UCLA’s Donahue Seeks Another Sigh of Relief

CORVALLIS, Ore. —  As a UCLA assistant coach in 1976, Terry Donahue applied for the coaching job at Oregon State.

He was a finalist for the position but lost out to Craig Fertig, then a USC assistant coach.

Donahue and Fertig are friends and meet at least once a year for lunch. It’s assumed that Donahue buys. He should.

It was a most fortuitous disappointment for Donahue at the time. He soon replaced Dick Vermeil as UCLA’s coach and is in his 16th season at the school.

Fertig lasted four years at Oregon State before he was fired. Three coaches have succeeded him, the most recent Jerry Pettibone.

The job has been a coaching dead end. There is a limited recruiting base, and coaches are constantly trying to attract big-city athletes to a small-town environment.

Donahue may reflect on his good fortune tonight at Parker Stadium, where UCLA plays the winless Beavers.

Oregon State hasn’t had a winning season since 1970 and has lost 10 consecutive games.

Pettibone, a successful coach at Northern Illinois, is determined to turn the program around and hopes time doesn’t run out on him, as it has his predecessors.

He has launched his Pacific 10 coaching career with a young team, with 16 freshmen and 10 sophomores on the two-deep roster.

“I tried not to have any preconceived notions as to how difficult (the job) would be,” Pettibone said. “I knew it would be a big challenge. I also knew of the quality of the coaching and athletes in the Pac-10 Conference.

“But I feel good that we can have a successful program at Oregon State. It will take us time to do it, and I know it’s a process of working hard to build attitude and do a good job of recruiting.”

Oregon State officials say that Pettibone, 52, has been a tireless recruiter, having visited 759 high schools in Far Western states by the latest count. He even has shown up at a one-stoplight town in Oregon to look at prospects on an eight-man football team.

As a former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas A&M;, Pettibone realizes that to be successful at Oregon State, he has to out-work his peers.

He says he tries to recruit every day, even by car phone, so he won’t get behind.

Despite all that, the question remains: Can he attract top high school athletes to Corvallis?

“I think there are enough athletes looking for what Oregon State has--a small college town, a conservative atmosphere and a building program where they could play sooner here than at the school that is more developed than we are,” he said.

He also is trying to sell recruits on his multiple offense, which features the wishbone, a double slot and a spread formation.

Part of his sales pitch is the improved Parker Stadium.

“We have invested over $11 million to the upgrading of Parker Stadium, with new locker and weight rooms, a heritage room and a press box and sky box that will soon be completed,” Pettibone said. “With such facilities we can realistically recruit and be competitive.”

Right now, though, the Beavers are 0-5 overall, 0-2 in the Pac-10.

For example, the backfield is extremely inexperienced. Mark Olford, a freshman, starts at quarterback. Fullback Chris Morton and halfback Razshawn Miller are also freshmen. The other halfback, Chad Paulson, is a sophomore who played on special teams last year.

Olford started for the first time last week in a 24-7 loss to Arizona State. He replaced senior Ed Browning, who with only five-second speed in the 40-yard dash is hardly a wishbone quarterback.

Browning’s contribution now, Pettibone said, is almost like an assistant coach’s because of his knowledge of the offense.

Olford, only 5 feet 8 and 163 pounds, hardly poses a passing threat, based on the Arizona State game. He completed two of four passes for 27 yards.

No wonder Pettibone spends so much time on the car phone.

Bruin Notes

UCLA is a 26-point favorite. . . . The Bruins are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-10. Tonight’s game will be the first of two on the road for the Bruins, who will play Arizona State next Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. . . . UCLA beat Oregon State last year at the Rose Bowl, 26-17, but was upset by the Beavers in 1989 in Corvallis, 18-17. . . . A homecoming crowd of 27,000 is expected tonight.

UCLA split end Sean LaChapelle ranks third in receiving in the conference with 28 catches for 428 yards and seven touchdowns. . . . LaChapelle is obviously quarterback Tommy Maddox’s favorite receiver. Paul Richardson, the second-leading Bruin receiver, has caught 13 passes for 185 yards. Maddox seldom throws to his tight end, Rick Daly, who has only four catches for 32 yards. . . . Oregon State is last in four Pac-10 statistical categories: passing and total offense, scoring and pass defense. . . . Members of Oregon State’s 1942 Rose Bowl team will be honored at halftime.