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Bruins' bonding in practice leads to victories on field

UCLA quarterback Drew Olson rolled to his right last week against Washington State and lofted the game-tying touchdown pass to Marcus Everett with 44 seconds remaining in regulation.

The first person Olson came in contact with after leading the 17-point comeback was running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who engulfed Olson in bear hug.

In dissecting how UCLA rose from unranked to No. 8 in the nation, there are plenty of reasons -- red-zone efficiency, superior conditioning, Olson's much-improved play, a favorable schedule and a resiliency not seen in Westwood in a long time.

But as the Bruins (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10) look for their first 7-0 start since 1998, and fourth since 1954, today at the Rose Bowl against Matt Moore-led Oregon State, one factor stands alone.

"We really feel like it's a family," fullback Michael Pitre said.

"I think it's the camaraderie, and how close the team is," Olson said.

"Everybody is so close," tight end Marcedes Lewis said.

After spring Football 101 classes, where players better learned what coaches expected and coaches better learned what players wanted, a close-knit bond formed, and the large gap between the two groups was bridged.

"They talk to us now, and ask us for suggestions on how things should be going [in practice], or what we feel we could do to be better with this and that," senior strong safety Jarrad Page said. "It's because we've earned their respect and their trust by what we've done. It makes you feel like you're all one, like the coaches are almost playing, too."

Bruins linebacker Spencer Havner said the new relationship made it easy for him to meet Monday with defensive coordinator Larry Kerr and suggest how to possibly eliminate slow starts, by establishing a higher tempo at the start of practice to simulate a game.

But the shape of the relationship between coaches and players began taking shape in the spring, and made it all right for players to ask for one change. Conditioning drills were 6am, and unsupervised 7-on-7 drills were in the late afternoon. It left many players angry about sitting around campus for two or three hours until the passing drills.

Lewis said some players spoke to the coaches about starting conditioning an hour later, and staging passing drills earlier. The coaches agreed, and everyone was happy.

"Instead of making us fit their program, it seems like they've been doing things to make the program fit us," Lewis said. "That's a big difference."

In turn, the players thought they were more invested in the program.

"By no means do we tell the coaches what to do, but it's about working together," Olson said. "It's the relationship. We sat Coach Dorrell down and gave him ideas, and he sat us down and gave us his thoughts. It's sort of a win-win situation if you take it the right way. Guys can take it the wrong way. Coach can take it the wrong way. You have to be careful with how you do it."

Olson has 15 touchdown passes, just three interceptions and a 67.2 completion percentage.
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