UCLA senior wide receiver Tab Perry has been ruled academically
ineligible to play and will redshirt this season.
Perry plans to return for the 2004 season.
“Obviously, losing a player of Tab’s caliber is a
blow to the team, but we have to move on,” head coach Karl
Dorrell said in a statement. “The other wide receivers in the
program will have to fill the void.”
Perry had 35 receptions and 658 yards as a wide receiver this
past season, and also had 626 return yards on 25 attempts. He ranks
17th in UCLA history in career yardage and 23rd in receptions.
During the season, Perry will have surgery to repair a torn
labrum in his left shoulder.
He had given indications that his shoulder had been bothering
him for several months and that he was hopeful the injury would
heal with treatment.
Because he cannot play in 2003, however, he decided to have the
surgery so he can be at full strength in 2004.
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In another blow to the receiving corps, Jibril Raymo, a former
safety that was making a switch to wide receiver during the spring,
has left the team for personal reasons.
“There is a chance to get him reinstated,” Dorrell
said. “Jibril is dealing with issues that are important for
him to address right now.”
Raymo, who came out of Beverly Hills High School as one of the
top safeties in the nation by many recruiting sites, was expected
to redshirt this season to learn the wide receiver position.
With reports from Bruce Tran, Bruin Sports
reporter.