Richard Brehaut

They don't make quarterback controversies like they used to. UCLA's Kevin Prince played . . . and soared some near the end of a 26-19 loss. And, as promised, Richard Brehaut played in the first half -- though barely, and was not seen again. Brehaut got four plays in the second quarter, getting sacked and fumbling on the last one. Prince rallied the Bruins from a 19-3 deficit in the fourth quarter. "Kevin did a great job," said Brehaut, a freshman. "He was doing everything he could to help this team win. That's the most important thing right now."

This was nearly an anniversary, though no one at UCLA would have rolled out a cake to celebrate wasting a season of quarterback Brett Hundley's college football eligibility. The Bruins were preparing to play Oregon State a year ago this week. Hundley, a true freshman, was put on alert. He was going to play. But he didn't. The decision to hold him out in what ended as a 6-8 season has had impact. Hundley did not throw away a year while learning on the job. It may have been one of the best calls former UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel made during four years at the top. "I was going to make my college debut," Hundley said.

After a long meeting Sunday, Norm Chow got his main point across to Richard Brehaut in a single sentence. "It's your team now," he told UCLA's sophomore quarterback. Kevin Prince, the Bruins' starter, is out for the season after knee surgery. That leaves Brehaut, barely 19 years old, in charge of the offense. And he knows what's on the line. "I'm at the point in my career," he said, "I can either go straight up or straight down. " That too is the precipice where the Bruins teeter these days.

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.

The approach UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut will take is to see the moment as less important than it really is when the Bruins end training camp with a scrimmage at 5 p.m. Saturday at Drake Stadium. While this can be a spotlight dance for Brehaut, a sophomore who is filling in for injured starter Kevin Prince , his mind-set will lean more toward being a wallflower. "We're not going to run any plays tomorrow that we haven't run in practice and had a bunch of reps with," Brehaut said.

UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut quickly came up with three benefits in getting to handle the first-team offense while starter Kevin Prince rests his injured right shoulder. "Reps, reps, reps," said Brehaut, a freshman. "All these extra practices, where I get to run the first team, are going to help me and get me ready for spring practice." It has given Brehaut a chance to put a positive finish on a rocky season, even if Prince heals in time to play against Temple on Dec. 29. "The more snaps he gets, the more he seems comfortable," Coach Rick Neuheisel said.

UCLA quarterback Rich Brehaut is excited about the opportunity to put his own stamp on the rivalry with USC. "I've watched this rivalry my whole life," Brehaut said this week. "It's exciting to be a part of it, knowing that I'll be that guy when that first snap comes. " Coach Rick Neuheisel wants him to be a little less excited. Brehaut experienced the rivalry on the sideline last season. There is a difference, Neuheisel said, when you're the starter. "Having played in this game [as a quarterback]

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince sat out practice for a second day because of back pain, leaving more time for backup Richard Brehaut with the first-team players. Brehaut, who played in six games last year as a freshman, has looked sharp at times this week. Other times it was clear he is still on the learning curve. But his improvement from a year ago has been noticeable to coaches. "He knows what he is doing, at least most of the time," Coach Rick Neuheisel said.

The big decision is … well, no decision, really. UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said Kevin Prince will start at quarterback against Houston on Saturday, and Richard Brehaut would also play. So, it will be just like practice, with fans wondering when freshman Brett Hundley might get playing time. "As I told them both, the competition continues," Neuheisel said. Neuheisel will leave to circumstances when Brehaut would enter the game. Neuheisel said rhythm is important, but "both can play this position well and consistently.

UCLA found itself down to its third string quarterback ? and then its fourth ? Thursday night Sophomore Richard Brehaut was leveled by Nate Williams in the third quarter. Williams was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Brehaut remained in the game, but was replaced by Darius Bell on the next series. Brehaut sat out with a concussion as first Bell and then walk-on Clayton Tunney tried to rally the Bruins in a 24-7 loss to Washington. Bell rushed for nine yards and did not complete a pass.

