Brett Hundley (17) has proven his worth as a running quarterback. (Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports)
When quarterback Brett Hundley decided to return to school, bypassing a great chance of being a first-round pick, he knew what the scouts were saying about him.
He was too quick to take off when feeling pressure in the pocket. He didn’t look beyond his initial read.
Hundley set out to prove something to the scouts, but even as his completion percentage went up, his effectiveness dropped — as did his draft stock. Hundley wasn’t playing to his strengths, wasn’t letting the game come to him. He was so determined to establish his pocket presence that he was holding the ball too long and taking sacks he didn’t need to take.
And perhaps he was being cautious about how much he ran, not wanting to risk taking a big hit in the open field.
“People don’t realize how much pressure there is,” Hundley was quoted saying in the L.A. Daily News. “But I think at the end of the day, when you think of what got you to this point, you have to stay on your foundation and stay on what got you to this point. That’s what I had to do. This game showed it.”
The game he referred to was last week’s 17-7 win over Arizona. The offense didn’t put up a lot of points, but Hundley was back to being a true dual-threat, rushing a career-high 24 times for 131 yards, his highest mark of the season.
All but a few of those carries were improvisational runs.
“We are better when he is a dual threat,” coach Jim Mora said.
“Any team with that type of quarterback, it’s just so hard to defend. That is what makes the defense so hard, is these dual-threat quarterbacks. But, we have not changed anything in terms of our design.
“What has happened is that Brett is seeing the game more clearly. He absorbs information quicker. He has become fearless when he runs.”
UCLA, ranked 18th in the AP poll, has won three games in a row to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12. The Bruins travel to Seattle to play Washington (6-3, 2-3) this Saturday. The Huskies have a great defensive front, as do USC and Stanford — UCLA’s season-ending opponents.
Having Hundley be an X-factor in the running game will be key to the how the Bruins finish the regular season.
SERIES HISTORY: UCLA leads the series with Washington, 39-30-2 and has won four of the past five meetings.
NOTES: LT Simon Goines, the projected starter, has missed the first nine games after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle. He seems to be close to a return, but there’s no guarantee he’ll play. … OG Alex Redmond has missed the past five games because of an ankle injury. … Starting S Randall Goforth will miss the rest of the season because of the need for surgeries on both shoulders. Goforth, who made 78 tackles last season, will be able to retain a year of eligibility and return as a redshirt junior next season.
