COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Hicks Says He Has Been Cleared to Play

Team doctor Gerald Finerman has given Skip Hicks permission to play football, Hicks said Monday after working with the offense at full speed.

It’s the word he was looking for even though:

--It has been only six months since he suffered a knee injury that necessitated major ligament surgery;

--Coach Terry Donahue really doesn’t want him to play, preferring him to redshirt this season to give the knee the full nine months of rehabilitation time textbooks say is needed;

--Charles Hicks doesn’t particularly want his son to return so fast;

--and with Sharmon Shah, UCLA is getting more than adequate help at tailback.

“It’s something I want to prove to myself,” said Hicks. “The doctor told me that I would be ready for the Washington game (Oct. 1), that there wasn’t any more he needed to do.”