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Assault charges were dropped against former UCLA football player Maurice Drew for an alleged altercation at a Denny’s restaurant in Westwood on April 23 after surveillance video footage showed Drew leaving the restaurant before the alleged altercation took place. Drew and former UCLA football players Ricky Manning Jr. and Tyler Ebell were each charged with one count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury toward Denny’s patron Soroush Sabzi, and each posted $30,000 bail. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has only dropped the charges against Drew, while Manning and Ebell have pleaded not guilty and have a scheduled preliminary hearing for July 6 at the Airport Branch Courthouse. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz cited “insufficient evidence to proceed” with charges against Drew. According to Drew’s lawyer Aaron Dyer, there were eyewitness accounts that corroborated the video footage which showed Drew leaving the Denny’s on Tiverton Avenue just prior to the alleged altercation. “It was a case of mistaken identity,” Dyer said. “The video identified a black man with dreadlocks, but he looked nothing like Maurice and the witnesses backed it up.” Deputy District Attorney Hamid Towfigh noted that the charges were dropped based on “insufficient evidence.” He would not comment on the details of an ongoing case but did say that a judge will be careful to cite the reason for dropping charges, but he would not comment as to why they were dropped against Drew but not against Manning and Ebell. Meanwhile, the civil suit of negligent infliction of emotional distress and intentional infliction of emotional distress toward Sabzi has not yet been dropped. Dyer is expecting the civil suit to be dropped sometime this week, but he has not been in contact with Sabzi’s lawyer, Aviv Tuchman. The suit was filed by Tuchman, on May 18, two days before a warrant was issued for the arrest of Drew and Ebell. Manning was arrested approximately 3 a.m. on April 23, within an hour of the alleged assault. Tuchman was unavailable for comment.

SUMMER PRACTICE: UCLA will open its 2006 pre-season football practice on Monday, Aug. 7. The Bruins will practice once daily from Aug. 7-11. The first practice in full pads will be Friday, Aug. 11. Two-a-day practices will begin on Saturday, Aug. 12. The NCAA banned consecutive two-a-days in 2003. On Saturday, Aug. 19, the Bruins will hold their first major scrimmage of fall camp. The scrimmage will be held at Drake Stadium at 11 a.m. All practices will be on Spaulding Field and will be open to the public.

SCHEDULING: UCLA and Nebraska agreed to a home-and-home football series. The teams will play at the Rose Bowl in 2012 and at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in 2013. The last time the teams met, Nebraska won 49-21 in 1994. UCLA and Kansas State have also agreed to a home-and-home football series. The Bruins will host the Wildcats in the Rose Bowl on Sept. 19, 2009. The Bruins will travel to Manhattan, Kansas in the 2010 season on Sept. 4. The series will mark the first meetings between the schools in the sport of football.

AWARD LISTS: Junior offensive lineman Shannon Tevaga is a pre-season candidate for the Outland Trophy Award, given to the best interior lineman. Sophomore quarterback Ben Olson is on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s best player, even though he has yet to start a game in college. Defensive tackle Kevin Brown is on the Bednarik Award list.