Just a week ago, Pat Cowan would have guessed that he would lead the UCLA football team through the Rose Bowl tunnel and onto the field Saturday as its top quarterback: After four years at UCLA, it would finally be his team.
Instead Cowan hobbled gingerly down the tunnel, alone, a massive knee brace hugging his left leg, his eyes glistening not in excitement but in despair.
Cowan said before the Bruins’ scrimmage Saturday he will need surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury at Thursday’s practice, the last before the spring scrimmage. He will miss the entire 2008 season and his UCLA career is likely over.
One of the first questions Cowan was asked when he faced the press: How does an athlete deal with such a catastrophic injury?
He paused, dropped his head for a moment, and then said simply, “I don’t know.”
Cowan, who arrived at UCLA in 2004, had played well enough this spring to win the top spot on the quarterback depth chart, an indication that he was the likely starter for the season.
Before the injury, Cowan said he wasn’t focusing on the quarterback competition even though it was a breakthrough of sorts for him to win the starting job. He had come off the bench in each of the past two seasons.
After an injury to quarterback Ben Olson in 2006, Cowan came off the bench to start eight games and lead UCLA to a 13-9 win over USC. But he wasn’t able to beat out Olson for the starting job before the 2007 season, and battled injuries of his own that year as well.
This latest injury will end Cowan’s career unless he is granted a medical redshirt from the NCAA. That scenario is improbable because Cowan already redshirted in 2004, for nonmedical reasons.
Cowan, who seemed overwhelmed by the bad news Saturday evening, said he hasn’t looked into the possibility of a sixth year at UCLA.
“I just need some more time to think about what’s going to happen,” he said.
To make matters worse for the Bruins, Olson announced that he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during the same practice. He said he’s still deciding whether or not to have surgery.
Unlike Cowan, Olson should be ready for training camp in August.
“Honestly I feel real bad for Ben and Pat,” redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Forcier said. “They’ve worked for this for the past four years, competing against each other, and every year it’s been a disaster for them.”
The game at the Rose Bowl fell into the inexperienced hands of Forcier, junior college transfer Kevin Craft and redshirt sophomore Osaar Rasshan.
But the night belonged to Cowan.
Near the end of the scrimmage, coach Rick Neuheisel brought Cowan and Olson to midfield and used the umpire’s microphone to laud the two for their dedication to the program. The 22-year-old Cowan and 25-year-old Olson tried to smile. Cowan reached a hand up to thank the crowd.
“I was just looking at both (Cowan and Olson), and I thought it might be nice for the crowd to say “˜thank you’ to those guys,” Neuheisel said. “Their careers at UCLA have been checkered with some misfortune, and I think both need to remember that there are a lot of people pulling for them.”
The severity of Cowan’s injury shocked players on both sides of the ball.
“I just found out today, and I felt so bad,” defensive end Brian Price said. “I’m praying for (Cowan and Olson) to come back healthy.”
Offensive coordinator Norm Chow said Olson and Craft would compete for the starting job in training camp and in the same breath joined the chorus expressing sympathy for Cowan.
“It’s very, very unfortunate for Pat,” Chow said. “He deserves all the accolades he can get; he’s struggled enough.”
None of the would-be backups looked spectacular Saturday. The offense focused on running the ball and short screen passes.
Craft took most of the reps with the first team and couldn’t convert a first down in his first three possessions. Craft ran a shotgun offense last season at Mount San Antonio Junior College and said playing under center is an adjustment for him.
Forcier and Rasshan are both mobile quarterbacks who like to move around the pocket, so the noncontact jerseys they wore limited their capability.
Both Rasshan and Forcier struggled with the snap exchange, much to the chagrin of Neuheisel.
The longest completion of the day was Rasshan’s 30-yard fade to freshman wideout Taylor Embree. The catch put the Bruins inside the red zone, but Rasshan fumbled on the next two plays.
Despite what he called a “rusty” performance from the three quarterbacks, Neuheisel said he is not worried.
“I have full confidence in Norm Chow. I have full confidence in the kids to give everything they’ve got,” Neuheisel said. “We’re going to find a way to play that position well.”
Cowan and Olson were both on crutches, and they walked to the edge of the field together as the scrimmage ended and Neuheisel addressed the players.
“It’s just one of those things, you can’t do anything but stay positive, and it’s real tough to stay positive when every year you’re getting hurt,” said 19-year-old Forcier of his senior teammates.
After Neuheisel’s postgame speech, a good portion of the 15,052 fans in attendance flooded onto the field for autographs and pictures with the players.
The longest line of fans formed just outside the Rose Bowl tunnel, in front of the injured Cowan.