PASADENA, Calif. — Brett Hundley is like a guy who won the lottery walking the ticket to the office on a busy freeway.
Hundley rushed 24 times on Saturday night in UCLA’s 17-7 win over visiting Arizona, putting a potential bonanza on the line each and every time.
A likely first-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft — all indications, every single one, have him declaring after the season despite a season of eligibility remaining — the Bruins redshirt junior quarterback is staring at millions. The jackpot is there, seemingly ready for the taking.
In roughly two months, he’ll have played his last game for UCLA, and then it will be on to professional preparation. And yet now, with his team teetering on the brink of national relevancy, he’s willing to give it all up. One awkward tackle, and the palace comes crashing.
You don’t see that very often.
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“It just confirms for me who he is,” UCLA head coach Jim Mora said. “Gracious, selfless; he cares about his team. He cares about the present more than he does his future. That’s what you respect about the guy.”
It’s not just that Hundley runs, and runs often, it’s that he runs well, and runs well often.
Hundley had 131 yards on his 24 carries, the longest going for 29 yards, while being sacked four times. When he was ineffective with his arm, he shifted into another gear, turning to his feet.
His first run went for 7 yards, his second for 10, his third for 4 and his fourth was the big burst 29 yards. Later in UCLA’s second drive, his 9-yard jaunt set the Bruins up for a field goal.
“We are better when he is a dual threat,” Mora said. “Any team that has that type of quarterback, who can make plays with his legs and his arm, one of the things that makes playing defense more difficult — and in the Pac-12 in particular — are these dual threats.”
On Saturday, Arizona seemed to force his hand — or, really, his feet.
The Wildcats frequently dropped back extra defenders to handle UCLA’s passing game, and the Bruins took advantage.
“Teams are starting to drop eight (defenders), and I would like to say that’s in respect to the pass game,” said Hundley, who passed for 189 yards against Arizona. “When you drop eight a lot, there aren’t many passing lanes. It’s almost two-on-two. Not too much is open and you have to take off running.”
Every time Hundley took off on Saturday, the crowd gasped. Everyone in Westwood knows that the Bruins are only going as far as he takes them. They know the Heisman hype may have weighed a bit on their star, but he’s ready to handle the extra pounds.
After the game, Hundley was tired and his face was scuffed. But he called the game fun, and for a UCLA team that has underachieved in the face of national attention, it was needed. So was a mobile Hundley.
Earlier this season, as the Bruins’ offense stalled at times, Hundley admits he hesitated. Dollar signs popped up in his eyes. He could not look away.
“At the beginning of the season, there was a lot of thought,” Hundley said. “It even got to me, not to run. But after last week, I really reflected on all this stuff. Everything happens for a reason.
“For me, it’s all about winning games now. It’s all about the now.”
The now is pretty good. It’s pretty fun. And it’s making an impact on the rest of his team.
“It’s about winning for him,” UCLA wide receiver Jordan Payton said. “He cares. That’s what you have to credit him for. This is what a lot of quarterbacks don’t do.
“His control isn’t sometime throwing the ball. His control is being 230 pounds and running a 4.4.”
