Moore Is the Feeling for Bruin QB

By Bill Plaschke

Aug. 24, 2003 12 AM PT

True to their word, the UCLA football bosses refused to pick a starting quarterback after Saturday’s scrimmage, but it didn’t matter.

He picked himself.

The sooner they name Matt Moore, the better.

On a sunny Fullerton afternoon at Titan Stadium, with Moore swaggering across the field as if he knew something we didn’t, the only thing muddled was the Bruin spin.

Said Coach Karl Dorrell: “Obviously, [Moore] is in the driver’s seat, but we’ll have to see what happens the rest of camp.”

Said offensive coordinator Steve Axman: “It’s still too close to say one guy should be named number one.”

C’mon, fellas. You know it, and I know it and, more important, your football team knows it.

Drew Olson has the quiet, careful consistency they will surely need at some point this fall.

But Matt Moore has the brash athletic presence they need right now.

Olson is guacamole, Moore is salsa. Olson is keyboard, Moore is drums.

Olson is the perfect safety net for a drive or a game or even a season. But for a new coach in a new system still on a honeymoon, Moore is the guy who seems better suited to take that first howling leap.

With less than two weeks remaining before the opener in Colorado, and with time having run out on the training camp seclusion of Cal State Fullerton, the Bruins should make it official.

A potentially all-underclassman offense needs to focus on one leader. Moore, a true sophomore, needs to have the confirmation that he can behave like that leader.

“I’m ready for this thing to end,” Moore said last week. “It’s a weird situation, and the team needs to stop playing in the dark.”

With Moore under center Saturday, a camp-weary squad played as if the lights had suddenly blinked on.

He started because he had a better week in practice. But then he looked so good, the coaches couldn’t take him out.

He threw a perfect slant pass to Craig Bragg on his first possession to highlight a touchdown drive.

“I’m like, ‘Let’s see you do it again,’ ” Axman said.

So he did, threading four completions on his second drive, including one flat pass to the opposite side of the field, two pinpoint passes through downfield traffic, and a perfect screen pass on the run.

All that, and he made one good decision to throw the ball out of bounds, and used one good scramble that led to a field goal.

“I don’t think I did anything to shoot myself in the foot,” Moore said with a grin.

Neither did Olson, who, working mostly with the second team, threw for 144 yards while Moore threw for 118.

Olson was free of mistakes, while Moore forced a pass that was intercepted at the end of the scrimmage.

“But I don’t like to go by just stats,” Dorrell said. “I also like to go by things like mannerisms.”

Then what are you waiting for?

Moore rifled the ball like a starting quarterback, directed the offense like a starting quarterback, even found a favorite target -- huge Marcedes Lewis across the middle -- like a starting quarterback.

He also talks like a quarterback.

“No, I didn’t feel any pressure,” he said. “I came to this school to play football. This is why I’m here.”

There is some thought that Dorrell is being so careful in this decision because, as both players are just sophomores, he is worried the loser will transfer.

But if the loser realizes that a young offensive line probably will necessitate the use of both quarterbacks this year -- UCLA has not survived with just one quarterback since Cade McNown -- the transfer shouldn’t be a concern.

There also have been some rumblings that Dorrell would take the easy way out and rotate the quarterbacks from series to series until a winner emerged.

To that, we respond with two words.

Bob Toledo.

Rotating quarterbacks works about well in college football as Friday night games. Young players don’t need the confusion. Young players need to identify and respond to one guy.

Just ask Toledo, who began and ended his final Bruin season with rotations that spun him out of a job. One minute the quarterback was Cory Paus. The next minute, it was Olson.

On one great drive, it would be Olson. The next minute, it was Moore, whose lost fumble against USC in that situation hastened Toledo’s demise.

That is, incidentally, the last time many UCLA fans have seen Moore, looking lost and confused in the biggest game of the year.

“I’ve learned,” he said. “People have downsized my mental skills, but that’s not an issue anymore. This summer, Coach Axman was on me to learn the playbook, and I learned it. I’ve made the adjustments. I’m ready for this.”

Judging from the way they responded Saturday, he no longer has to convince his teammates. Judging from the oohs and aahs and cheers, he also has sold the fans.

Now it’s Dorrell’s turn. Take your time, Coach. You have until yesterday.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected].

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Checking Signals

Comparing the 2002 statistics of UCLA quarterbacks Matt Moore and Drew Olson:

*--* QB G GS COMP ATT PCT YARDS INT TD RATING MOORE 5 1 33 62 53.2% 412 0 2 119.7 OLSON 7 5 53 104 51.0% 702 4 2 109.5

*--*