Freshman wide receiver captures 2 TDs, is compared to J.J. Stokes

Monday, October 6, 1997

Freshman wide receiver captures 2 TDs, is compared to J.J.
Stokes

Talent exceeds expectations for a potential star

By Mark Dittmer

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon: The next J.J. Stokes?

Such comparisons were made after Poli-Dixon caught two touchdown
passes in the Bruins’ rout of Houston on Saturday.

"You saw the older J.J. out there," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said
after Saturday’s game, which UCLA won, 66-10, with Stokes cheering
the team on from the sidelines. "(Poli-Dixon) has got a chance to
be that kind of guy. I tell ya, he’s a big guy; he’s a fast guy;
he’s got great hands."

Statistically, the true freshman does not stack up to the NFL
starter Stokes, who broke almost every Bruin receiving record
before graduating from UCLA in 1995.

For instance, Poli-Dixon’s two catches on Saturday were the
first two scores of his career. Stokes had 28 as a Bruin.

With those two receptions on the day, Poli-Dixon now has three
career receptions. Stokes had 154.

But then, for two plays on Saturday, Poli-Dixon’s talent was
hard to ignore.

The first play came less than two minutes into the game, with
UCLA already up 7-0. Facing second and 24 at Houston’s 31-yard
line, Poli-Dixon lined up on the left side and ran a screen pattern
toward quarterback Cade McNown.

"I was just hoping that I would get the opportunity to run it,"
Poli-Dixon said of the screen. "I got it and saw that I had some
good blocks …"

And the rest was history. Brian Poli-Dixon’s first touchdown
catch, maybe the first of many.

At the very least, the first one of the day. Two minutes into
the second quarter, with UCLA leading 21-3 and the ball on
Houston’s 15-yard line, McNown found Poli-Dixon on a crossing
pattern. Poli-Dixon caught the ball near the 10, and ran the rest
of the way.

"It was great running after the catch," McNown said of
Poli-Dixon’s scores. "And you always look for that in a
receiver."

When the 1997 season was starting, it looked like Poli-Dixon
might not play at all.

"At first I thought I was gonna redshirt," Poli-Dixon said.
"’Cause they had six receivers that have already been playing."

But then UCLA lost sophomore split end Brad Melsby to an illness
– he’s been out all year – and someone needed to step up. The
Bruins made the decision to play Poli-Dixon.

"He kept making plays and catches (in practice)," wide receivers
coach Ron Caragher said. "And he’s such a good playmaker-type guy
that we thought, ‘We need to get this guy involved.’

"It’s just so hard for a freshman to come in and contribute
right away because there’s a lot to learn. We thought this would be
a good week for him to come forward and get some plays and he did.
He stepped up and he did exceed expectations. Two touchdowns, two
catches, that’s pretty good."

Poli-Dixon’s 46 yards receiving made up just a small chunk of
Cade McNown’s 297 passing yards, all of which came in the first
half.

McNown spread the wealth, throwing to Rodney Lee three times for
55 yards, Jim McElroy twice for 113 yards, Danny Farmer thrice for
74 yards and Eric Scott once for nine yards.

Of those receivers, McElroy, Scott and Lee are all seniors, and
their departures at year’s end will certainly move Poli-Dixon
higher up on the depth chart.

"The coaches really wanted to get him more involved because he
and Farmer (a sophomore) are the only guys that are going to be
left (after the season)," McElroy said.

While the coaches are hopeful in their comparisons of Poli-Dixon
to Stokes, they need it to be true.

Next year they need Brian Poli-Dixon to be a go-to guy. McElroy
thinks the freshman has what it takes.

"He’s going to be a great player pretty soon," McElroy said.
"It’s just a matter of time."

Caragher agreed: "Yeah, I think he’s got a good future. Maybe
this is his coming-out party."

If so, Stokes’ presence was fitting. Now a San Francisco 49er,
Stokes is enjoying a coming-out party of his own this year, leading
the 49ers in catches in Jerry Rice’s absence. With San Francisco
off this week, Stokes got a chance to check up on his old team and
a chance to see someone they may start calling the next J.J.
Stokes.

The first J.J. Stokes did not withhold praise.

"They tell me he’s a freshman, but he looks like he’s been out
there a couple years," Stokes said. "I think he’s got the potential
to be the best receiver in history … if he continues on the path
that he’s on, but … there’s things that can happen that you don’t
really want to happen. If he stays on the right track, being able
to play four years of his career, he has the possibility to be the
greatest."

Stokes may have been alluding to his own abbreviated college
career: After a record-breaking junior year, he missed most of his
senior year due to thigh problems. Poli-Dixon got a first-hand
reminder of what Stokes was talking about – he sprained his ankle
while blocking in the second quarter, and missed the rest of the
game.

"Everybody gets their knicks and bruises," the freshman said,
not to be sobered on the day of his coming-out party.