The UCLA football team has already faced one Heisman Trophy candidate and it didn’t turn out so well for the Bruins.
The Bruins lost to Case Keenum and the Houston Cougars in the season opener. And that was when the defensive backfield was 100 percent healthy.
Fast forward three weeks and the defense meets another Heisman-worthy quarterback this weekend in the form of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. This time, health isn’t one of the backfield’s strong suits.
Three defensive backs who started in Houston’s win as well as another who played have been banged up this week. Senior safety Tony Dye missed the Oregon State game dealing with stingers that aggravated his nerves.
Junior safety Dalton Hilliard sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder during the game, and junior cornerback Sheldon Price sprained his right knee after jumping in frustration after he missed a sure interception. Redshirt junior cornerback Andrew Abbott can be added to the list as well. He missed the Oregon State game as he was recovering from a concussion he sustained in the loss to Texas on Sept. 17.
Coach Rick Neuheisel is optimistic that all of the injured players will suit up Saturday, but whether any of them will be at full strength remains to be seen. Luck has been tearing up every defense he’s faced, regardless of health. Neuheisel had no problem calling him “the best quarterback in the country.”
“It’s huge,” Neuheisel said of his battered defensive backfield.
“We’ve got to get healthy bodies. It is what it is. We’ve got to do the best we can to keep these guys healthy and then we’ve got to go out and play.”
Redshirt freshman safety Tevin McDonald is helping Neuheisel and UCLA fans breathe a little easier. McDonald started his first ever game, against Oregon State, in place of Dye ““ breaking a streak of 28 consecutive starts for Dye ““ and finished with five tackles.
“We’ve been having high hopes for Tevin,” said sophomore safety Dietrich Riley, one of the few healthy players left in the secondary.
“Tevin is playing great,” added Neuheisel. “I’m pleased with how things are going for him. He’s learning as he goes but he’s also got great savvy.”
Another option, one that many casual fans may not even know about, is redshirt senior cornerback Jamie Graham. Graham transferred to UCLA just before the beginning of the season after playing three years at Vanderbilt. He did not have to sit out the year that regular transfers do because he transfered to enter the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies into a major that Vanderbilt doesn’t offer.
He missed much of fall camp because of a surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee, his second such surgery in the last year.
Graham practiced for the first time Tuesday. Neuheisel said he would “wait and see” if Graham could play Saturday. Graham doesn’t want to wait around.
“I’m definitely ready to play,” he said. “Whenever coach Neuheisel calls my name, I’ll be ready.”