Maurice Jones-Drew will forever be etched into the memories of the Bruin faithful.
Whether it was his 322 rushing yard and five-touchdown performance against Washington in 2004.
Or his electrifying punt returns — boasting a career average of 23.2 yards per return which ranks second in NCAA history.
Or his unanimous All-American selection as an all-purpose back and returner in 2005.
The tailback captured the hearts and eyes of everyone who watched.
And while the current generation of Bruins never saw the three-time Pro Bowler play in the blue and gold, they will see the same surname stitched on the back of a UCLA jersey in 2027 with three-star recruit Duece Jones-Drew, who committed to his father’s alma mater on May 3.
Despite Maurice’s affinity for the place he once called home, he hoped that his son would not follow his footsteps to Southern California.
“I wanted to push him away from UCLA as much as possible because I wanted him to go there because he wanted to go there,” Maurice said. “I wasn’t really involved in the recruitment as much because I wanted him to enjoy and go through this process like I did. I wanted him to go to a school that he wanted to go to because it’s his football career. It’s his life. It’s going to be his journey, and I wanted him to feel comfortable wherever he went.”
So the 2017 UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame inductee stuck to his word.
Duece talked to all the coaches. The 5-foot-8 De La Salle running back visited other schools without his father to eliminate any bias or influence. He even drove down by himself from the Bay Area to Los Angeles for UCLA’s Junior Day.
And initially, it looked like Duece was going to stay away from his father’s alma mater after the firing of head coach DeShaun Foster and the potential exit of running backs coach AJ Steward.
But new head coach Bob Chesney retained Steward and the running backs coach encouraged Duece to attend Junior Day.
And shortly after Duece visited UCLA, he knew where he wanted to play — so much so that his parents had to stop him from committing too early.
“Coach Chesney came in and he really changed my mind on what UCLA was, and coach Steward really was on me about getting to campus and experiencing what the new coaching staff was like,” Duece said. “I went there for the Junior Day in January and I fell in love. I love what they believe in and how they compete every day to be the best version of themselves.”
Despite the urge to commit on the spot, the three-star prospect heeded his parents’ advice and took his final visits to the other schools on his list, which included California, Arizona and Utah.
And after juxtaposing his experiences on all his other visits to his experience in Westwood, he had a clear decision.
“My parents always taught me to be myself, and I knew that UCLA was the best school for me, education-wise, and having my dad be there and be such a great player there as well,” Duece said. “I wanted to commit when I went down there in January, but I listened and waited, and I feel like that was the best decision for me. To go visit other schools and see where UCLA stood on my board, and they stood leaps and bounds above Cal and Arizona.”
Throughout the recruitment process, Maurice worried that it would be easy for people to assume that his son only got offered by UCLA because of his legacy there or that he pushed him to commit to the Bruins.
But despite all of the encouragement he gave his son to not hastily pick UCLA, when Duece made his commitment official, there was no one more ecstatic.
“When he picked UCLA, I was excited. I don’t know what the word would be. It’s probably more than that,” Maurice said. “But I was happy that he felt comfortable going somewhere because these next three, four years are where you’re going to make the most leaps and bounds going from a young man to a man, and to be able to pick a school and feel the same way that I felt when I picked UCLA, it was everything I thought it would be.”
Maurice also noted that his son has the same opportunity he had when he committed to former UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell in 2002 — to turn around a struggling program and create a long-lasting legacy.
But that would only be possible with the right people at the top.
And for Maurice, it felt right with Chesney.
“We preach certain things in our household, and coach Chesney preaches and practices those things,” Maurice said. “Hearing coach Chesney talk, hearing all the coaches talk, their strength staff, their training staff — everybody’s on the same page. It’s constant communication. They have a plan of how they operate, how they raise young men on and off the field. It’s a great opportunity to go to a place that needs to be put back where it needs to be.”
Above all, Maurice is looking forward to being a fan.
“I know he’s a terrific player, he’s a great student and I’m excited to see what he can do,” Maurice said of his son. “I don’t know if I still have any records, but if I do, I’m sure they’ll be broken by the time he’s out of there. I can’t wait to watch him and cheer for him and love him up and hug him and do all the stuff that dads get to do when they watch their boys.”
Time for the Bruins to go camping
UCLA preseason camp kicks off on Thursday on the UCLA campus. Chesney and his staff will lead the Bruins through workouts at Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine from Aug. 10-14. Many coaches opt to spend at least a few days away from campus during preseason workouts to promote more team bonding. UCLA will kick off Chesney’s debut season at Cal on Sept. 5.
Betts wins prestigious Honda Cup
UCLA center Lauren Betts shoots over Duke’s Toby Fournier during an Elite Eight game in Sacramento on March 29.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Former UCLA All-American Lauren Betts earned one more award to cap her successful run as a Bruin.
Betts was named 2026 Honda Cup winner at the Collegiate Women Sports awards last week, becoming the seventh Bruin and 20th basketball player to win the top award in college women’s sports. Honda awards are presented to top performers in 12 NCAA sports and they compete for the top overall prize — the Honda Cup.
Betts helped UCLA win its first women’s basketball NCAA national championship, earning the tournament’s most outstanding player award. She led UCLA in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.8) while averaging 27.7 minutes per game.
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Big Ten commissioner pushes back on talk of breaking away from NCAA with SEC
UCLA Unlocked: Are you ready to make room on the Bob Chesney bandwagon?
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Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.