UCLA QB Jerry Neuheisel Has Fan in Bruins Head Coach Jim Mora

The outpouring that UCLA teammates showed for quarterback Jerry Neuheisel after the Bruins’ 20-17 over Texas last Saturday was a testament to the respect he has in the locker room.

Neuheisel evidently has his fans within the UCLA program, and perhaps none more so than head coach Jim Mora.

“I was so excited him for Saturday,” Mora said Tuesday on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference.

Neuheisel filled in for third-year starter Brett Hundley in the first quarter after Hundley injured his non-throwing elbow, landing awkwardly on a run. Playing the first meaningful snaps of his college career, the redshirt junior Neuheisel went 23-of-30 passing for 178 yards with two touchdowns.

His second score—a 33-yarder to wide receiver Jordan Payton—put the No. 12-ranked Bruins ahead for good late in the fourth quarter.

The excitement Mora felt was shared among the team, as Neuheisel’s fellow Bruins lifted him into the air at the end game and broke into chants of “Jerry! Jerry!”

The cinematic ending in AT&T Stadium is part of a potential bigger climax this season. Neuheisel may not face another situation like this again in 2014—Hundley’s status for the Bruins’ next game, Sept. 25 at No. 15 Arizona State, is unclear—but with the spotlight on him for this one night, Neuheisel delivered.

For Mora, that came as no surprise.  

“Jerry is always prepared. He’s a very smart young man,” Mora said. “Whenever he steps in at practice and gets his reps, he’s very prepared. And I think we were all very confident we could go in and run our entire offense with him and that he’d be able to produce for us.”

Mora may have not been surprised by Neuheisel’s success with the opportunity he was given on Saturday. However, the quarterback being with the Bruins to have that opportunity defies convention.

Neuheisel had every reason to transfer. He trailed Hundley on the depth chart and perhaps could have seen more playing time elsewhere, which was motivation for former Bruins quarterback T.J. Millweard to exit in August 2013.

Neuheisel had also committed to a different coaching staff—one his own father headed. 

Rick Neuheisel was UCLA's head coach from 2008 through 2011. He was fired after finishing 6-8 his final season, but he left behind the foundation on which Mora has gone 22-8. 

Himself a veteran of the coaching carousel, Mora said he relished Neuheisel's performance Saturday in part because the coach feels a sort of kindred bond with the quarterback.

George Rose/Getty Images

"I don’t think there’s anyone who could understand his situation more so than me," Mora said. "My dad’s been fired. I was on his staff when he resigned in New Orleans."

Jim E. Mora coached for five decades, five of which were spent with his son as an assistant for the New Orleans Saints. 

"I understood exactly what it was like for Jerry to feel the way that he felt," Mora said.

Both for that reason and because of his "respect for Rick," Mora said he is mindful of emphasizing the current staff's goals without slighting the work of the previous staff. 

"I say a lot of things I regret. I have that tendency," he said. "Right out of the gate, I think I said I wanted to change the culture, and that always bothered me because really, what I wanted to do, was create our own culture."

Neuheisel has helped contribute to the establishment of that new culture, and Saturday was his opportunity to put an especially prominent signature on it. 

Watching from the Pac-12 Networks studios, where he's now an analyst, Neuheisel's father watched proudly. 

"

At http://t.co/KuF1hYUapw -- Awesome picture! Proud Rick Neuheisel looking on as his son Jerry lead the great c... pic.twitter.com/Dsex9VoRQD

— Scenes from College (@CollegeScenes) September 15, 2014"

And he wasn't the only one happy to see that game-winning drive. 

"I’m so happy he stayed with the program," Mora said. "It says so much about him, and it says so much about Rick and Susan as well and the type of kid they raised."

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics compiled courtesy of CFBstats.com.