What was clear about freshman Brett Hundley on the field is now official on the UCLA depth chart. He is the Bruins’ No. 1 quarterback.
Hundley, who sat out as a redshirt last season, was told Friday he would be UCLA’s starting quarterback, the school announced. He will assume that role the next time the Bruins take the field.
UCLA practices at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Cal State San Bernardino.
Hundley was clearly the Bruins' best quarterback in spring, but coach Jim Mora held off naming a starter until he had a chance to see the quarterbacks in training camp over the last week.
“I worked during the offseason, doing all I could do,” Hundley said this week. “I was in the film room, learning as much as I could, rather than thinking summer is the time to sit back and chill.”
Mora has yet to decide on where the other quarterbacks will fall on the depth chart. Senior Richard Brehaut, freshman Jerry Neuheisel and senior Kevin Prince are the likely candidates for the backup role. Prince opened the season as the Bruins’ starter the past three seasons but was been derailed by injuries each time.
Hundley, who is 6-feet-3, 223 pounds, was a highly sought recruit out of Chandler, Ariz., and chose UCLA over Washington. He is dangerous as both a passer and runner. He threw for 2,348 yards and ran for another 856 as a high school senior.
Hundley, who just turned 19, has already grown into a leadership role.
“It definitely feels a little funny,” Hundley said. “I’m still a young cat. But this team is real good about knowing that even the younger guys are here to win. We’re a band of brothers.”
Besides, Hundley said, “you can never say how you get a leadership position. It just comes. You can’t say why. All you can do is have others see that you’re working hard.”