It's the encore that matters. The Bruins are portrayed as announcing a return to the college football hierarchy by beating No. 16 Nebraska, 36-30, Saturday. The polls responded. The Bruins are ranked 22nd by the Associated Press and 23rd in the coaches' poll. It is the first time since 2007 that UCLA is ranked. And Coach Jim Mora responded, "Polls are not something I have thought about, nor will I think about. There is no significance to being ranked after two weeks. " Still, he acknowledges, "To our fan base, our alumni, for the exposure it brings our school, I think it's a great thing.

Taking a break from its training camp in San Bernardino, UCLA's football team decided to head to the bowling alley Tuesday night for a bonding and bowling session. The word spreading is that quarterback Richard Brehaut was the player with the best bowling skills, but he received plenty of competition from assistant coach Marques Tuiasosopo, a former quarterback. Of course, the Bruins hope to go bowling this season, as in a Rose Bowl. And some of their players are getting skills in being media commentators, as indicated by the video above.

What was already clear on the practice field is now official on UCLA's football depth chart. Redshirt freshman Brett Hundley is the Bruins' No. 1 quarterback. He has looked the part since spring drills, but first-year Coach Jim Mora announced the news on Friday anyway, with the Bruins set to resume training camp Saturday with morning and evening practices at Cal State San Bernardino. "After watching 22 practices, watching him demonstrate leadership, pose and timing, it was apparent that he was the right guy to lead this team in 2012," Mora said.

Brett Hundley , Kevin Prince , Richard Brehaut and the rest of UCLA's quarterbacks will have to wait. Coach Jim Mora said Thursday that a decision on a starter will come in August, two weeks into fall training camp. "I'm going to announce our starting quarterback on Aug. 16, after two weeks of summer camp," Mora said. "We're planning on having real intense scrimmages on the 15th and the 16th and right after that, it is go time. " UCLA opens the season at Rice two weeks later.

Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut have done this dance before. The last three seasons, the two have battled to be UCLA's starting quarterback. Prince won each time, though it was a photo finish heading into the 2011 season. What changed this spring are the people they are trying to impress. New Coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone are getting their first looks at the two. "You've just got to go with it," Prince said. "There's nothing you can do to change the circumstance.

UCLA's quarterback situation seemed to gain some clarity, yet remained murky. Kevin Prince , Richard Brehaut and Brett Hundley received all the work in the brief team scrimmage Saturday. Jerry Neuheisel was given time in situational 11-on-11 drills. Nothing, though, was said to have changed. "What I have to do is go watch he film," Coach Jim Mora said. "The old coach's cliche. " Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone added, "I'm going to have to give you coach-talk.

For those fixated on the UCLA quarterback competition, this was a Richard Brehaut day. Brehaut drove the Bruins to a touchdown, tossing a three-yard pass to Joseph Fauria for the score, during a mini-scrimmage Saturday afternoon. Kevin Prince produced a touchdown, as well, though he'd like to have the throw back. His screen pass was tipped by linebacker Sean Westgate and intercepted by defensive end Datone Jones , who ran to the end zone. What this all means is … well, very little.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said he'd like to have the quarterback competition narrowed down by the third week of spring practice. That's a week away, but through Thursday's practice, the Bruins' fifth this spring, Kevin Prince , Richard Brehaut , Brett Hundley and Jerry Neuheisel have been splitting snaps fairly evenly with the first team during team periods, making it hard to determine whom Mora favors. Still, Prince and Brehaut, who each started games last season, and the highly touted redshirt freshman Hundley would seem to be the favorites for the starting position.

UCLA got rid of one Neuheisel last November (see: Rick , former head football coach). But it gained another Neuheisel this spring (see: Jerry , walk-on freshman quarterback). For the junior Neuheisel, who shares his dad's friendly demeanor, aw-shucks smile, set of narrow blue eyes, and head of thin blond locks, it's obviously a bit strange. "As soon as I signed here, the dream was to win a Rose Bowl together," Neuheisel, who played at Los Angeles Loyola High School, said after the Bruins' spring practice Thursday.