The real Chane Moline

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Mission Viejo, Calif., three-star fullback Chane Moline admits when he showed up at April's NIKE Training Camp, he wasn't in the best of football shape.

He's also the first to admit the Chane Moline you saw that day is nowhere near the same Chane Moline everybody saw this week during practices for Saturday's Air 7 CaliFlorida Bowl.

He's right. It's not even close.

Moline, the nation's No. 5 fullback prospect, had a monster senior season racking up 791 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on 117 carries. He also had 199 yards receiving and had five touchdowns.

Then this week at each and every single practice, Moline impressed his teammates and coaches with his hard running style and toughness.

"Chane might not be the fastest, biggest or strongest player out there," California assistant coach Troy Thomas said.

"But he is without question one of the best out here. He had a great week of practices and showed once again why he's one of the best players in Southern California."

Moline feels like this week of practices is more reflective of his talent, compared to what he showed people at the NIKE Camp back in April.

"I think I showed my talent," Moline, who is 6-foot-1 and a well proportioned 240 pounds. "There are a lot of good running backs here, so there are only so many carries. I've done what I can, and I've blocked well. I'm not the fastest, but I'm determined to run the ball and show what I've got. I'm pretty deceptive. I'm faster than people think I am, and I can break tackles.

"I'm not the best at anything, but I'm above average on many things."

And that's why UCLA, the school he committed to back in August, might have gotten a huge steal from a three-star prospect. But Bruin fans are already well familiar with the Moline family and their overachieving ways. Chase Moline, Chane's older brother, is a freshman defensive tackle for UCLA.

"One of the factors in my decision was that I was waiting to see how they were going to do early in the season," said Moline, who committed to UCLA over offers from USC, Arizona and Ole Miss. "Once I saw them jump out to 4-0, I knew I was going there.

"The fact that my brother is there and Chase got to play a lot, it really helped make it an easy decision for me. I'm excited about my future there."

So should Bruin fans, because the Moline they're getting is the more refined and improved version of the one people saw this past spring.

"The experience coming out here has been great," Moline said. "It's been really good to get a feel for college level speed. All of these guys are D-I and are good. I feel like it's the beginning experience of what college is going to be like.

"And I think I showed I definitely belong out there with them."