Douglas High graduate Chris Griffith didn't even receive a chance to try a field goal in his final two games for the UCLA football team.
Griffith admitted the lack of activity got to him somewhat. "Towards the end of the season, I started getting bored," he said.
But the redshirt sophomore received a welcome reward for his consistent season when he was named to the all-Pac 10 second team. Griffith made 9-of-12 field goals this season for the Bruins with a long of 46 yards and was 41-of-43 on extra points.
Both missed extra points weren't Griffith's fault. One came on a bad snap and one was blocked.
Last season as a freshman, Griffith was 13-of-18 on field goals and 25-of-25 on extra points. All five of his missed field goals were blocked.
"Obviously, it's great," said Griffith about making the second team. "It's an honor to be there. It caught me by surprise. It just gives me more motivation."
Griffith said his obvious goal is to make the all-Pac 10 first team. "But second team is good as a sophomore," he said.
Now Griffith and the Bruins (6-5) are preparing for a Sun Bowl matchup Dec. 29 with Wisconsin (8-4). There was talk that UCLA could be heading to the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii, but the Bruins accepted the Sun Bowl bid Tuesday.
"I'm excited honestly just to be playing in a bowl game," said Griffith about the choice between El Paso, Texas and Hawaii. "It doesn't matter where."
The Sun Bowl is a rematch of the Rose Bowl from two years ago in which Wisconsin beat UCLA 38-31. In his first year at UCLA, Griffith was redshirting during that season.
UCLA had an up and down season this year, finishing at 6-5 after a 3-0 start, which included wins over then-No. 3 ranked teams Alabama and Michigan.
Griffith said while he would have obviously liked the team to have a better win-loss record, the season wasn't a disappointment.
"I've never been around a bunch of guys who worked so hard and never gave up," Griffith said.
Consistency is his strength, Griffith said. Of his three misses this season, one was tipped.
Griffith said he takes every miss hard. After missing a field goal attempt against Alabama, even though UCLA won, Griffith said,
"I was bummed after the game. I take it personally. Every kick is my game."
As far as his performance on the entire year, though, Griffith said, "Overall on the season, I'm happy."
