Bruins Backup Willing, But Is He Ready?

A month ago, Scott McEwan was third on UCLA’s quarterback depth chart and rarely practiced with the starting offense. Now, he’s one tackle from taking command Saturday against Oregon.

If starter Cory Paus gets hurt - not unreasonable, given his bruised ribs - McEwan will play significant minutes for the first time in his career.

Is he ready? Yes, and no.

“Mentally, he’ll be fine,” Bruins coach Bob Toledo said. “He knows what’s going on. He knows the game plan. The problem is with live bullets coming at you. That’s when guys get unraveled.”

McEwan, a sophomore, has played sparingly in two games and thrown one college pass, an incompletion against Ohio State. As the backup, he takes 20 percent of the snaps in practice - not nearly enough to gain rhythm or confidence. And that’s a controlled situation: Quarterbacks are not touched in practice.

On the injury front, Bruins tailback DeShaun Foster (sprained ankle) has been upgraded from doubtful to questionable and defensive tackle Anthony Fletcher (sprained foot) is also questionable.