They call out their favorite sound again.
One quarterback guru turns to another for help creating a dynamic offense.
The answer is always yes. The results say as much about Jerry Neuheisel And Noel Mazzone dedication to each other, as well as their ability to produce yards and points en masse for UCLA.
“No matter what happens,” Neuheisel told The Times, “as long as you’re around him, you’ll have a smile on your face.”
Noel Mazzone, then UCLA offensive coordinator, looks across the field during a game.
(Don Liebig/UCLA Athletics)
The last call came from a longtime student to his mentor.
With the Bruins struggling to a 0-4 start, Neuheisel spoke with Mazzone about possibly returning to Westwood to help with the offense. Just as he had routinely done when he was UCLA's offensive coordinator a decade earlier, Mazzone developed the necessary intelligence upon learning that Neuheisel would be promoted from tight ends coach to playcaller before Neuheisel.
“I think he was in the car the next morning and he was here that night,” Neuheisel said, “and he had to try to beat Penn State.”
They beat Penn State revival of offense and team it started being talked about in college football. UCLA's 40-point average in the two wins has nearly tripled its previous output during this winless start, sparking reminders of the offense the Bruins ran under Mazzone with Neuheisel as the backup guard from 2012-15.
This was just the beginning of the winning combination.
Shortly after they parted ways at the end of four seasons in Westwood, Mazzone reached out to Neuheisel, convincing him to give up playing for the Obik Gulls of the Japanese X-League so he could help Mazzone in 2017 during his second season as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator.
“When he called me and said, 'We're going to the SEC, we're going to College Station, Texas,'” said Neuheisel, who has long known he wanted to be a coach, “I didn't even ask questions. I took the next flight home.”
Quarterback Jerry Neuheisel attempts to pass the ball during UCLA's game against the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium on September 13, 2014.
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
After making the 22-hour drive from Los Angeles to College Station, Neuheisel stayed at a hotel for a week and a half to look for housing, although he was not formally hired.
All that mattered was that he was back with his mentor. Now they are together again, only their roles have changed.
“This is just the first time in my life that he actually had to listen to all my ideas,” Neuheisel said with a laugh, “so I enjoyed the role reversal.”
Just a few weeks ago, Mazzone reunited with two other former UCLA defensive backs.
By gathering with Brett Hundley and Mike Fafaul in the Phoenix area to watch football the weekend UCLA lost to Northwestern, 0-4, Mazzone and his former players let Neuheisel know they were thinking about him.
“They sent a photo from the bar where they saw us playing,” Neuheisel said.
What they didn't tell him was that they were already looking at opportunities for the 68-year-old Mazzone, who was then the offensive coordinator at Saguaro High in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“We weren't doing so well at the time,” Hundley said of the Bruins, “so we joked that Mazzone would probably go back to UCLA.”
An accomplished coach, Mazzone had made more than 20 stops at the high school, college and NFL levels by the time he agreed to get in his car and return for a second time with the Bruins after the team he replaced left. offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri with Neuheisel.
Days later, after hasty preparations and some opening errors such as Neuheisel fumbling with the button on his headset that allowed him to talk to his defender, UCLA scored on each of its first five drives en route to a 42-37 win over then-No. 7 Penn State it qualified as a failure of the college football season.
Jubilant players lifted Neuheisel onto their shoulders in a scene reminiscent of his greatest moment playing for Mazzone and coach Jim Mora, when he came off the bench to lead a comeback win over Texas in 2014.
UCLA defensive back Jerry Neuheisel (top) is carried off the field after UCLA's 20-17 win over Texas on September 13, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.
(Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)
About a half hour after the win over the Nittany Lions, his hair still wet from the water the players sprayed into the air in the locker room, Neuheisel talked about what it meant to share this new memory with one of his favorite mentors.
“Having Coach Mazzone here was honestly one of the coolest things ever,” Neuheisel said. “The fact that he helps with the quarterbacks, that we can bounce ideas off of him, it's great. Awesome.”
In some ways, the circumstances weren't much different when they met.
Neuheisel was a rookie just trying to prove himself.
