Seasoned UCLA team looks to reverse result of last season’s Cal game

Devin Fuller’s first collegiate touch left a lot to be
desired.

The play that burned the receiver’s redshirt last season at Cal looked neither promising nor positive for Bruins. A Brett Hundley pass was thrown beyond Fuller’s reach behind the line of scrimmage for a fumble, allowing Cal to take the lead and complete control of the game shortly thereafter.

“I was just nervous,” said Fuller. “I was really nervous in that game. The ball was outstretched a little bit but it still touched my hands so it was my bad, but I was more nervous and I’m more confident now in my abilities.”

Fuller was, in fact, a true freshman at the time, but the whole UCLA team appeared to have his first-game jitters at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley last October, handling the football recklessly and surrendering six turnovers.

Hundley, at the time a redshirt freshman quarterback, had arguably the worst game of his collegiate career so far at Cal, throwing four interceptions. But offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said the down nature of last year’s game spread throughout the team’s offense; no one escaped blame for the 43-17 stinker.

“I don’t know if I’d say Brett, but (me), Brett, Torian (White), X (junior guard Xavier Su’a-Filo), everybody (had their worst game),” Mazzone said. “As you saw last week, it’s hard to win football games when you turn the ball over. I don’t think it was an issue last year of us being able to move the football, just six turnovers, it doesn’t matter who we run it against.”

As the Pac-12 saw last week, a year has proven to be plenty of time for Fuller and Hundley to come into their own, and even venture into some unorthodox playmaking, too.

Against Utah, the two engaged in a role reversal that worked to perfection. Early in the second quarter, Fuller pulled out of the slot and began sprinting to his right to receive the ball behind center before pulling up and hitting an elusive Brett Hundley for a seven-yard touchdown, a first in many respects.

“It was great, I threw my first touchdown and Brett had his first receiving touchdown,” Fuller said of the play, which initially appeared in the Nebraska game plan. “It was in the game plan for I don’t remember what down and distance, but it was closer to the goal line so we could score.”

Four games in, the duo has combined for more yards than it did all of last season and seems to be jelling more with every game, particularly on drag routes that allow Fuller to reach his top speed in fewer vertical yards.

A year older and against a Cal team that comes into Saturday’s contest 1-4, Fuller said he is eager for an altogether different experience against his first-ever collegiate opponent.

“For me to come in to my first game, I was like, ‘Wow, I contributed to this game in a negative way,’” Fuller said. “It really hit me, but this year I hope to make it a positive impact.”

Benenoch there, done that

Six weeks after he was yanked from the starting right guard job, freshman Caleb Benenoch has once again been inserted with the starting offensive unit, this time at right tackle to fill the void left by injured left tackle Torian White.

While forced to watch much of the team’s first three games from the sidelines, Benenoch said he never let his mind wander, understanding the physical nature of football might eventually provide him another opportunity to play.

“Everybody has to come and prepare like they’re the starter because you never know what’s going to happen in a football game,” said Benenoch. “This is a violent sport. It’s no difference, it’s just (I need to) keep working the way I’ve been working.”

The most pressing order of business for the young Benenoch will be building his adeptness in silent-count snap situations, which will become crucial once UCLA reaches its noisiest, most brutal road tests in Stanford and Oregon.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but it’s just something that we need to get better at,” he said.