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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pac-12 officiating a work in progress

PULLMAN — Having coached in the Pac-12 now for more than three years, Mike Leach has seen plenty of calls go against his team and he’s not shy about mentioning the ones he disagrees with.

There was blatant pass interference by Oregon at a critical juncture last year that wasn’t called, and Leach only mentions last year’s loss to California to note that he believes Gerard Wicks scored a touchdown but wasn’t given credit prior to the missed field goal that would have won the game.

The Pac-12 has made efforts to improve the quality of its officiating and the transparency of its oversight and evaluation processes this year, but Leach isn’t ready to give the conference credit after officials bungled an injury timeout situation against Cal last week and cost the Cougars about 10 seconds that would have been useful during their final drive.

He says that his interactions with the conference regarding officiating have been “very similar to before.”

Some of his coaching peers, perhaps those for whom mishandled calls are not so fresh, have seen improvement in the Pac-12’s communication with coaches since Dave Coleman was hired as the conference’s vice president of officiating after last season.

When Coleman addressed reporters at Pac-12 Media Day he stressed the importance of being transparent and accountable.

Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre has had some notable high-volume interactions with officials and knows as well as anybody that their calls are not always correct. But he appreciates that the conference is reaching out to explain its decisions and own its mistakes.

“They are more communicative and they’re more receptive to talking with us,” MacIntyre said. “I think that differs with every coach and different things that happen but I know they are trying to improve and I think they will.”

Stanford coach David Shaw reiterated that the conference is communicating more with coaches and athletic departments, and noted that the centralized chain of command has had a positive impact.

“I think having a full-time head of officials has been phenomenal,” Shaw said.

As part of Coleman’s efforts to improve the conference’s officiating, the Pac-12 made a two-day clinic for officials during the summer open to media members. The conference has also sent officiating videos to media members highlighting select plays and points of emphasis and promises to continue throughout the season.

UCLA’s Jack finished with college football

Star linebacker and Bellevue High product Myles Jack will withdraw from UCLA and begin preparing for the NFL draft, coach Jim Mora told reporters. Jack suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice two weeks ago and was widely expected to declare for the NFL draft after the season.

The junior became a sensation in 2013 when he played both linebacker and running back for the Bruins as a freshman, and became the first player to ever win both the Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Freshman of the Year awards.

His fourth-quarter interception against BYU earlier this season sealed the win for the Bruins.

UCLA coach Jim Mora told ESPN writer Kevin Gemmell that he believes going to the NFL is a risky decision coming off an injury. Prior to the season, many prognosticators projected Jack to be a potential Top-10 pick.

“My personal opinion is he’s a tremendous football player and a tremendous athlete,” Mora told Gemmell. “I think it’s risky to do this. Having been on that side, there’s going to be a lot of speculation as to what he is and where he fits. And as I told Myles on Sunday, NFL teams are very, very conservative, and if there’s any question whatsoever, they’ll pass on you in a heartbeat.”