Lil’ Big Ben already brought you the news earlier this morning that, shockingly*, one UCLA quarterback might miss spring practice due to a knee injury that required season-ending surgery. Now comes word of a development involving yet another Bruins quarterback that may or may not be more positive than the one involving Kevin Prince.
Ending weeks worth of speculation, it’s being reported that Richard Brehaut will grab his sticks & balls and play for the UCLA baseball team through the spring. Brehaut was forced to tryout first but, after passing the muster with the Bruins’ baseball coach, participated in his first practice Thursday.
Head coach Rick Neuheisel was consulted first before Brehaut made a decision and, sticking to an agreement he’d made with the QB during his recruitment, gave his blessing for the junior to become a two-sport athlete.
“It’s always been in the back of my head, `Maybe I could do this, maybe I could still play,”’ Brehaut said according to the Los Angeles Daily News. “If I was going to take advantage, it was this year or never. I haven’t played in a live game since June of ’08. But I gave it some serious thought, and coming back from the break, when I asked Coach Neuheisel, he said if that’s something you really want to do and your heart desires, go ahead, go for it.”
Brehaut did make it clear that football remains his top priority, saying that he’s “on scholarship for football, and I need the coaches to understand that if it comes between baseball and football, that’s where my heart really, really is.”
That’s the proper tack for Brehaut to take as Neuheisel makes it just as clear that football should be his main focus, and intimates that, if it’s not, it could hurt him once it comes time to pick a 2011 starter.
“I’m hopeful he won’t lose any football time,” the coach said. “It’s up to Richard to see how he manages the rest of hours. I hope for him to be at every spring practice and competing. If he’s spending other time doing other things, what will it mean for his chances? I want to put the best quarterback out there.”
(*not really.)