Bateman paves way to UCLA
Zach Bateman turned in his completed paper Wednesday. And, for the first time in eight days, there were neither essay questions nor multiple-choice answers.
The Orange Coast College sophomore offensive tackle signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his football career at UCLA in front of a small gathering that included family members and coaches on Wednesday at OCC.
It’s the official culmination of an arduous process that included completing 23 units in the fall semester, in order to qualify for his associate degree and be able to begin at UCLA on Jan. 5.
“I just passed 23 units and did seven finals in one week, including four on one day,” said the 6-foot-7, 315-pound Estancia High product, who chose UCLA over nearly two dozen Division I scholarship offers. “So, at least I know I can do that workload. I’ve taken some hard classes [at OCC], but never have I taken so many condensed at once. I was reading six or seven different college books a week. It was a brain overload; a meltdown.”
The academic load was so rigorous, Bateman stepped away from the football team after the first three games, in order to concentrate on academics, as well as his weekend job, in order to get the required grades and receive his UCLA scholarship.
“Zach did so much work,” said Doug Smith, veteran OCC offensive line coach and a former Pro Bowl offensive lineman with the Los Angeles Rams. “He had a job along with school and weight training and he really took the bull by the horns. It’s nice to see all that come to fruition.”
Smith said Bateman takes ample skills and determination to Westwood.
“Zach has a really good temperment for an offensive lineman,” said Smith, whom Bateman credits for much of his development. “He is cerebral enough to recognize [defensive] fronts and that’s what big schools like. Then, he has the desire to finish blocks that is really exceptional. He is physical and some people call it nasty. He wants to dominate the guy across from him, and help the [teammates] next to him when he can. He mixes size with good athleticism. He’s the whole package.”
Smith said he will obviously root for Bateman as a Bruin, though his son, Cole Smith, a senior center at Mission Viejo High, has committed to play next season at USC, where Doug Smith was once an assistant coach.
“That will be interesting next year when they play,” Doug Smith said. “If you coach somebody, they become kind of a permanent family member.”
Bateman said Doug Smith’s mentoring role went beyond football.
“Coach Smith has taught me technique at the NFL level,” Bateman said. “He taught me stuff that he did to be a successful player in the [NFL] for 14 years. I feel like that puts me light years ahead of a lot of people. I am going to forever cherish that and keep his coaching in the back of my mind.
“I want to combine that with [the teaching of UCLA offensive line coach Adrian] Klemm, who is an NFL veteran himself, and hopefully come out one bad dude at the end of this thing.”
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5