UCLA's Paul Perkins', Brett Hundley's connection dates to childhood Running back Paul Perkins and quarterback Brett Hundley, UCLA's All-Chandler (Ariz.) High backfield, disagree about one thing: Who's faster. They met as children, not far removed from midday naps, while running for the Arizona Cheetahs Track Club. "I was faster," Hundley says. Says Perkins: "What? He's lying. He's definitely lying. And now ... "I can still put up a race," Hundley says. Says Perkins: "He's fast. He's not that fast. A stern fatherly hand might be needed. Except Paul "Bruce" Perkins and Brett Hundley Sr. have their own tongue-in-cheek issues. Both were running backs, Perkins at Arizona State and Hundley at Arizona. If challenged today, the elder Perkins says, "Oh yeah, I can beat him." Hundley scoffs at the notion and says, "I can bust Bruce up, no problem." From father to son to Chandler to the Bruins' backfield, Perkins and Hundley are all but joined at the hip, and thoroughly enjoy giving each other lip. They even share a UCLA dorm suite. When UCLA plays football against California on Saturday night, Perkins will move in behind Hundley, replacing the injured Jordon James. "We're friends back there, calming each other down when things are going south, mellowing each other out," Perkins says. Perkins was effective as a backup to James, offering the Bruins a different look. "I don't want to say we're a finesse offense, but we're such a space-orientated offense it's nice to have a guy who will put his pads down and be physical," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone says of Perkins. James was the nation's fifth-leading rusher through three games, then suffered an ankle injury against Utah. Perkins carried a heavy load in the second half. "We really appreciated that moment," Bruce Perkins says. To see them in the same backfield again, with Brett handing him the ball, was neat. Perkins, a redshirt freshman, gained 92 yards, 36 coming on a fourth-quarter field-goal drive that broke a 24-24 tie.