Mitchell Declared Eligible

The on-again, off-again saga of Freddie Mitchell became on again Thursday when Mitchell, a freshman receiver from Lakeland, Fla., was cleared by the NCAA to enroll at UCLA and play football this season.

Mitchell had been cleared by the school’s academic eligibility committee, provided he scored sufficiently well on the Scholastic Assessment Test or American College Test, but he did not report for two-a-day drills in August because he had failed to reach the required score in three tries at the SAT.

He had come within 10 points.

Mitchell, who has been living with a relative in Pasadena, has attended several practices as well as a preseason scrimmage in the Rose Bowl as a spectator, saying he would be going back to Florida to retake the SAT with an idea of entering for the winter quarter.

Instead, he began auditing classes at UCLA on Sept. 25, took the ACT on Sept. 27, paid an extra fee to have the score expedited and forwarded to the NCAA Clearinghouse and was declared eligible Thursday.

He attended practice, again as a spectator, but stayed afterward to catch passes thrown by freshman quarterback Ed Stansbury under the scrutiny of offensive coordinator Al Borges and receiver coach Ron Carragher.

“I’ll see what he looks like on Monday,” said Coach Bob Toledo, who watched from a distance Thursday afternoon. “He’s been under a lot of strain, and I don’t want to let [his presence] be a distraction from the game [Saturday at Oregon].”

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The UCLA defense could be minus strong safety Larry Atkins, who has intercepted four passes and recovered two fumbles, because of a deep thigh bruise suffered Monday. He had already sprained a wrist in last week’s 66-10 victory over Houston.

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Guard Oscar Cabrera, a redshirt freshman who has been out all season because of knee and ankle injuries suffered in August, will make the trip to Eugene and is expected to get six or eight snaps. . . . Among those who will not make the trip because of injuries are receiver Brian Poli-Dixon, fullback Durell Price and guard Sean Gully.

* NEXT UP FOR UCLA

WHO: Oregon

WHERE: Autzen Stadium

TIME: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

TV: FX

RADIO: AM 1150