Another Plus for UCLA

One of the reasons UCLA coaches were happy about the Bruins playing in the Cotton Bowl was the future. There’s recruiting gold to be mined in Texas.

“It would help for us to have a good showing,” said Gary Bernardi, UCLA’s tight end coach and recruiting coordinator.

Many of the Bruin coaches will forego the trip back to Los Angeles tonight to stay in Texas and see recruits Friday and Saturday, the final two days of home visits before the national coaches convention that, coincidentally, is in Dallas.

But perhaps too much has been said about UCLA’s recruiting efforts in the state, especially after big wins over Texas and Houston.

“Maybe I’ve overemphasized the recruiting part,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “Yes, we are recruiting players from the state of Texas, but we already have 21 commitments [one from Texas]. . . . Hopefully, we’ll get some players from Texas, but California is our main recruiting base.

“People [in Texas] know who we are, but when you get down to the numbers of players recruited, it’s probably like Texas A&M; in California. You try to get one or two or three guys. That’s probably all you’re going to get.”

The Bruins are losing 25 seniors and have 25 scholarships to give, the NCAA maximum for a year. Many will go to silo-sized linemen, an emphasis this year.

And the term “commitments” is misleading, because they are not binding until letters of intent are signed in February. Defections are common, and players also must qualify academically.

Also, UCLA has one mid-year junior college transfer coming: tight end Randy Hakes, from Mesa Community College in Arizona.

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A push among area businesses has hiked ticket sales near 60,000, though only about 50,000 are expected to attend. The Cotton Bowl announces ticket sales, rather than actual attendance, which means the 1996 Colorado-Oregon game (58,214) could remain the lowest gate since the stadium was expanded for the 1949 Cotton Bowl.

Though organizers are concerned about attendance, there is less attention paid to it by the teams.

“This game’s between [the lines on] a 100-yard field,” said Steve Marshall, Texas A&M;’s offensive coordinator. “We’d love for everybody to show up, but we’d play them in the parking lot, it doesn’t matter. . . . I believe Dante [Hall, the Aggies’ sophomore running back] has spent about 30 seconds worrying about it, to be quite honest with you, if that much.”

Said Hall: “No, not that much.”

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Much has been made of Texas A&M; being thrashed by Nebraska, 54-15, in the Big 12 championship game and whether there will a residual effect today.

“I don’t think it hurt the team as much as everybody thinks it should have,” Aggie tackle Steve McKinney said. “You go into a game like that and you go, ‘Whoa, it’s Nebraska,’ and you’re kind of in awe of them. . . . Things kind of steamrollered and they were able to score a lot of points on us, but I don’t think that game affected this team as much as the media thinks it did because we bounced back. We got back out on the practice field, you know, getting ready for the UCLA game.”