Foster Is Alone in Thinking He’ll Play

Tailback DeShaun Foster, who has sat out the last two days of practice because of a sprained right ankle, says he is confident he will play Saturday afternoon at Arizona State.

“But nobody else feels that way,” he said. “I’m the only one.”

Foster is basically right. The UCLA medical staff and coaches are not nearly as optimistic that he will be ready for what the Bruins and Sun Devils regard as a Rose Bowl elimination game.

Coach Bob Toledo has decided that if Foster still can’t practice today, Keith Brown will start Saturday in a return to his hometown.

“It doesn’t look good,” Toledo said. “I don’t think he’ll practice [Wednesday]. We’ll be lucky to get him by game time. That’s [trainer] Geoff Schaadt’s feeling.”

Foster, coming off his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, said the ankle is still tender. He is encouraged about making it back for the game because he was able to play the final three quarters despite the injury last weekend at Stanford. But he woke up the next day with much more pain and stiffness.

That the Bruins ended up losing that game, despite their first real sign of a ground attack this season, has affected his decision to push to play this week. He wants the injury to heal and doesn’t want to deal with a lingering problem like the knee injury in 1998, but he also wants to try to avoid the pain of an 0-2 start in conference play.

“If we weren’t already 0-1 in the Pac-10, I might look at it that way,” Foster said of sitting out against Arizona State. “But I’ve got to help the team and help keep us in the race for the Rose Bowl.”

The other injured starter in the backfield, quarterback Cory Paus, is doing better. He threw Monday for the first time since bruising his chest muscles Sept. 18 against Fresno State, felt some discomfort, and then felt even more soreness on Tuesday. But he is still expected to return to the opening lineup this week.

“It’s a little painful when I throw the ball as hard as I can,” said Paus, who did not play against Stanford. “But fortunately, I don’t have to play until Saturday, so I’ll be ready to go.”