UCLA football goes into Stanford game with reduced roster

The first half of the Bruins’ season hasn’t been about who’s on the field – it’s been about who’s not.

UCLA football (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) is coming off a bye week as it prepares for a matchup with Stanford (3-3, 2-2), and with half a season left, the team has had to make some drastic adjustments to its depth chart because of injuries.

Leading up to the season opener against Cincinnati, coach Chip Kelly said 92% to 96% of the team had been participating in fall camp. Redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley, junior defensive back Darnay Holmes, senior wide receiver Theo Howard and four other starters wound up missing the game and, seven weeks later, the injuries have continued to pile up.

Howard had multiple wrist injuries that limited him to just one game played and zero catches in 2019, and he won’t be rejoining the team this fall. Howard announced Thursday on Twitter he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal, which sophomore wide receiver Chase Cota said was a tough pill to swallow.

“We fully support (Howard) in whatever he does, but obviously we’d love to still have him,” Cota said. “We love and hope for the best for him. And if he goes, that happens, if he stays, that’s good, but I think we have a good group of guys and we’re excited moving forward either way, and we’re just going to stay confident.”

And for the second season in a row, sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has struggled with injuries himself. The ankle injury Thompson-Robinson suffered against Arizona held him out of UCLA’s matchup with Oregon State, but Kelly said he may be nearing a return after fully participating in practice Sunday, though he added that being the starter before his injury doesn’t automatically give him back his spot.

“I don’t think there’s any coach who can ever say that you were injured and you were a starter and then when you come back that’s guaranteed to you – there’s nothing guaranteed,” Kelly said. “You’ve just got to go out and compete and it’s got to happen on a weekly basis because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Redshirt junior offensive lineman Michael Alves – who suffered from repeated back injuries – and junior defensive lineman Martin Andrus Jr. – who tore his ACL in warmups before the Oregon State game – are also out for the rest of the season, Kelly said.

Junior defensive back Quentin Lake is still recovering from a hand fracture and sophomore defensive lineman Elijah Wade is day-to-day as well. Kelly said both players are expected to miss a few more games.

There is a chance for some Bruins to make their returns in the coming days, including redshirt senior linebacker Tyree Thompson, who had foot surgery during fall training camp. Kelly said the linebacker is almost back to full health after participating in practice, possibly giving depth to a depleted linebacker corp.

“There is a chance – (Thompson) is working extremely hard,” Kelly said. “There’s still six more games to go and, when he becomes available, that’s all determined by the doctor and the medical staff.”

UCLA’s next opponent, Stanford, is also missing a few key players.

The Cardinal’s starting quarterback K.J. Costello has only played in three games this season because of injury, and backup quarterback Davis Mills left the game during the fourth quarter against Washington with an injury. Both of their statuses are unknown for this week’s contest.

“They are a bit low in numbers, just like us,” said sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Manoa. “I think they do well working together and they are a very well-coached team, and we’re just looking forward to the challenge they give us on Thursday … but we aren’t going to fold on anybody.”