Back then, in the fall of 2012, he was a freshman quarterback, eager to show that he belonged on the same campus where his father, Rick, had attended just a few months earlier. fired as head coach. Mazzone also arrived recently after being hired on Mora's first staff at UCLA.
“Jerry comes in and you have Kevin Prince, Brett Hundley, Richard Breault — I mean, he walks into the quarterback room with some spikes,” recalled Jonathan Franklin, a running back who by the end of that season would become UCLA's all-time leading rusher. “All three of them had played before, and Brett Hundley was obviously a rock star.”
UCLA quarterback Jerry Neuheisel sits on the field before the game against Virginia in the Rose Bowl on September 5, 2015.
(Jae S. Hong/Associated Press)
It was a unique pressure for the heir apparent, who was born at UCLA Medical Center while his father was an assistant coach for the Bruins after being a Rose Bowl-winning quarterback at his alma mater.
“I was just trying to make the team,” Neuheisel said.
Given his inherent savvy and curiosity, it quickly became apparent that his long-term future would likely be put on the back burner.
“Jerry, of course, you could always tell he was going to be a coach from day one,” Hundley said. “It was like his Pops 2.0.”
Equally impressive was the astute offensive coordinator, who was quick to crack one-liners and respond to any challenge that might arise from the defense. Mazzone played few games and many opportunities on offense. He explained why certain plays worked in certain situations and made sure that even the defender understood blocking patterns so that everyone appreciated each other's roles.
“Basically, you put your best players in space and play,” Franklin said of the overriding philosophy. “I remember he used to call the play and say, 'Dude, one guy shouldn't be attacking you, so we're not going to block that guy – it's between you and him, you gotta do it.' »
UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone leans toward the sideline and looks across the field during a play.
(Don Liebig/UCLA Athletics)
UCLA won 29 games in his first three seasons with Mazzone running the offense and Neuheisel in a backup role, except for a day in September 2014 when he earned megawatt attention.
With Hundley sidelined with an elbow injury against nationally ranked Texas, Neuheisel came off the bench and threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Payton with three minutes left to rally the Bruins to a 20-17 victory. His teammates lifted him into the air and carried him off the field.
“I mean unbelievable,” Mazzone said after the game. “Jerry came out and handled the situation better than anyone. I mean, he really did an amazing job. Really proud of him.”
When he called a reporter just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, Neuheisel wasn't done for the day. It was just a brief respite from watching game videos, with a few hours left before he could finally head home.
His schedule has gotten so crazy since his promotion that Hudson Habermehl recently received a call from Neuheisel's wife, Nicole, asking him to take an Uber Eats delivery order upstairs to Neuheisel's office inside the training complex.
Habermehl was happy to do so, a small gesture of gratitude to the 33-year-old coach who has done so much for him and an offense that is unlike what it was earlier this season, even though the Bruins are essentially playing the same games.
If this looks more like Mazzone's attack, it's no coincidence.
UCLA offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel hugs Bruins defenseman Niko Yamaleava during the Bruins' win over Penn State on Oct. 4.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“What made Noel's offense so great and why I liked it was the use of space on the field,” Neuheisel said, “and I would say that's what we're trying to emulate in trying to create space on the field and trying to create matchups that allow our players to be successful.”
No one has benefited more than quarterback Niko Yamaleawa, who has thrown five touchdowns without an interception and added three rushing touchdowns over the past two weeks. The previously sluggish running game picked up significant momentum, averaging 253.5 yards in wins over Penn State and Michigan.
“There seems to be a new energy in the offense,” Hundley said. “You know, it’s not like they have a completely new starting lineup. I mean, these are the same guys we talked about at the beginning of the season, but now they're giving Niko an opportunity to play.”
Habermehl said everyone plays freely and instinctively because Neuheisel explained the rationale for each play and involved all position groups in offensive meetings to ensure a universal understanding of the concepts.
“When you coach guys,” Neuheisel said, “you need to tell them why.” I think that's something I've always appreciated as a player here and in any good team I've been a part of.”
Neuheisel's latest success will likely earn him a full-time offensive coordinator job next season, if not an opportunity to become a head coach. His old friend can probably expect a call asking him if he would like to be a part of this staff, and the answer is given.
“Wherever the ball is,” Neuheisel said, “it will always find its way there.”
