Manuel White is back, but it’s not in black and white.
The UCLA sophomore tailback returns to action Saturday against
Arizona after four weeks of sitting out with a hamstring injury.
Still, he is a bit rusty.
“I feel clumsy out there,” White said. “But my
hamstring is feeling 100 percent. I just have to get back in game
shape.”
White, who suffered the injury against Oregon State, returned to
practice this week.
“He’s in good cardiovascular shape, but
there’s a difference between being in physical shape and
running and making cuts,” head coach Bob Toledo said.
“That’s why he’s not going to play a whole bunch
on Saturday.”
But what little he carries will go a long way in helping the
Bruins regain some semblance of a bruising running attack. In past
weeks, they have had some trouble with this in the red zone and
short-yardage situations.
Still, Tyler Ebell has done more than enough to make up for
White’s absence. The freshman has run for over 100 yards in
each of his last five games and set the single-season school record
for freshman rushing yards.
“We’ll complement each other pretty well,”
Ebell said. “Manuel is a big part of our offense.”
Ebell replaced White in the Oregon State game and ran for 203
yards. Junior Akil Harris, who had platooned with White before the
injury, has seen few carries after that game.
It remains to be seen how Ebell and White split carries from
here on out.
“I really don’t know,” White said.
“I’m not too concerned about that. I just want to get
back out there.”
With White returning, logic would follow that Ebell’s
streak of 100-yard games is in jeopardy.
But Ebell doesn’t think so. He believes that the thunder
and lightning combination will allow him to continue the streak in
lightning-quick fashion.
“I might get 100 yards on less carries now since they
won’t be able to key on me.”