Ouch!
There are enough Bruin injuries to keep Cedars-Sinai busy for
the rest of the year.
Ken Kocher, Sean Phillips, Asi Faoa and Kenyon Coleman, all
defensive players, will not play this weekend against Arizona
State.
Running back Jermaine Lewis injured his ankle in pregame warmups
last Saturday and it is doubtful he will play against the
Wildcats.
According to head coach Bob Toledo, linebacker Robert Thomas and
safety Jason Stephens situations “are very
questionable.”
Even backup quarterback Ryan McCann has caught the injury bug
and will need off season shoulder surgery to recover.
True warrior
Perhaps the whole team could follow Rusty Williams’
example. The 6-foot-4, 262 pound sophomore defensive end has played
injured all year.
He is currently suffering from a stress fracture in his foot. In
addition to that, Williams has a shoulder that “kind of
popped out on him,” Toledo said.
But his injuries keep piling up, forcing him to come off the
field more and more. Then again playing with injuries doesn’t
look so good after all.
Heading home
Brian Poli-Dixon and Mike Saffer will be heading home to Tucson
this weekend to take on the Wildcats. Poli-Dixon was a teammate of
Saffer’s at Sabino High School in Tucson under coach Jeff
Scurran.
Both players were also standouts in track and field. Poli-Dixon
ran the 100-meter dash, the 4×100 relay, and competed in the high
jump and long jump. At 6-foot-5, 294 pounds, Saffer confined
himself to the ground. He competed in both the shot put and the
discus throw.
Could they be any more similar? Both men are history majors,
both are 6-foot-5 and both are honor roll students with an
above-3.0 GPA.
But don’t worry, you won’t get them confused too
easily. Saffer outweighs Poli-Dixon by 80 pounds, plays offensive
line and has slightly different facial features.
Grounding it out
If statistics are any indication of production, Saturday’s
game could be a replay of the Bruins’ last few rushing
efforts.
In games against California and Oregon State, UCLA rushed 76
times for a mere 117 yards.
This weekend won’t be any easier. With Lewis out, the
Bruins will go with a banged up DeShaun Foster and freshman Akil
Harris against the conferences’ leading run defense.
So far the Wildcats have given up 2.2 yards per rush this year
and have allowed only rushing touchdowns.
Notes compiled by Adam Karon, Daily Bruin Reporter.