Little Guy Getting Attention At Ucla

Aside from the big three - Skip Hicks, Cade McNown and Shaun Williams - UCLA’s most impressive player in the preseason has been its smallest.

Tailback Jermaine Lewis, all 5-foot, 7-inches of him, has darted and dashed his way through the defense for two weeks. He hides behind blockers until holes form, catches passes and evades tacklers in the same jitterbug style that diminutive Dave Meggett used with the New York Giants.

“My balance is better and my weight is better than last year,” said Lewis, who shed 12 pounds of fat during the summer. “But I never try to be too physical. I’ve got to be elusive to be successful.”

A redshirt freshman in ‘96, Lewis is the No. 3 tailback behind Hicks and Keith Brown, and he’s the No. 1A punt returner behind Williams.

“We’re really excited about Jermaine,” said coach Bob Toledo, who is preparing the Bruins for the Aug. 30 season opener against Washington State in Pullman. “People love the little guys who make plays. He catches your eye.”

On to Williamsport

Southern California assistant coach Charles White boarded a red-eye flight for Williamsport, Pa., Thursday night to watch his son, Ashton, play for Mission Viejo, Calif., in Saturday’s Little League championship game.

White will miss a few days of football practice, with the blessing of coach John Robinson.

“When your kid’s doing something unique, you’ve got to be there,” Robinson said. “It’s as excited as I’ve seen Charlie since I’ve known him.”

Bruins short-handed

Brad Melsby’s undetermined illness leaves UCLA with four experienced receivers: Jim McElroy, Eric Scott, Danny Farmer and Rodney Lee. To bolster the unit, junior Akil Davis has moved from tailback to receiver.

Davis, 5-10 and 175 pounds, is best known for his 21-yard run in the 1995 USC game as a replacement for injured Karim Abdul-Jabbar. A knee injury kept him out of action last year and prompted off-season surgery. He is finally healthy and gives the Bruins what they lack most at receiver: speed.

Isn’t that a basketball school?

North Carolina as the national champion? In football?

That’s the pick by sportswriter Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times.

“Don’t laugh,” writes Dufresne. “The Tar Heels were 10-2 last year, and the two losses were a 13-0 defeat at Florida State and a bitter come-from-ahead 20-17 loss to Virginia at Charlottesville. North Carolina led, 17-3, with 10 minutes left.

“The Tar Heels have nine of 11 starters from the nation’s No. 1 defense. They have two first-string caliber quarterbacks, Chris Keldorf and Oscar Davenport, and the nation’s best receiving corps in Octavus Barnes, Na Brown and L.C. Stevens.

“The schedule breaks right, too, with the Tar Heels getting Stanford, Virginia and Florida State at home.”

And just to add a little fuel to the fire, Dufresne points out the Tar Heels have more victories (44) the last five seasons than Notre Dame (43) and Michigan (42).

Here’s the rest of Dufresne’s Top 25: 2, Penn State; 3, Florida; 4, Florida State; 5, Washington; 6, Nebraska; 7, Tennessee; 8, Colorado; 9, Notre Dame; 10, Ohio State; 11, LSU; 12, Stanford; 13, Miami; 14, Texas; 15, Auburn; 16, Syracuse; 17, Arizona State; 18, Alabama; 19, Michigan; 20, USC; 21, Clemson; 22, Colorado State; 23, Brigham Young; 24, UCLA; and 25, Marshall, in its first season up from I-AA.

Miami at odds over German

The University of Miami has asked the NCAA to suspend senior receiver Jammi German for two games, according to athletic director Paul Dee.

Coach Butch Davis said he doesn’t agree with that recommendation. Davis, who said there is no “controversy” between him and Dee regarding the decision, wants German’s immediate reinstatement.

“I’m a football coach and I’m worried about the football team,” Davis said.

A two-game suspension would mean German misses the Aug. 30 season opener at Baylor, as well as the Sept. 13 home opener against Arizona State. It would also give German a streak of 14 missed games.

German’s possible suspension stems from a limousine ride he took with former teammates Yatil Green and Danyell Ferguson in November 1995.

German first told NCAA investigators a former Miami receiver paid for the evening. The university recommended a two-game suspension for that violation of the extra-benefits rule last season and that’s what German served.

When German recanted and told investigators an agent paid for the evening, he opened himself to a new penalty - lying to the NCAA.

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