Nece Tries to Shrug Off the Pain

Linebacker Ryan Nece, a mainstay of the defense, begins the season on a week-to-week basis because of a shoulder injury that will probably require surgery at some point and has already forced him out of practice.

Nece recently considered an operation to repair torn cartilage in the left shoulder, but that would have cost him at least a large portion of his junior season.

Instead, he will try to play through the pain, have surgery immediately after this season in order to be ready for 2001 and, meantime, hope that he doesn’t aggravate the injury.

That has already happened once in camp, sidelining him for two days last week, including the first scrimmage. That was Saturday. He returned for light workouts Sunday and Monday before going back into full pads Tuesday.

“It’s going to be bugging me the whole season,” he said. “And it’s a day-to-day thing. One day, I could wake up and feel great and go through practice and feel fine. Or I could sleep on it wrong and wake up in a lot of pain and be bothered by it. That part is definitely frustrating. It’s the unknown.

“It’s a painful thing. The treatment is how to minimize the pain and play with it. It doesn’t hinder my mobility. It’s just the pain you’ve got to suck up.”

He suffered the injury in spring drills, the result of an awkward collision with linebacker Robert Thomas. The decision to keep him out of the scrimmage was precautionary and, barring another setback, Nece will play Sept. 2 against Alabama at the Rose Bowl.

That will be the start of his third consecutive season in the opening lineup, twice at outside linebacker in the 4-3 alignment and once, in 1998 as a freshman, inside with the 3-4. He was second on the team in tackles that year and finished third in ’99.

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Starting guard Oscar Cabrera, once expected to miss the opener, and maybe more, because of a sprained ankle, took part in running drills in full pads Tuesday. It came only days after he was on crutches and in a walking cast.

“We’ll play it day by day and see what happens,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “But I’m not counting on him right now.”

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Both practices today, including an afternoon scrimmage at the Rose Bowl, and Saturday’s on-campus workout are closed to the public. Because the Bruins will then begin the game-week routine, they will be off Sundays. . . . News on Monday that Kris Farris was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers after one season came as a reminder of how much Toledo had urged him to stay at UCLA to get stronger and more experience for the NFL. Instead, Farris turned pro after his junior season, in which he won the 1998 Outland Trophy. He was picked in the third round.