Players With Injuries Trying to Find a Way

How much does the USC-UCLA game mean to the players? Ask the ones who are battling injuries.

All week long, cornerback and kick returner Darrell Rideaux has been recovering from a sore ankle, taking more and more snaps with the defense. Still, coaches weren’t sure he would be ready for kickoffs and assistant Kennedy Pola didn’t even mention his name in a special teams meeting.

Rideaux took it personally

So when the team practiced returns Thursday, he gave a nod to his teammates and sneaked onto the field, running a kick back before the coaches realized he was there.

“I had to do whatever was necessary to restore their confidence in me,” he said.

Pola gave him a look and said: “Not too bad.”

On offense, tackle Jacob Rogers practiced well enough despite an injured elbow to be named a starter for Saturday. Receiver Keary Colbert ran only a bit, staying to the side the rest of the time, but refused to give up hope that he will play against the Bruins.

“Who doesn’t want to play in this game?” he said. “We’ll just see on Saturday.”

Coach Pete Carroll was cautious but did not rule him out. “We’d love to play him, but he has to be good enough to help us,” he said.

The news wasn’t as good for reserve tailback Darryl Poston and his injured knee. Just before walk-throughs, assistant Wayne Moses took the freshman aside and told him he wasn’t ready.

“It’s a sad situation,” Poston said.