Johnathan Franklin

Running back Johnathan Franklin and linebacker Anthony Barr have been  named UCLA's offensive and defensive most valuable players. Franklin set a UCLA single-season rushing  record with 1,700 yards. He also set the school career rushing record with 4,369 yards. Barr moved from receiver to linebacker this season. His 13.5 sacks were the most in the nation. He also forced four fumbles and blocked a kick. Both players have one game remaining. UCLA plays Baylor in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

UCLA needs 1,700 from a running back. Not on the SATs. On the ground. It doesn't take a Stanford degree to work this equation. Johnathan Franklin is gone. So too are his cuts, jukes and flat-out sprints that made quarterback Brett Hundley's life so much safer. Franklin gained a UCLA record 1,700 yards last season. The first phase of finding his replacement ended Saturday with the Bruins' scaled-back spring game in the Rose Bowl. "There was a calmness on the field that we had," Hundley said.

Quarterback Kevin Prince and tailback Johnathan Franklin had the type of days needed for the UCLA offense to be effective. It just happened on a day the Bruins' defense collapsed in a 45-26 loss to California. Franklin, playing on a tender ankle, had 101 yards rushing, including a 74-yard touchdown run. "It was a counter and I was patient, then hit the hole," Franklin said. "Then it was just like practice, just finish the run in the end zone." As for his injured ankle, Franklin said, "It's nothing but pain."

NEW YORK - It could average 400 pounds from tackle to tackle, and still the offensive line Johnathan Franklin runs behind in the NFL won't be as daunting as the line he had at UCLA. His line in college was a queue of seven running backs, and Franklin was at the bottom of the depth chart as a freshman. He typically got to touch the ball once per practice. "If I didn't do something with my one rep, I'd walk away mad," said Franklin, who this week will become the first Bruins running back drafted since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2006.

Johnathan Franklin has gone through a lot of nicknames. There's "Jet Ski" for his speed in his Pop Warner football days, and "Hollywood" for his season-two gig on the reality show "Baldwin Hills. " The latest handle for the UCLA star is "Mayor," because that's what he wants to be one day - the mayor of Los Angeles. The running back who's broken rushing records when he's on the field has cajoled his teammates into registering to vote when he's in the locker room. He plans to get to his personal goals the way he gets to the goal line: with focus.

UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin has shown some wear, but no tears, six games into the season. Franklin was slowed during the second half of a 43-17 loss to California on Saturday because of minor injuries, Coach Jim Mora said. Franklin had a bruised muscle in his calf and a bruised hand but still ran for 103 yards in 15 carries. He ranks seventh in the nation in rushing, averaging 133.33 yards per game. Franklin had only two carries in the fourth quarter against Cal. Of his 53 yards rushing in the second half, 26 came on one run early in the third quarter.

Running back Johnathan Franklin continued chasing UCLA's career rushing record held by Gaston Green, who gained 3,731 yards from 1984 to 1987. Franklin gained 217 yards Saturday to pass Theotis Brown into seventh-place on the all-time list. Franklin has 3,100 yards in three-plus seasons. Skip Hicks (1993-97) is sixth with 3,140 yards. It was the third 200-yard game of Franklin's career, tying him with Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Green for the most for a UCLA running back. Nebraska allowed only two runs longer than 30 yards last season.

Running back Johnathan Franklin didn't just break the UCLA all-time rushing record. He broke it in style. Franklin dipped and juked his way 37 yards for a touchdown on the Bruins' first possession against Arizona on Saturday. He eluded two defenders after taking the handoff, then left another Wildcat waving at air 10 yards downfield. The run allowed Franklin to pass the UCLA record of 3,731 yards, set by Gaston Green from 1984 to '87. UCLA Coach Jim Mora called timeout before the extra point so the crowd at the Rose Bowl could honor Franklin.

The congestion in the UCLA backfield continues to have a bottleneck, with six tailbacks trying to force their way into the rotation. Johnathan Franklin has navigated his way into a spot where he may be a factor come the fall. A performance in this afternoon's scrimmage similar to one he put on in last Saturday's scrimmage can further his case. "My attitude has been to focus every day like it's a game," said Franklin, who was a redshirt as a freshman last fall.

There is a tremendous view from Johnathan Franklin's office. A throng of people pass by along Bruin Walk, that ribbon of concrete that separates the Morgan Center and Wooden Center on the UCLA campus. Franklin, the Bruins' senior running back, sits on the steps outside Wooden Center enjoying the scene. A student calls out to him. A few others give him a "hi-there" wave. A teammate, joking, asks that he pose for a photo. The sun is shining. It's a beautiful day. TIMELINE: College football 2012-13 bowl schedule This is where Franklin conducts business when not running through opposing defenses or visiting the Mattel Children's Hospital or finishing the final class to get his degree.

