confidence in AA2’s ability to defend against the best, however, he will have to take his game to another level on Sunday night and also make sure he calibrate his game based on how referees are calling the game early on. We can’t afford to lose AA2 in foul trouble.

The matchup between JS and DeRozan will be interesting. DeRozan had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Oregon, his first double-double of the season. Hopefully JS can force DeRozan to spend a lot of energy playing defense by staying on the same rhythm he found himself in second half of the Oregon game.

We will also have to be tenacious around the rims. Trojans are second in the conference in offensive rebounding. AA2, JK, DG, JS, ND, JH and the whole team will have to step up to make sure they are securing the ball on the defensive end and not giving up easy second chance opportunities to the Trojans. BTW ML might be available for Sunday night. Per Coach Howland doctors cleared him to practice yesterday:

"He's going to try and do a little bit, for a half-an-hour or 40 minutes, and see how it feels," Howland said. "I guess well have a better feeling of what he can or can't do after he works out this afternoon."
Lee said after the win at Oregon he was hopeful of playing in UCLA's next game, which is Sunday against USC.

Here is to hoping ML is fully healthy and can contribute. Having him would be a huge help.

The most interesting aspect of Sunday’s game to me is to find out what kind of defense Floyd will throw against UCLA. Last couple of years Floyd has thrown combination of junk defenses such as ""Triangle and 2" and "Box and I" to deal with the talent disparity against the Ben Ball warriors. In a Triangle and 2 defense, two defenders play man-to-man against the two best scorers, and other three defenders stay back in a zone. From what I can remember Floyd’s strategy worked against us at Pauley last year as Davon Jefferson played very effectively in the middle and his two defenders around the low blocks were covering the corner well. The strategy was very effective as it limited the Bruins to 33.3 percent shooting at Pauley (don’t forget LRMAM also went down with an injury). This year the Trojans are second in Pac-10 in FG Pct defense (.391).

Floyd has also show Box and 1 defense against UCLA. It’s the kind of defense that works against a team with an elite pg.  Four defenders sit back in zone in a standard box set and fifth guy plays man-to-man against the elite pg. In other words, Floyd might stick his best (or the most tenacious) defender against DC to put all out pressure on him. Oregon tried to double DC in second half as he was bringing the ball up court during the second half. So it will be to JH, JS and MR to make sure they are ready to help out by alleviating that expected pressure on DC.

BTW if you live around Southern California head out to Costco Center Sunday night. We need to turn that place blue.

Those are some of my initial thoughts on Sunday night. I would specifically love to hear more from you re. Xs and Os on defense. As mentioned above, Floyd does like to throw interesting combination of junk defenses to make up for the talent disparity between these two teams. If you have thoughts on what we should be on the look out for and what our guys need to do to adjust and counter with more aggression and focus, fire away.

GO BRUINS.

CrouchingBruin already fanshotted the fantastic profile of DC in the Oregonian. I have already read it couple of times but still can’t get enough of it. I think it’s time we start savoring DC’s remaining games as a Ben Ball warrior. I know we are going to take this season game by game because it makes it that much more fun. But I remember going back to 1995 how as senior students on campus we were savoring every game of Ed O, Tyus Edney and George Zidek. For some reason I am feeling the same way about DC, JS and AA2. LMR was the first official Ben Ball warriors who had a special senior day after four years under Howland. Since Howland’s arrival we also have had wonderful senior moments featuring the departures of DJ, CB and RH. But this year it will be something special. Saying goodbye to DC, JS, and AA2 after their 4-5 years of Ben Ball will be an incredibly emotional moment. I know I will feel the goosebumps when I see their last game at Pauley.  I am sure I will be writing stand alone posts on JS and AA2 before it is all over but for now at least I wanted to single out DC.

For some reason, sometimes I get the sense that DC has been underappreciated since his arrival in Westwood. We worship AA around these parts for all the right reasons and what he gave to our programs for three incredible years but perhaps its time to think about what DC has meant to UCLA basketball for last four:

Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian, AP

No doubt AA (and JF) were the two of the key cornerstones who started the Ben Ball party in Westwood. IMO, AA became the early poster child of what the Caretaker started with the incoming class of 2004. Then, we were blessed with the incredible talents of LRMAM, KL, and RW. All of them and JF left early (which was fine by me). DC will be the first CBH recruited All American who will be graduating after four full years in Howlandwood. That is worthy of celebration every game, especially when you read comments like this (from the Oregonian piece, flagged by bruinponcho):

"I said what I wanted to do, and that’s win a national championship, and I’ve had four years to do it," Collison said. "If I don’t do it, at least I can say I took four years to try and accomplish that."

