UCLA suffered a major setback on Monday when Maurice Drew
tweaked his ankle during practice. Tuesday didn’t bring much
better news. The sophomore tailback tried to practice but was
unable to complete drills because of ankle soreness. With
UCLA’s biggest game of the season upcoming, the leading
rusher’s status will be closely watched in the week.
“The likelihood (of Drew playing) is probably 50/50, and
we’ll just see and determine from a day-to-day
standpoint,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “For him to play,
he’s going to need to practice. He’s going to need to
do some things in practice to be a part of the game plan and be
effective on the practice field.” Drew’s questionable
status is not a new issue for UCLA. Drew was optimistic of making a
contribution in UCLA’s last game at Oregon but ended up not
playing. In his place, freshman Chris Markey had a breakout
performance, and the Bruins may need to look to him again if the
use of Drew is limited. “I’m excited about the game,
but I can’t say I’m excited about him being
injured,” Markey said. “It’s the same situation
as going into Oregon. We’re just hoping he’ll be ready
to go.” Thus, while the Bruins hold their breath on whether
they will have one of their most dangerous weapons, they are
consoled with very capable fill-ins. “Chris Markey filled a
pretty good role for us in that last game, and so did (senior
Manuel White Jr.),” Dorrell said. “Manuel has been
productive for us all season long too, so we’re in pretty
good shape there.”
QB RECRUIT UPDATE: Top quarterback recruit Ben
Olson attended Tuesday’s practice and plans to be at the Rose
Bowl on Saturday. The No. 1-ranked senior high school quarterback
two years ago, is planning on making his final decision
mid-December so he can enroll in January. He hasn’t played
the past two seasons because he was on his Mormon mission. Olson
has already made an official visit to Arizona State and also plans
on taking trips to Oregon and Cal. South Carolina has also just
entered the fold with the hiring of Steve Spurrier, who spoke with
Olson’s father on Tuesday. However, Olson, who hails from
nearby Thousand Oaks, grew up a Bruins fan and has expressed
admiration for the UCLA offensive attack. “I’ve really
liked what I’ve seen of the offense,” he said.
“I’ve watched a lot of the games, taped quite a few of
them. I like how multi-dimensional the offense is, how it can do so
many different things out of it, and I think any quarterback would
be interested in the style of offense that they’re going to
be running.”