Havner Won’t Play in Bowl

UCLA inside linebacker Spencer Havner, the Pacific 10 Conference’s leading tackler, will not play against Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl after having surgery Friday to remove cartilage from his right knee.

Havner, a junior who finished with 125 tackles, was second nationally in solo tackles at 7.6 a game. He was one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award and Rotary Lombardi Award and has 303 career tackles, ranking 11th in team history.

Coach Karl Dorrell said senior Benjamin Lorier, who started two games, will take Havner’s spot in the lineup for the Dec. 23 game. Freshman Fred Holmes will be Lorier’s backup.

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Wyoming (6-5, 3-4 in the Mountain West Conference) played only two ranked teams -- No. 5 Utah and No. 22 Texas A&M; -- and lost by a combined 76-28.

But the Bruins are concerned about containing Cowboy quarterback Corey Bramlet.

“They are a very good football team that spreads you out offensively and they do some great things in putting points on the board,” Dorrell said. “They have a quarterback that can run the ball and throw it.

“Their defense makes you earn everything. They do not give up many big plays and make opposing offenses work.”

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UCLA will practice today and four times next week during finals before leaving Dec. 19 for Las Vegas.

-- Lonnie White