Coach Howland expanded on DC’s leadership in a Daily Bruin piece zeroing on the senior pg "stepping up once again":

After the game, coach Ben Howland expanded upon the leadership Collison brings to the team.

"He’s very calming because he’s so good," Howland said. "He’s a big-time player, which there is no doubt about."

In addition to making big plays, Collison displayed a great ability to calm down the Bruin offense, orchestrating a patient offensive attack against the Ducks’ 2-3 zone.

"First of all, it’s really hard to pressure him," Howland said. "He handled the ball for 38 minutes and had one turnover today, which I’m really proud of."

More from the article on DC’s steady leadership:

 "You don’t want to change what you’ve been doing from the first tip-off all the way up to the end of the game," Collison said. "You want to continue to execute the same way you’ve been executing the first half. When it did get loud, we just remained poised and took our time and executed."

With the Ducks mounting a comeback and the Bruins struggling to get good shots against the pressuring zone defense, Collison said it was a focus on getting stops on defense that allowed the Bruins to come away with a victory.

"We had the lead. It seems like they were getting momentum every time they got a stop; they were feeding off their crowd," Collison said. "So we just wanted to remain poised and quiet the crowd as much as possible."

Yes, the FT streak he is on right now is just sick (and reminds me of Tyus in his senior season). But what I am enjoying most about DC is watching him terrorize the opponent like a silent assassin. He is deadly (as usual) from the outside but he looks smoother in this silky drives right to the hoop. Yes, he got rejected in a dunk attempted against the Ducks on Sunday afternoon but he was killing them in the second half while driving to the hoop. He was fearless, just like he has been in so many clutch situations during last four years:

Photo Credit: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Too often college basketball fans from elite programs feel sorry for themselves when elite talents leave early for the NBA. UCLA is not an exception as I often read a lot of moping about the great players who leave for the League early. As I have said before I have no grudges against Ben Ball warriors (specifically Howland recruited players) leaving early. More power to them. Yet, I think it is more important to celebrate and appreciate every senior moments of warriors like DC (as well as JS and AA2) who have given everything to the magical four letter word infront of their jersey:

Photo Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

To me DC represents everything that is special and holy about UCLA basketball.

Let’s enjoy him. Let’s root for our unquestioned floor general rest of this season. It will make the season even more fun.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s start our roundup with a quick update on CRN’s search for a new DC. Not a lot of information coming out at this point (which I think is good news because I always appreciate a hiring process without leaks). However, not surprisingly beat reporters such as Dohn are anointing Bullough as an “early front-runner”:

UCLA linebackers coach Chuck Bullough is the early front-runner to become the Bruins defensive coordinator, but more names could surface in the process, sources said Monday.

Bullough spent the last three seasons at UCLA under former defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who accepted the head coaching job at New Mexico State last week.

Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel said he doesn't "have a timetable" on hiring a defensive coordinator, and added he would not comment about specific candidates.

"I think there are a number of candidates out there that are very qualified, including guys on our staff," Neuheisel said. "I want to be thorough and make sure I'm not jumping quickly, so I don't have a timetable. I think we're fine in recruiting. It doesn't mean it won't happen quickly. I just don't need it to happen fast."

Also, Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel will speak with Montana coach Bobby Hauck, sources said. Hauck coached with Neuheisel at UCLA, Colorado and Washington, and interviewed with Neuheisel last offseason before deciding to remain with the Grizzlies.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone here on BN. Dohn is probably anointing Bullough as a "frontrunner" because well ... Bullough is easily accessible in Dohn's beat. Hauck news was predictable. We have been pointing to his name for a while. From all accounts either Bullough or Hauck would be solid choices as DC IMHO. So we are off to a pretty good start.  I like the fact that CRN is taking his time and not feeling any pressure to make a quick hire without considering all available options for the program. From reading the tea leaves it seems like CRN has a deliberate and calculated process in place.  Also, per Dohn’s report he is not feeling any pressure to hire a DC immediately because things are looking solid on the recruiting front:

There is no push to get it done before the recruiting weekend coming up. Most of the players coming in are already committed, and I was told UCLA coaches already called all the recruits to make sure they were still on board despite DeWayne Walker's departure.
I was also told no recruits were wavering at this time.

So much for any concern that Walker’s departure would have a negative impact on UCLA’s reruiting.

Speaking of which as Dohn mentioned above a huge recruiting weekend in coming up at UCLA. Mark Saxon from the OC Register has a list of 17 recruits who are coming into Westwood for their “official visits” this weekend:

• OL Nik Abele Irvine
• LB Isaiah Bowens La Puente
• QB Richard Brehaut Rancho Cucamonga
• OL Greg Capella Visalia
• WR Randall Carroll Los Angeles
• WR De’Von Flournoy Van Nuys
• LB Todd Golper Arcadia
• LB Taniela Maka Long Beach
• WR Ricky Marvray Corona
• WR Alex Mascarenas Mission Viejo
• DB Marlon Pollard San Bernardino
• DB Sheldon Price La Puente
• TE Billy Sanders Idaho
• DB Brandon Sermons Pomona
• DT Branden Warner Compton
• WR Markus Wheaton Arizona
• OL Eddie Williams Walnut

Note that neither Carroll no Flournoy are listed as “commits” to Southern Cal any more on Scout.com.  Sanders is committed to Miami. Pollard is currently committed to Notre Dame (he was originally committed to UCLA before decommitting during summer). IIRC Maka is an Arizona commit. All other kids are solid commits to UCLA. Not a bad list at all for a program which is in the middle of tough but expected rebuilding process.

Lastly, since we were on the topic of recruiting, we will end with the following amusing note from Scott Wolf’s Southern Cal blog on Daily News where Scottie theorized that Petey orchestrated Kenny’s recent outburst v. CRN:

Q: What do you make of the recent back-and-forth between Neuheisal and Ken Norton Jr? I'd heard that Neuheisal had been saying he had Norton lined up for a while now, so one would think this is Norton's way of putting an end to that, but it also closes the UCLA coaching window for him, at least as long as Neuheisal is there.

A: The superficial answer is Ken Norton got tired of hearing rumors about UCLA and wanted to put an end to it. But if that is the case, why did Norton refuse to answer several times this week whether he would talk to UCLA if they talked about the defensive coordinator's position. Even after the Rose Bowl, he refused. Now if I was so angry to complain about things Rick Neuheisel said, I would think you would have no problem saying you're not interested in working at UCLA.
However, here is my own theory on the situation. It was Pete Carroll, not Ken Norton, who was upset about any alleged comments made to recruits. Specifically, the decommitment of Morrell Presley. So a plan was orchestrated to go to the media to get out a message that Norton was upset about these alleged comments. I doubt Norton was behind it because he really hates dealing with the media.
Even if Neuheisel said it, it's no different than if other Pac-10 schools say Pete Carroll is going to the NFL. And I know schools are talking about the shooting of track star Bryshon Nellum. So why isn't USC complaining about these too? Maybe because they don't think it affected Presley?

In other words Scott basically agrees what we have suspected all along: Kenny is nothing but Petey’s poodle.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): The video is still up:

In case anyone missed the Ray Maualuga and Erin Andrews video has now been pulled off YouTube. I wonder why.

What is interesting to me is the reaction of Trojans in response to the video. Here is how Adam Rose (a USC alum who comically blogs on "What's Bruin" and "All Things Trojan") initially posted this reaction to Maualuga's approaching of Andrews and doing that dance:

Rey Maualuga, the closest thing college football has to Chuck Norris, decided to celebrate the new year by dancing with ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews.

And when you're Rey Maualuga, you don't need to ask for a dance -- you just boogie.

This video may be the underground highlight of the 2009 Rose Bowl game.

Adam thought it was kind of funny. When he got called out on it this is how he backpedaled this way:

This wasn't rape, and I'm not even sure it was a simulated sex act. In 2009, that's more of a silly dance move (especially with his hands making circles in the air). 50 years ago, it would be totally inappropriate under any circumstance. Of course, they said the same thing about Elvis. Today, the connotation isn't quite the same. To some, he may as well have done bunny ears in a still photo. Perhaps it's a generational thing, but I think most people under 30 were amused.

And dismissed it as Maulauga being "silly":

I'm not inclined to give anybody a pass because they're a good player. I might be inclined to give Maualuga the benefit of the doubt on some of his jokes because he's self-deprecating. Ever see the pics of him wearing a pink thong over his workout clothes? It's one thing if you take yourself too seriously, but he always seemed like a silly kid. That's why I'm not jumping to conclusions.

Nothing wrong with a football player - who is the face of a football program - walking around in a pink thong I guess. Adam didn't jump to conclusions except for the fact that he thought it was kind of kewl and funny.

Adam also threw up this:

I'm NOT saying what Maualuga did was appropriate. Because it's on a national stage with cameras all around, he should have been on better behavior.

In other words this would have been totally appropriate if there were no cameras around? Seriously?

So my question is specifically for all the women who are members of BN, read this blog or lurk around here who saw the video before it got pulled down.

Do you agree with Adam or others who thought it was just Ray being "silly"?  Really interested in hearing your takes. Thanks.

GO BRUINS.