SAN FRANCISCO — The most important UCLA Bruin at Saturday’s Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl wasn’t suited up in a jersey.

He wasn’t playing on offense, defense or special teams. He wasn’t even holding a coach’s clipboard or calling plays. Jim Mora, named UCLA’s coach on Dec. 10, took in Saturday’s game as the team’s self-proclaimed No. 1 fan. He was dressed in a dapper blue blazer and sauntered around AT&T Park, taking questions from the media before the game, then heading to the field for an interview with ESPN before he finally settled down in Athletic Director Dan Guerrero’s suite to watch the game.

Mora hasn’t met with the team since he was introduced on campus on Dec. 13, when he sat down with his soon-to-be players for a 30-minute meeting. He has kept a low profile during bowl practices. In contrast, Illinois hired Tim Beckman around the same time, and he has been actively involved with his team, choosing to help coach from the sidelines on Saturday’s game.

“I haven’t gone on the football field out of respect to the coaches and players that are playing in this game,” Mora said. “Having been in their shoes over the years, the last thing I wanted to be is a distraction to them. … I’ve walked on the field three times and each time not felt like it was a spot that I should be.”

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been working. Mora said he has been in the J.D. Morgan Center’s football offices from 6 a.m. to midnight each day recruiting both players and coaches to join the program. He took a three-day trip home to Seattle for Christmas but said he hardly got to spend time with his family with the phone basically glued to his ear.

“For anyone to insinuate that I haven’t been working or haven’t been at UCLA would be false,” Mora said of his detractors.

Mora has already hired five of his assistants. He’s hoping to complete his staff with the addition of four more assistant coaches early next week when the NCAA’s recruiting “dead period” ends.

Mora acknowledges that he’s behind in the recruiting game, not only because it’s his first time attempting to sign a class as a collegiate coach but also because of the tumult that a coaching change can have on high school athletes’ decisions.

“I think that we’ve made up some ground,” Mora said. “I think we’ve been able to jump in on some kids that maybe weren’t as interested before. I think they’re intrigued by the fact that I have an NFL background and the staff I’ve brought in already had relationships with them. I can’t say it’s perfect but we’re making progress.”

Although, he says he’s been “grinding” in his first few weeks on the job and he holds the delicate future of the UCLA football program in his hands, on Saturday he was just a casual observer.

“I’m watching as a fan first,” Mora said.

Well, almost. Almost immediately after the word “fan” left his mouth, he rattled off a list of things he would be looking for out of his future team.

“It’s hard to separate the fan from the coach,” Mora said. “I want to see who can make plays. I want to see who plays hard. I want to see if I can get a feel for body language and how it might be able to interpret attitude.”

Jones unsure on future

Redshirt junior defensive end Datone Jones is unsure if he’ll return for his senior season. He has submitted paperwork for an NFL evaluation, which he expects to have back sometime early next week to help inform his decision.

“I’m weighing the pros and cons right now and seeing where I’ll be at when my evaluation comes back,” Jones said. “I want to be a Bruin and there’s a 90 percent chance that I will be back but I have to feed my family too.”