Marcus Everett has learned a painful lesson in the five weeks since he bruised his big toe.
“You use your toe to do everything: to walk, to stand, to cut and run,” he said. “Every little movement you make, you feel it. It’s a painful injury.”
Everett, one of the Bruins’ most talented and experienced wide receivers, suffered the injury in the first quarter of the UCLA football team’s season opener against Tennessee and has missed the last four games.
But he knows he can battle back. He’s faced this type of adversity before.
Everett, a redshirt senior, sat out most of the 2007 season after he suffered an ankle injury in UCLA’s third game. He worked his way back and played very well in spring practices earlier this year.
This season he has endured a similar rehab process and changed his daily routine to try to heal quickly. He hopes to return for a second time this Saturday, when the Bruins face Oregon. Coach Rick Neuheisel said he is questionable.
“Getting hurt last year, and having to deal with it last year, it kind of helped me this year to be positive about everything and to just work through it,” Everett said.
UCLA could definitely use Everett. The Bruins have turned to junior Terrence Austin and freshman Taylor Embree as their starting wideouts, and in five games only Embree and Austin have caught 15 or more passes.
Everett caught just one pass in the few minutes he played against Tennessee, but in two full seasons in 2005 and 2006 he was one of the team’s standout players. He led the Bruins in receiving yards in 2006 and delivered a crucial performance in their 13-9 win over USC. He also had 102 yards receiving that year against Notre Dame and two touchdown catches at Oregon State.
“He contributes; he’s one of the leaders of that group and he’s a hard worker,” quarterback Kevin Craft said.
Neuheisel said that Everett is “getting closer” to returning and will travel with the team to Eugene, Ore. this weekend.
“His spirits are up,” Neuheisel said. “He’s excited about the chance to get back ““ this is his senior year.”
Everett said the toe injury has been especially frustrating because it does not heal progressively, and because it impacts almost every facet of his game.
“The toe injury weird because it’s day-to-day,” he said. “It can feel good one day and the next it will be bad. It’s really up in the air. I’m just trying to work through.
“Hopefully I’ll play sometime soon.”
Everett practiced Wednesday evening but only received a few reps. Austin and Embree were running with the first-team offense.
Everett said there’s a chance that his toe could feel better in the next few days leading up to the Oregon game. If that’s the case, he will play. If not he hopes to play against Stanford on Oct. 18.
Before 2007 Everett never had to deal with a serious injury, and he said it’s been frustrating to miss so much time in the past two years ““ he’s played in just two of the team’s last 15 games.
But through it all, Everett has not lost his confidence.
“I’ve worked through something like this before, so it kind of helps me in this situation,” Everett said. “You just have to be positive, you just have to keep working.”
PRACTICE NOTES: Center Micah Reed did not practice Wednesday; he is recovering from a knee injury. Neuheisel said that Reed will likely return next week. He is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game against Oregon.
Neuheisel also said that outside linebacker Kyle Bosworth is still “a ways away” from returning. Bosworth is suffering from an ankle and a knee injury.
KICKER BATTLE: UCLA coaches are considering a switch that would have Kai Forbath handle the kickoff duties instead of Jimmy Rotstein. No decision has been made, and Neuheisel said he might not make one until just before Saturday’s game.
“Jimmy does a nice job, but we need to try to get the ball farther down the field,” Neuheisel said.