DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior linebacker
Robert Thomas chases a tackle against Cal earlier
this season.
Thomas tackles two awards
UCLA middle linebacker Robert Thomas earned his first two awards
of the season when he was named both a first team All-American and
the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in the last week.
Thomas leads the Pac-10 with 106 tackles through 10 games and
also leads the conference with a UCLA-record 24 tackles for a
loss.
The senior has a chance for two other awards this season, as he
is a finalist for both the Butkus award, given to the
nation’s top linebacker, and the Football News Defensive
Player of the Year.
Other Bruins that received first team All-Pac-10 honors include
tailback DeShaun Foster, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and punter
Nate Fikse.
Tight end Bryan Fletcher, offensive tackle Mike Saffer,
defensive tackle Rodney Leslie and safety Marques Anderson were
named to the second team. Nine Bruins received honorable mentions
including Dave Ball, Bryce Bohlander, Troy Danoff, Anthony
Fletcher, Chris Griffith, Ed Ieremia-Stansbury, Ken Kocher, Ryan
Nece and Matt Ware.
Foster update
UCLA athletic director Peter Dalis announced Monday that there
was no plan for UCLA to appeal the NCAA’s decision not to
reinstate DeShaun Foster’s eligibility for either the Arizona
State game or a potential bowl game.
Rather than continue to collect further information in regard to
Foster’s “extra benefits” violation, all plans to
appeal and collect data have been delegated to the Foster family
and their legal counsel.
Going Bowling?
A win against the Sun Devils on Saturday will be important for
the Bruins’ bowl chances, but even if the team were to garner
a bowl bid, there remains uncertainty as to whether an invitation
will be accepted.
“I talked to all the seniors, and they all wanted to
play,” Toledo said.
Of course, the decision of whether they opt to play or not will
ultimately lie in the hands of UCLA’s outgoing athletic
director.
“We’re always reviewing the situation,” Dalis
said.
Rested up
The Bruins canceled Wednesday’s practice, the second
decision to do so during an already shortened Thanksgiving week.
Earlier, the Bruins had canceled their scheduled Monday
practice.
“They needed to heal mentally and physically,”
Toledo said of his decision to practice only once last week.
Notes compiled by Joshua Mason, Daily Bruin Staff.