Bruins Won’t Be Up to Old Tricks

The swinging gate probably has swung shut, offensive tackles are not sharpening their passing skills, and it’s doubtful UCLA will have a wide receiver throw more touchdown passes this season than he catches, as Jon Dubravac did in 2002.

The trick plays that were a hallmark of the Bob Toledo era are not expected to find their way into first-year Coach Karl Dorrell’s game plan, because Dorrell is philosophically opposed to such gadgetry.

“I don’t run a lot of trick plays,” Dorrell said after practice Tuesday. “A lot of times, they don’t even work, and you put a lot of preparation into them. I’d rather get kids to play hard and fast and to know what they’re doing.”

Toledo seemed to come up with a trick play every week, but it was hard to criticize his emphasis on them, because they often worked. Dubravac, for instance, threw three passes last season, and each was caught for a touchdown, the receptions totaling 141 yards. Dubravac caught only two passes for 34 yards.

Dorrell is not opposed to an occasional reverse, and he’ll use the hook-and-ladder in times of crisis, but don’t expect him to start diagraming plays like a kid with a stick on a sandlot.

“They have a place in an offense,” Dorrell said of trick plays, “but they’re not something we think highly of.”

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Ten days before the Sept. 6 opener at Colorado, Dorrell still hasn’t named a starting quarterback, though it appears that Matt Moore, who took most of the snaps in a seven-on-seven drill Tuesday, has beaten out Drew Olson for the job.

If Moore had dazzled Bruin coaches in practice this week, he probably would have been named the starter by now, but Moore and Olson have struggled, so Dorrell probably will wait until Thursday to make the official announcement.

“There are still some issues to be resolved,” Dorrell said. “They’re both still making some errors where it’s still not a done deal. It’s not like one is blowing the other out of the water. There are times where they’re not executing properly, and that’s why we want to push through this week [before naming a starter].”

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After marveling at just about everything freshman tailback Maurice Drew has done in camp, the Bruins found something he doesn’t do quite so well.

With an increased focus on special teams this week, Drew bobbled several punts and kickoffs Monday and Tuesday, probably costing him any shot of handling returns early in the season. Receiver Craig Bragg will return punts, and tailbacks Tyler Ebell and Akil Harris probably will return kicks.

“If I had to play today I wouldn’t put him back there, because he’s been a little inconsistent catching the ball,” Dorrell said of Drew. “He’s going to be a good one. He’s exploring new frontiers, and it’s not real comfortable to him. I’d like to see him be the one back there, but I need to see more of him to feel comfortable with it.”

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Dorrell said Matt Clark, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior, has solidified the left cornerback job opposite Matt Ware, leaving quarterback as the only unsettled position.... Strong safety Jarrad Page (bruised left foot) and Bragg (sore legs) practiced despite minor injuries Tuesday but were held out of contact drills.... With the opener at Boulder, Colo. (elevation 5,354 feet), UCLA has placed an extra emphasis on conditioning. “It’s a big concern. I’ve coached [in Colorado] six years, and it’s hard to play there,” said Dorrell, a former assistant coach at Colorado and with the Denver Broncos. “If you’re not in shape, it’s going to be hard to get through the fourth quarter. That’s something we’re trying to put in their heads now. We’re going to do everything we can to help neutralize that.”