Veterans Make Presence Felt

As the Bruins enter a crucial stage in their season, needing two victories in the last four games to guarantee a winning record and a bowl appearance, their many young players are turning not only to coaches for guidance and reassurance.

They’re turning to the upperclassmen.

“The seniors always play a big role, as far as I’m concerned,” said Trey Brown, a redshirt freshman who will make his first start at cornerback Saturday against Stanford. “Whether it’s to ask them about a play on the field or to just get a slap on the back and have them say, ‘Go get ‘em!’ It’s good just to have them there, because we really look up to them.”

Brown watched last season as the team lost its last five games to finish 6-7 after a 6-2 start. He said the veterans had made it their mission to prevent a repeat of that painful episode and were counting on the younger players to play with the same resolve.

After the Bruins had suffered their second consecutive setback, falling to Arizona State, 48-42, last week, safety Ben Emanuel said, “The seniors, we’re a close group and we always talk about that. We don’t want our season to end like the previous season ended. We’re doing our best to get everybody on the same page with us.”

Receiver Tab Perry added, “We’re just staying levelheaded, making sure everyone stays jelled together. Because when you lose a couple of games, sometimes people start straying and doing their own thing. We all have to stay on the same page.”

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Quarterback Drew Olson vowed that he would not be gun-shy Saturday against Stanford, despite having thrown four interceptions against Arizona State. Except for the interceptions, he said, “I felt like that was my best college game ... by far.”

Olson, a junior, completed 30 of 44 passes for a career-high 325 yards and two touchdowns. Through seven games he has passed for 1,598 yards and 14 touchdowns. Four of his nine interceptions were deflected passes.

“It’s weird how, all of a sudden, you make an airhead mistake and throw it to the other team,” he said of last week’s performance. “Those are probably why we lost the game, but you learn from them and keep going. I’ll continue to play with the same confidence, if not more, this week.”

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Defensive end Justin Hickman, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Oct. 15, practiced Thursday and will be on the field for 20 to 30 plays against Stanford, Coach Karl Dorrell said.