Wednesday, October 21, 1998
DeShaun Foster sidelined by injured knee
FOOTBALL: Back suffers sprain after scoring twice in victory
against Oregon
By Jeff Kmiotek
Daily Bruin Staff
Running back DeShaun Foster will miss three to four weeks after
spraining his left knee against Oregon on Saturday. An MRI exam
revealed Foster sprained his medial collateral ligament.
The injury occurred in the second quarter, when Foster was
tackled after a 10-yard reception.
"It was a screen. I went to cut, and I was already planted, and
somebody tackled me in the leg," said Foster after the game.
Foster, UCLA’s leading rusher, had already scored the first two
touchdowns of the game. His first score came on a 51-yard reception
in which he made two Oregon defenders tackle each other.
His second TD came courtesy of a four-yard run. Following the
injury, Foster left the game for the locker room, but later
returned to the sidelines on crutches. Foster has started his
rehabilitation and is now able to walk without crutches.
The previous week vs. Arizona, Foster rushed for 118 yards and
two touchdowns on 20 carries. It was the most yards gained by a
true freshman for UCLA since Skip Hicks in 1993.
The explosive Foster had five runs of over 10 yards in that
game, including a 37-yard TD run in which he broke four
tackles.
With Freddie Mitchell gone for the year with a broken left
femur, Foster had taken over the punt and kick return duties.
Against Arizona, he had a 45-yard kickoff return and totaled 188
all-purpose yards. He currently ranks fifth in the Pac-10 with
123.6 all-purpose yards per game.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Foster has run for 308 yards on 53
carries and four touchdowns. He also has six receptions for 89
yards and a score.
Foster was emerging as the team’s top tailback before the injury
occurred. He’s a threat to break a long run on any given play.
"He’s very special," said head coach Bob Toledo. "I think the
thing about him is he’s got great vision. He can see a hole and get
in it as fast as anyone I’ve ever seen. And he can break
tackles."
Tailbacks Jermaine Lewis and Keith Brown, originally the team’s
first and second-string running backs, will pick up the slack while
Foster is out. Brown, who rushed for 101 yards against Oregon, will
be the starter for Saturday’s game against California.
Brown has scored four touchdowns and averages a team-high 5.5
yards per carry. Lewis, who ran for his ninth score of the year
against Oregon, leads the Pac-10 and ranks third in the nation in
scoring with 13.5 points per game.
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