Back Surgery Will Force Eric Smith to Miss UCLA Season

Eric Smith, an outside linebacker who led UCLA in sacks the last two seasons, will undergo surgery on his back next month and miss the season, Coach Terry Donahue announced Saturday.

Dr. Gerald Finerman, the Bruins’ team physician, said Smith has a small defect in the bony supporting ring on one side of his spine. He said the injury probably was caused by stress placed on the spine from repeated contact.

Finerman said Smith was bothered by the injury all last season, when he had 11 sacks. A 6-foot 3 1/2-inch, 225-pound senior from Anaheim Servite High School, Smith sat out spring practice, hoping the injury would heal itself.

It didn’t, and Smith did not report Friday, as scheduled. “He called and said he just couldn’t make it, that he wants to go ahead and have his back operated on,” Donahue said.

The Bruins, who will meet San Diego State in their opener Sept. 5 at the Rose Bowl, open fall practice Monday.