Drew’s exit is a setback UCLA can overcome

One of these years, UCLA will enjoy a blissful off-season.

Some January, the Bruins won’t have to answer questions
about embarrassing bowl losses, drunk-driving allegations, or their
star running back’s decision to leave school a year early
just to become a likely third-round draft pick.

Not this year, of course.

Maurice Drew’s decision to forgo his senior year is
certainly a dark cloud for a program that was beaming brightly
following a 10-win season. Like all clouds though, this one is sure
to pass, and come September, the outlook may be sunny once
again.

For the moment, however, there’s nothing warm and pretty
about Drew’s departure. The junior tailback was coach Karl
Dorrell’s first major recruit, a talented athlete and an
upstanding person who frequently expressed his commitment to
restoring the prominence of UCLA football. That commitment now
seems about as genuine as O.J. Simpson’s pleas of
innocence.

All season long, Drew insisted he wanted to stick around to
build something special in Westwood. Instead, he’s leaving
just after his coach laid a promising foundation.

In Drew’s defense, his draft stock may not have increased
by staying around one last season. After all, his two biggest
liabilities, size and durability, won’t change in the next
year or decade. Coming off a breakout junior campaign, this may
very well be his best opportunity to land in the first day of the
draft.

Nevertheless, his grandfather’s dream to have Drew play
pro football wouldn’t vanish if Drew completed his collegiate
career. With his limitations, he will always face an uphill battle
at the next level. A final go-around in Westwood would at least
ensure that he’d get to make one final significant splash at
the college level. Drew would be the marquee player, not just on
his team, but also in the conference.

His departure is undoubtedly a blow to a roster already losing
its starting quarterback and top receiving threat to graduation.
Nevertheless, it’s a blow the Bruins are quite capable of
sustaining.

Sure, Drew’s game-changing punt returns catapulted UCLA to
its 8-0 start this past season. Yet in the Bruins’ last four
games, he only got his hands on one return. Opposing teams learned
to kick away from him, limiting his capabilities as a special teams
threat. It shouldn’t take a phone call to Miss Cleo to guess
that the same pattern would continue if he had stuck around for his
senior year.

Then there’s Drew’s ability to make plays in the
open field, which warranted his brief flirtation with the Heisman.
However, his struggles when running in between the tackles kept him
from being a serious contender for the award. Sophomore Chris
Markey was a more than adequate back-up the last two seasons and
shouldn’t have any problems stepping into a starting
role.

When Drew injured his shoulder early in the Sun Bowl, Markey and
freshman Kahlil Bell carried the load so that the Bruin running
game didn’t miss a beat. Far from it, the two combined for
UCLA’s best rushing performance of the season.

“They have two to three great running backs coming
back,” Drew said, indicating an opinion that the Bruins
won’t struggle in his absence. “Ben Olson is coming
back and the defense is going to come back and get
better.”

There are still plenty of reasons to expect noticeable strides
from UCLA once next season starts. Particularly since most of the
setbacks, like Drew’s decision, tend to occur when the season
ends.

Finley was a 2005 football columnist. E-mail him at
[email protected].