Poli-Grip
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 7, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Injured wide
receiver Brian Poli-Dixon comes back to the field
on Saturday after a three-week hiatus.
By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter
Hate on Brian Poli-Dixon all you want. He can hear you, but
he’s not listening.
At times the preseason All-Pac-10 receiver is lauded for the big
plays that put him second on the all-time touchdown list with 20.
Then there are times, like after the season opener in Alabama where
he had zero receptions and two dropped balls, when fans call him
everything from “overrated” to
“butterfingers.”
“That’s the kind of criticism I don’t like
““ from someone who has no idea what is going on, wishes they
could be where I’m at, and sits back and talks trash, because
they have nothing else to do,” said Poli-Dixon, who ranks
fifth all time in receptions at UCLA.
He might seem impenetrable, but Poli-Dixon took the criticism to
heart.
“I was really excited for the Alabama game. It was my big
year and big game,” he said. “Then I went out there and
played probably the worst game I ever played in my life.”
After having trouble with dropped passes at other points in his
career, Poli-Dixon’s main goal for the season was to be
consistent.
After the Alabama game many doubted he could reach that goal.
But he’s averaged 58.5 yards a game with no drops since,
including a breakout performance in Oregon State where he had 107
yards and two touchdowns.
“A lot of people at this level in football will just rely
on their talent and potential,” former roommate and place
kicker Chris Griffith said. “Brian’s a hard worker.
He’s always doing a little extra.”
He was en route to another great game against Washington with 69
yards in the first half, including a memorable 33-yard diving catch
on third and five to keep alive a touchdown drive. Then came
another setback to his senior season when Poli-Dixon dislocated his
shoulder at the beginning of the second half.
“The hard part was seeing that he got that injury when he
was playing consistently,” wide receivers coach Ron Caragher
said.
This week Poli-Dixon returns against Oregon, and with Tab Perry
out and Ryan Smith playing with an injured shoulder and ankle, UCLA
needs Poli-Dixon now more than ever.
“Teams have to account for him now,” UCLA head coach
Bob Toledo said. “He’s a guy we’ve sorely
missed.”
Watching his team go 1-3 in his absence, Poli-Dixon served as
Grandpa Bird among the wide receivers, encouraging the young Birds
by example and advice.
The senior leader of the wide receivers, though, can just as
quickly become the class clown.
“He’s the life of the group,” fellow wide
receiver Craig Bragg said. “He keeps us up every day during
practice. He gets away with more stuff because he’s a senior.
He takes his jokes a little bit further than we could.”
One day he pushed the limit when Caragher told the Birds to
knock it off after making unnecessary one-handed catches in the
drill. His next pass, Poli-Dixon stood flat on his feet and caught
the ball with one hand and a big grin. The Birds were ordered to
drop and do push-ups.
“I don’t call it show-boating, I just call it having
fun,” Poli-Dixon said.
On a team full of swagger, Grandpa Bird is the most
flamboyant.
“Brian is a character. He likes to entertain,”
Caragher said.
Whether he is teasing the freshmen or trash-talking at the DBs,
Poli-Dixon keeps everybody laughing.
Beat on a slant route by Matt Ware in one-on-one drills,
Poli-Dixon let everyone know: “You can defend the slant.
I’ll give you that. But that’s about all you can
defend. You’re First Team All-Slant.”
Poli-Dixon left his man on the ground the next route. Everyone
laughed as Poli-Dixon achieved what he set out to do.
“Brian’s a realist,” Griffith said.
When he talks, he backs it up.
