Staff, Recruiting First for Dorrell

New Bruin Coach Karl Dorrell does not plan on attending the Las Vegas Bowl. Instead, he will spend next week assembling a staff and making recruiting calls.

A so-called dead period for recruiting begins Monday and extends until Jan. 2. Recruits can be contacted by telephone but not in person. Dorrell is informing players who have already committed to UCLA that he will extend a letter-of-intent on signing day in February, but he does not plan on aggressively pursuing players who have committed to other schools.

Technically, Dorrell’s tenure begins Thursday, so the Las Vegas Bowl will not be part of his UCLA win-loss record.

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Bruin players were given $190 apiece and must arrange for their own transportation to Las Vegas. They must check in to the MGM Grand Hotel by 12:30 p.m. today and attend a team meeting 90 minutes later.

The 10 Bruin coaches, including interim Coach Ed Kezirian, are taking their families.

A reception for UCLA and New Mexico takes place at New York-New York Hotel & Casino at 3 p.m. and it’s all fun. A quarterback singing and Elvis impersonation contest will be followed by a pie-eating contest for linemen.

Drew Olson, Matt Moore and John Sciarra -- call them “The Three Freshmen” -- will do the singing.

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Jon Embree, the receivers coach at Colorado, is high on Dorrell’s list to join his staff. But Embree said it probably would take an offer to become offensive coordinator for him to come to Westwood.

“There would have to be a lot of things that would have to go into that decision,” he said. “First, there would be family. They would all have to be on board with it. Karl and I have a close relationship, and the opportunity to work with him and help him have success is very appealing.”

Another potential offensive coordinator is Washington quarterbacks coach Steve Axman, who was Northern Arizona head coach when Dorrell was an assistant there. Axman said he hasn’t talked to Dorrell in about a week.

“I’d probably find it hard to find it much better than what I have here,” he said

Bruin Athletic Director Dan Guerrero indicated that the salaries of assistants would climb. Currently, the assistants make from $96,000 to $151,000.