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The last time a Logan ran for something, it was a Sandman looking for Sanctuary, and he found it. The last time a Paulsen ran for something, the results were not that satisfying.
Actor/Comedian Pat Paulsen ran for President -- of the United States, NOT of The Friar's Club. If you're our age, you might remember Paulsen from his guest starring role of "Ace Weems" on an episode of "Get Smart" called "The Mess of Adrian Listenger." Weems was killing off all the members of the Control Baseball Team, because they were always throwing the ball at him. The fact that he was the team's Catcher didn't seem to placate him. It's a classic episode, with a spooky showdown scene where Ace dupes the The Chief and Max into thinking that one of them has to be the killer.
What this has to do with UCLA Football we'll never know... Except that Bruin Tight End Logan PAULSEN has just been named to the Mackey Award Watch List. The Mackey Award goes to the Nation's best Tight End, and was won by Bruin Marcedes Lewis two years ago.
Paulsen started every game for UCLA last year (with Lewis in the Pro's), catching 27 balls and gaining 331 yards. Those numbers are likely to go up, with Ben Olson at the helm for the entire year (barring injury). Olson's one drawback is his lack of ability to seek out secondary Receivers, so with the Tight End being a highly-visible safety valve on many patterns, Paulsen is bound to get a lot of chances.
Of course, Paulsen is not the only Tight End on the roster. Also expected to contribute are Ryan Moya and converted Defender William Snead. In fact, we would not be surprised at all to see Snead emerge as the biggest threat of the three. No offense meant to the Juniors Paulsen and Moya, but the Senior Snead showed some real flashes of potential last season, his first as a Receiver. If his improvement curve is steep, HE could be the next Marcedes.
But these Watch Lists don't materialize out of thin air -- There's a reason why Paulsen is included. Besides the "experts" seeing what Paulsen could do last year, and besides just looking at the season-ending stats, the listmakers communicate with the teams. That means that UCLA is touting Paulsen as "The Man," and they wouldn't put his name out there if he did not figure prominently in their Offensive plans.
So expect Logan to ride the hair-raising Carousel on the Bruins' way to Sanctuary, aka consecutive City Titles.
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