Injured Foster Can’t Sidestep Frustration Either

The medical staff was trying to stabilize his ankle and his emotions, sore spots both.

DeShaun Foster ran around right end early in the second quarter Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, planted his right leg to make a move to add to the 11 yards already gained, and had a chunk of turf go out from under him. The next thing to go out was the ankle--again. Frustration set in.

On the UCLA sideline, Foster’s aggravation was apparent. The injury, once painful, had become downright annoying, to where he had been reduced to No. 1 tailback in title only, to where he got only two carries Oct. 2 at Arizona State and the one rush against Oregon on Saturday before being forced out. He sat sideways and put his leg on the bench, and the trainers tried to prop up his feelings, telling him to hang in there.

By the end of the night, Foster had conceded that it might be best “just to sit out a little and go from there” in hopes that the injury would heal once and for all. The Bruins soon agreed. Monday, they announced that Foster would not play Saturday against California at the Rose Bowl and might also sit out next week at Oregon State.

“I’m just upset with myself mostly,” Foster said. “Maybe it’s best to sit out a couple games.”

Speaking from the heart because of the ankle. Foster suffered the injury Sept. 25 in the first quarter against Stanford, but played through it and finished with his biggest game of the season, 100 yards and two touchdowns in 19 carries.

He missed the early days of practice the next week, came off the bench against Arizona State, but made a quick U-turn.

He missed the early days of practice the next week, came off the bench against Oregon, but made a quick U-turn.

This week brings a plan for complete rest for the leg.

“Right now,” Coach Bob Toledo said, “our trainers seem to feel he’ll be out for a couple weeks, at least.”

Keith Brown offers apologies and thanks. The lingering injury, and the timing of it, have thrust him into the spotlight at the two most desirable times.

When he had a chance to play at home.

When he has a chance to impress pro scouts.

Brown was the third-string tailback when circumstances changed, behind Foster and Jermaine Lewis and a little behind, period, after missing the first two games for his role in the handicapped-parking scam. He was supposed to play, Toledo having promised that he would stay with the three-deep rotation of 1998, but probably not this much this fast.

Brown had only two games in the background, 10 carries for 42 yards against Fresno State and three carries for 10 yards against Stanford. Then came Foster’s injury, and then came Arizona State.

Because the game was in Tempe, a few miles from where Brown grew up, Toledo made him the starter. A career-high 182 yards, along with two touchdowns, provided a lifetime memory and assured Brown of retaining the spot the next week if Foster didn’t make it back.

Suddenly, it was his job to lose. Brown had only 69 yards in 27 carries, but contributed two touchdowns in the 34-29 victory over Oregon, keeping him at No. 1 this week. It may have helped that he had experience in such matters.

Last season, Lewis spent the first three weeks as the starter, but was suspended for an off-campus fight. Brown, the backup, turned the promotion into 91 yards and two touchdowns at Arizona, about a 90-minute drive from Phoenix. He had 101 yards the next week against Oregon.

He started again the next week, but five carries for minus-four yards ended that job. After that, with Lewis back in the opening lineup and Foster emerging as a star, Brown had only 52 carries the final six games.

“My whole career here has been a roller-coaster,” he said. “I’m kind of used to it. I’m kind of glad I went through it.”

Mostly glad, at least. Brown has learned how to persevere, learned the hard way about fighting through tough times, but the missed time this season and the third-string role early also came during his senior season, a time when he would have rather been proving himself to NFL scouts.

“I try not to think about it,” he said. “But it is on my mind. I have to impress people. I have to make a living after college football.”

Lewis, a junior, waits for his next opportunity. This season so far has been worth just 6.7 carries and 24.2 yards a game, even though he has been the only one of the three tailbacks available for every game. But a breakout game is realistic for someone who was eighth in the Pacific 10 in rushing average in ’98 and scored the eighth-most touchdowns in a season in school history.

For now--this week for sure, maybe next week as well--the job belongs to Brown and Lewis. A shrinking tailback by committee amid the growing frustration and disappointment of the former No. 1 man.