COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Discouraged Shah Considers Redshirting

Concerned that his injured knee is not responding to treatment, UCLA running back Sharmon Shah is considering redshirting this season.

Coach Terry Donahue met with a discouraged Shah, the Bruin medical staff and spoke with Shah’s father, Naim, after practice Wednesday and said that Shah was considering the move, even though he was sound enough to run the ball 10 times for 58 yards against Nebraska on Saturday.

“I told him that he played well Saturday, and he said that his knee was only 65% and that it was hurting,” Donahue said. “One thing I’ve learned is that if a player says he is hurt, he is hurt and you can’t play him.”

Shah underwent arthroscopic surgery in early August.

Were he ready, he would start against Stanford on Saturday and be the Bruins’ third starting tailback in as many games. Daron Washington started against Cal and sprained his ankle. Skip Hicks started against Nebraska and sprained his ankle on the first play of the fourth quarter, after rushing for 148 yards.

The decision to redshirt would be Shah’s. “I want him to play,” Donahue said.

Shah, from Dorsey High, played as a freshman, starting one game and rushing for 145 yards in 48 carries in seven games. If he redshirts, he would have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

If Shah is unable to play Saturday, senior Ricky Davis probably would start at tailback, with Derek Ayers as the top reserve. Donahue had hoped to have Washington ready to return to the lineup, but his ankle is also responding slowly to treatment, and he probably won’t be ready to play until the San Diego State game, Sept. 30.