Thomas Dismisses Supporting Cast

The cast that had protected Robert Thomas’ broken right hand the first four games is gone, and so are some of the signs that this is a true freshman.

The development of Thomas, pushed into a greater role because of other injuries at linebacker, now includes the full use of both hands, something more than a minor detail. The removal of the cast came several weeks later than scheduled, but the impact has been obvious.

“It’s a big difference,” he said. “It was like not having a hand. . . . I’m like a new man with the cast off. I feel like everybody else now. I don’t have this disadvantage anymore.”

California would confirm as much. Saturday at Berkeley, Thomas made two of the biggest plays in UCLA’s 28-16 victory, forcing Joshua White to fumble on fourth and goal from the one late in the first half and leading the stop of Marcus Fields on third and goal from the two in the third quarter.

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Cal’s commitment to stopping the run, hardly the strong part of an otherwise commendable defense, was obvious. The Bears regularly stacked the line with six- and seven-man fronts, held UCLA to 169 yards on the ground and shut down the tailbacks.

Quarterback Cade McNown (57 yards in 12 carries, including the losses from sacks) and fullback Durell Price (56 yards in just six carries) were the most productive Bruins. But Jermaine Lewis had 60 in 18, or 3.3 per attempt, and Keith Brown, the starter, ran five times for minus-four yards.

“That’s a good team,” UCLA offensive coordinator Al Borges said. “They may not be as good as they’d like offensively, but they’re as good as anybody we’ve played defensively.”