Dorrell’s Year Is No Piece of Cake

The sky above Westwood had a Bruin-blue quality to it Thursday, which brought a wry smile to Coach Karl Dorrell’s face.

Well, that and it was his 40th birthday and the Bruin team had just wished him a happy one, offering a hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday” at the end of practice.

Plus, the team was about to embark on an afternoon visit to Universal Studios. And there also was the not-so-small matter of Thursday’s being Dorrell’s first anniversary as UCLA coach.

“It’s another beautiful day in December,” he said. “We’re going to go to Universal Studios and mess around a bit.”

This hasn’t been the easiest of rookie seasons for Dorrell, what with the Bruins losing their final four games en route to a 6-6 record and a berth in the Silicon Valley Classic against Fresno State on Dec. 30 at San Jose.

As consolation bowls go, this one is a doozy.

“I can’t believe I’m 40, but after this year, I guess I can believe I am 40,” Dorrell said with a smile that was more of a wince.

Then, growing more serious, Dorrell addressed a season gone wrong with pivotal losses against Stanford, Washington State, Oregon and USC that ended the Bruins’ once lively hopes of a Rose Bowl appearance.

“Obviously, we’re not where we want to be,” he said. “We’re doing the right things in terms of what we’re trying to build, with recruiting. We knew it wasn’t going to be a one-year miracle, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

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The Bruin football team will attend the dedication of Nell and John Wooden Court before UCLA’s basketball game Saturday against Michigan State at Pauley Pavilion.

“The man’s a legend,” Dorrell said of John Wooden, who retired in 1975, years before any of the current football players were born. “Obviously, he’s done so much for the school.

“The players wanted to go. I think everybody wants to be a part of it.”

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Dorrell called this weekend the biggest for recruiting in his year at UCLA. He expects 14 recruits to visit the school.

Three junior college players signed letters of intent Thursday, Dorrell said. They are: Kyle Morgan, a defensive lineman from Pearl River Community College in Mississippi; Matt Raney, a tight end from Phoenix City College, and Marc Villafuerte, an offensive lineman from Santa Ana College.

The Bruins are expecting national letters of intent returned from quarterback David Koral of Santa Monica College and linebacker Dan Nelson of Arizona Western.

Koral, 6 feet 2 and 210 pounds, passed for nearly 9,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons at Palisades High and holds the national prep record for yards passing in a game, 764. He attended Vanderbilt for a short time and tried to walk on at Florida State before transferring to Santa Monica.

He passed for 2,400 yards and 25 touchdowns this season and will be a junior next fall.

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Times staff writer Steve Henson contributed to this report.