Pac-12: Center Jake Brendel sees advantages for new UCLA quarterback

UCLA center Jake Brendel said Thursday he doesn’t know who will be the team’s starting quarterback, but he was able to point to reasons why freshman Josh Rosen could beat out Jerry Neuheisel.

Rosen enrolled early to participate in spring practice and, Brendel said during Pac-12 media days, “the first thing he did when he got on campus was to say, ‘When can I come over? When can I talk to you about the offense?’ He was really eager to get started. I feel like he has the right head on his shoulders to be successful. He just has to catch up with Jerry right now.”

Whoever wins the job, he said, will have some advantages: The Bruins return their entire starting offensive line, with Brendel -- a fourth-year starter -- as its leader.

“I have to make sure we do my best to help him and help the offensive line succeed,” Brendel said.

Though managing the offensive front falls to Brendel, he said he knows where the line is drawn.

“I can only be in charge of five guys,” he said. “I try not to overstep my boundaries. I am never going to make a comment to a wide receiver or running back. It’s not my place. Whoever is back there -- Jerry, Josh, whoever -- it will be their job to get everyone on the right page and take us in the right direction.”

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