UCLA receiver Darren Andrews is expecting an earful from USC safety Chris Hawkins

The chatter could start before the snap whenever Darren Andrews is on the field.

The UCLA receiver figures he’ll spot USC safety Chris Hawkins across the line of scrimmage Saturday night at the Rose Bowl and that’s not going to be the end of it.

“He’s going to talk,” Andrews said Monday. “I just gotta stay in my game, not let him affect me, but it’s going to be talking going on, that’s just the atmosphere.”

Andrews and Hawkins are longtime friends, having been around each other since their Pop Warner days and youth track. Even their parents are close, Andrews said.

The banter Andrews hears this week may not be so friendly.

“There’s more talking, trash-talking, out on the field,” Andrews said of a UCLA-USC game. “We’re both competitive people.”

Extra noise is a function of the crosstown rivalry featuring players who have been teammates and rivals since they used foam footballs.

“We have a lot of friends that play on the other side of the ball, everybody up and down the roster,” UCLA center Scott Quessenberry said.

Bruins linebacker Jayon Brown was a onetime teammate of USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and defensive back Iman Marshall at Long Beach Poly High.

“It’s going to be fun and hopefully we can get a win against them so I can talk smack,” Brown said. “Getting a victory against those guys would be everything.”

Well, almost. UCLA, 4-6 overall and 2-5 in Pac-12 Conference play, needs to win both of its remaining games to gain bowl eligibility. The Bruins will close their regular season at California on Nov. 26.

“We need to win out,” Andrews said. “This game doesn’t define anything.”

Andrews is 0-1 against USC, having sat out the rivalry game in his first two college seasons because of injuries. He expects to face man-to-man coverage from the Trojans and said he’ll have to add “flavor” to his routes to disguise them because Hawkins is familiar with his tendencies.

Back soon?

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said that freshman linebacker Mique Juarez was redshirting and could return as soon as the Bruins commence workouts after they return from winter break.

Juarez has not practiced with the team since the fourth day of training camp because of the pressure he felt as a highly acclaimed prospect and a personal matter he declined to discuss.

“The hope is he’ll be back as soon as he’s able, as soon as he’s ready to resume kind of the rigors of football and school,” Mora said. “We’ve been patient with him; we’re going to continue to be patient with him. I hope that when we start winter quarter, he’s able to be back and rolling with his teammates.

“The most important thing is that the right decisions are being made for the health and welfare of Mique Juarez. That’s the most important thing by far; nothing even really comes close.”

Quick hits

Mora said he replaced punter Austin Kent with Stefan Flintoft in the fourth quarter against Oregon State on Saturday because Kent’s knee was bothering him. “His knee swelled up and he came to me during the game with the trainers and he was very honest about it, he showed me and said, ‘I don’t think I can generate the velocity that I need to,’” Mora said, adding that he was unsure about the severity of Kent’s sore knee. … Mora said that tight end Nate Iese suffered a twisted knee in the fourth quarter against Oregon State and his status remained unknown for the game against USC. … Right tackle Kolton Miller is considered doubtful to play against the Trojans, Mora said. … Injured quarterback Josh Rosen was back on the sideline for the game against Oregon State. “He was very involved, very active and he will be going forward,” Mora said. “It was good to have him there.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch