Imagine an Oregon football team with one of the most highly recruited running backs in the nation.
Think of Kellen Clemens or Jason Fife handing off to this running back, then seeing him split the opposing team’s defensive line for a 6-yard gain. Then another 6-yard gain, which is followed by a 23-yard blast.
And that would be just the tip of the iceberg.
The Ducks almost had that in Maurice Drew. Instead, the 5-foot-8-inch back is doing wonders for the UCLA offense. He hasn’t rushed for more than 500 yards this season, but he is a quick, versatile back.
While he’s small in stature, he weighs 200 pounds, a nice size for a collegiate runner. Yet, some teams may have been scared off because of his size.
Not Oregon. Not Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti.
Bellotti openly admits he wanted Drew to become a Duck, but as it would turn out, Drew decided to stay in California.
Instead of wowing crowds at Autzen Stadium, he’s doing it at the Rose Bowl. Instead of garnering recognition in the Northwest, he’s getting it in Southern California.
After losing Onterrio Smith to the NFL after last year, Drew’s place on the Ducks would have been a boon to the offense. Terrence Whitehead is a good running back and should improve in his final two seasons in Eugene.
Whitehead beat out three other capable runners for the position, but he has been inconsistent in his first full season with the Ducks. Chris Vincent has been OK at times, but has yet to get to the level he showed during spring football.
Ryan Shaw has seemingly disappeared from Oregon’s offensive plans, and save for a few key carries this season, Kenny Washington’s specialty this year has been special teams.
There is something about Drew that screams future collegiate star.
Maybe it’s the fact he played for De La Salle High School, the school with the most consecutive wins in high school history. Or maybe it’s that he’s taken control of the UCLA running game. He’s taken it out of the hands of incumbent Tyler Ebell, who did the same thing to Manuel White last year.
My bets are, though, that Drew takes the job and runs with it. And not just the rest of this year, or next. Barring injuries or personal problems, Drew should be a fixture at UCLA for the next three seasons.
That should especially be the case since Matt Moore and Drew Olson don’t play like the quarterbacks of the future. Moore was injured early on, and Olson has been inconsistent, for the most part. When Moore returned, he became just as inconsistent as Olson.
Former UCLA head coach Bob Toledo seemed to get the best out of his quarterbacks. Maybe it’s not just current head coach Karl Dorrell’s thing to get them going.
But he’s got Drew going, and regardless of who the Bruins have behind center, they should be something to watch in the Pacific-10 Conference.
We all know what Steven Jackson did for Oregon State when he arrived on the scene.
Drew could do the same.
Now imagine if he found his way to Eugene.
Scary, huh?