Alex Redmond’s status still unclear for UCLA’s game against Utah

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said on Thursday that offensive guard Alex Redmond is a “game-time decision” for Saturday’s game against Utah.

The sophomore injured his ankle against Arizona State last week in the first quarter and didn’t return to the game. Even though Mora said that he’s hopeful Redmond can play, the guard has decreased his practice workload every day this week and looks doubtful to play.

On Monday, he was working out on the practice field with a helmet on. By Thursday, he wasn’t participating in practice at all.

Starting in place of Redmond would theoretically be Kenny Lacy. The redshirt freshman entered the game in Tempe in place of Redmond and seemed to hold his own, but Mora wouldn’t commit to Lacy being the next man up.

“You can assume that if you want, but I’m not going to,” Mora said with a chuckle. “You can write that, but you might be wrong.”

In other injury news, Mora also confirmed that linebacker Kenny Orjioke is out for the season after tearing his ACL against Arizona State. The team is going to petition for a medical redshirt, which could give the true junior another year of eligibility.

“We’ll miss him, but it’s part of the game,” Mora said. “You hate to say that because it sounds insensitive, and it’s not meant to sound insensitive, but you just have to keep soldiering on and our guys will do that.”

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook