The Kevin Prince that UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel has been waiting to see appeared at practice Wednesday morning.
Prince looked very much like the guy who won the Bruins’ quarterback job the last two seasons, completing 11 of 17 passes during 11-on-11 drills.
Of the misses, two were drops and another was broken up by a defender. His passes were crisp and -- pleasing to Neuheisel’s eyes -- on target.
“I thought it was maybe as good a practice as he has had,” Neuheisel said. “It’s like anything that requires skill and touch, it’s about confidence. A golfer with confidence can hit any shot. A golfer without it is playing defense all day long. We want to coach him hard but we also want to remind him he’s a good player.”
Prince struggled through Tuesday’s practice while getting most of the reps. Fellow quarterback Richard Brehaut is sidelined with an injured left foot.
Brehaut was out of the walking boot Wednesday, but Neuheisel wasn’t sure whether he would participate in Saturday’s scrimmage.
As for Prince, footwork has been a big issue, Neuheisel said.
“It’s all about distributing the weight,” Neuheisel said. “When you’re throwing in the backyard it’s easy. But you never get that type of throw in a game. You have to move your feet, like if you were playing shortstop. Only you’re not just throwing to first, but third sometimes.”
Prince said he relaxed more Wednesday.
“I broke down on the fundamentals yesterday,” Prince said. “The ball was flying pretty well today, so I think it was better. I’ll know when I see the tape.”
As for his footwork, “I just keep doing the drills over and over and it will carry over to where I don’t have to think about it when I play.”
-- Chris Foster
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