UCLA is still going through the process of finding a running back, or running backs, to fill the void left by Johnathan Franklin. That chore could be a bit easier a year from now. Rushel Shell, who is leaving Pittsburgh and looking at other schools, attended the Bruins' practice Saturday, getting the A-list treatment. That included a conversation with Franklin, who gained 1,700 yards last season and is awaiting the NFL draft. "He was telling me about the program - how it's about to take off," said Shell, who gained 641 yards rushing as a freshman at Pittsburgh in 2012.

There is no one in UCLA's spring practice who has more to prove than running back Malcolm Jones. And no one knows that more than Jones. "I'm a changed man," Jones said. "I'm not the selfish and immature person that I was before. I'm in it for the team, no matter how much I play. " Jones walked away from UCLA, and his scholarship, last September. He spent the fall pondering where to transfer. At the end of deliberations, Jones came back to Westwood. Now comes the hard work: making up for lost time.

INDIANAPOLIS - Determined to curtail the fumbling problem that plagued him earlier in his career, UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin carried a football with him everywhere he went before his senior season, taking it to dinner, the movies … even when he went to bed. All the while, people on campus - teammates and others - would try to poke, jab and rip it from his grasp. "Just random people would come up and try to hit my ball," Franklin said Friday at the NFL scouting combine.

UCLA got a recruiting bonus Wednesday. Running back Malcolm Jones, who left UCLA last fall, will return to the Bruins program as a walk-on, Coach Jim Mora said. Jones was a high-profile recruit out of Westlake Village Oaks Christian, where he was named the national Gatorade player of the year as a senior. But Jones career meandered his first three years at UCLA. GRAPHIC: UCLA recruits The 6-foot, 220-pound running back had 313 yards rushing in three seasons before leaving after the 2012 season opener.

All the right stuff seemed to be there Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion, when the Bruins took on the rival USC Trojans in men's basketball. The recent $138-million upgrade to Pauley left it still shiny and new. The place was overwhelmed with the soft blue of Bruin colors, as it should be. It was UCLA's home game, UCLA's night. They promoted it as "Blue Out" night, and the faithful responded. All the current essentials of game-night noise and hype in big-time basketball, pro or college, were rolled out by the Bruins.

Earlier in the week I angrily wrote in about the Daily Trojan (a.k.a. L.A. Times) and the above-the-fold article with a huge picture of Matt Barkley and a below-the-fold, tiny article and picture on UCLA and Johnathan Franklin. Matt Barkley didn't even participate in the article on himself. On Christmas Day, I disgustedly wrote in again about the huge article and picture on Marqise Lee/USC and the tiny article on UCLA. Another nice gift to the Trojans. Well, after driving to San Diego to watch the Holiday Bowl, I profusely apologize for my previous missteps.

PALO ALTO -- Johnathan Franklin appeared calm and composed as he took questions outside UCLA's locker room Friday night. However, the fifth-year senior running back acknowledged that tears had been flowing after the No. 17 Bruins lost to No. 8 Stanford, 27-24, in the Pac-12 Conference championship game at Stanford Stadium. The defeat meant the humble Franklin and fellow seniors would not finish their careers with an appearance in the Rose Bowl. "It's been a long time since I cried after a game," he said.

UCLA tailback Johnathan Franklin doesn't play mind games when he runs. He darts one way, then another, then kicks in the speed. Nothing he can really explain. "I don't know, maybe I'll see my lineman's butt, or maybe green grass, or the defense move the other direction," Franklin said of his jitterbug style. "Rather than think about it, I just do what my instincts tell me." That style set him off on a 60-yard dart-and-dash touchdown run during Saturday's scrimmage. It was the centerpiece of a 99-yard performance that helped propel him into the No. 1 tailback spot during this morning's practice.

Of all the things that happened to UCLA on Thursday night, there was one that the Bruins could feel good about: They didn't have to face Robert Griffin III. Nick Florence was enough to deal with. Florence didn't go home with the Heisman Trophy this season. He settled for making the Bruins' defense look statuesque, at least mobility-wise. With a lickety-split offense, the Bears rolled to a 49-26 victory in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. This was not the epilogue the Bruins (9-5)

UCLA brings plenty of offense to the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl on Thursday night in San Diego. The Bruins will need it. The last time Baylor played a Pac-12 Conference team in a bowl game, scoreboard circuits were taxed to the max. The Bears outscored Washington, 67-56, in the Alamo Bowl last season. Times staff writer Chris Foster examines the game's matchups and story lines: One for the road UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin hopes this game becomes a victory lap. The senior gets one more chance to add to his UCLA career and season rushing records.