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Stanford/UCLA Academic Requirements

I love this.  UCLA is trying to make excuses for their suckiness by comparing their 'standards' to Stanford and Notre Dame.  They might be on to something though, because Stanford, Nortre Dame, and UCLA all suck in football....

 

 

Flagged an interesting article in the OC Register from yesterday re. academic requirements for Stanford and UCLA football programs:

Stanford has the highest academic standards for athletes of any major school in the nation, but few people realize that UCLA just might rank in the top three most stringent, along with Notre Dame.

"I think it's probably a little under the radar for most folks," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "What's unique is that even within the UC system, there are different standards."

Neuheisel, of course, is referring to Cal, which has admitted far more academically marginal players in recent seasons than UCLA has. Tailback Marshawn Lynch and receiver DeSean Jackson, now both NFL starters, expressed interest in playing for the Bruins, but couldn't qualify.

Cal isn't the only school that has absorbed players who couldn't cut it at UCLA. The nation's No. 1 prep tailback last February, Darrell Scott, wanted to be a Bruin, but didn't have the scores. He now plays for Colorado.

"I talk to a lot of guys who are like, 'Oh man, I want to be a Bruin, but I can't get in,'" said UCLA defensive tackle Brigham Harwell, who had to retake the SAT in order to qualify despite a 3.1 grade-point average. "I'm talking about big-time players. I can give you a whole list, but I don't want to put that in the paper. Getting in here is hard, really hard."

The challenge for UCLA is doubled. Not only does it have a smaller recruiting pool than most Pac-10 schools, but most weeks it has to line up against players who wanted to be on their side.

Neuheisel now has to figure out a way to overcome a major recruiting disadvantage, something Karl Dorrell couldn't quite master.

"It's a challenge, because it diminishes the pool, but it's not a deal breaker," Neuheisel said. "First, UCLA has always given opportunities to the hard-working kids, so there will be some guys we can get into school that maybe otherwise wouldn't be eligible. No. 2, we've just got to do a great job of recruiting those kids who have the resumes to be excellent in both."

Be nice. You can find the original CGB team at WriteForCalifornia.com.

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