Mitchell Shrugs Off Injury Fears

Lost amid the string of serious Bruin injuries, including to fellow receivers Danny Farmer and Brian Poli-Dixon, is that Freddie Mitchell has rarely been at full strength all season, even though he has not missed a game.

Most of the problem has been a sore knee and a bruised thigh muscle Mitchell has played with since the first games. Of greater concern to the Bruins is that he is not yet fully recovered from the fractured leg that sidelined him most of last season, an injury Mitchell insisted during training camp was in the distant past.

“He is obviously not as fast or as quick as he was prior to that injury,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “He drags the leg every once in a while. He can’t run full speed. He’s got excellent hands--get the ball near him, he’ll catch the ball. But he’s not running away from people, separating from them, like he was before. He’s worn down too.”

Mitchell being Mitchell, he acknowledges the deficiencies, but concedes nothing.

“I may be around 85%,” he said. “That’s the lowest. But I still find myself going by the DBs, so it’s nothing to bring up.

“For me to say my leg’s hurting is not really true. I should be on the basketball court, dunking on guys.”

On the football field, Mitchell leads the Bruins in catches (29) and is second to Farmer in receiving yards (363), but he does not have a touchdown.

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It was a good weekend for UCLA. Washington State and USC both lost, which means at least the Bruins don’t have to suffer the embarrassment alone of being in last place in the Pacific 10, not even in their own city. . . . It’s not a certainty that Matt Phelan, the backup who has started four times at various spots this season, will replace injured guard Mike Saffer in the opening lineup. The Bruins are considering several options, including moving their best offensive lineman, Brian Polak, from tackle to guard.