MIXED SIGNALS

Osaar Rasshan vanished. Not on some improvised run -- he bounces left, hops to the right -- but from plain sight.

It was Monday afternoon, when UCLA football players are usually available for interviews, yet despite heightened interest in him -- or, maybe it was because of that interest -- the sophomore quarterback was nowhere to be found.

Fast forward to Tuesday, with Rasshan surrounded by reporters wanting to talk about Saturday’s game against No. 9 Arizona State, his first college start. A school spokesman stood nearby, monitoring the situation closely before hustling the former Pomona Garey High star away from the practice field.

So went the drill this week as Rasshan prepared to see what he could do about salvaging the Bruins’ season.

He can only hope UCLA’s offensive line protects him so well.

The game will be the penultimate moment in what has been a long, strange, twisting two seasons with the Bruins.

Rasshan signed on as a quarterback, was shifted to wide receiver last summer, only to be rushed back to quarterback in October when injuries sapped UCLA’s depth at the position.

“I would not have believed it,” Rasshan said when asked what he would have thought three months ago if told he would be starting at quarterback. “I honestly did not think I was going back.

“It was a switch for the team, and when a quarterback switches to receiver I don’t know too many cases where he goes back. It’s a blessing, and I’m going to try to take advantage of it.”

A blessing born from a season-long curse.

Quarterbacks Ben Olson (concussion, knee) and Patrick Cowan (hamstring, knee, concussion, collapsed lung) have kept trainers and doctors busier than opposing defensive backs.

Neither of the Bruins’ top passers coming out of summer practice has been healthy in the same game this season. And now, with UCLA at 5-4 and having lost three of its last four games, both are out.

Beyond Rasshan, who has been getting reacquainted with the quarterback position in the last four weeks, the options are walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who struggled when pressed into duty against Notre Dame, and freshman Chris Forcier, who has not taken a snap in a game.

So to say UCLA is being cautious with the new guy behind center is an understatement. Requests for interviews with him were denied Monday, with a UCLA spokesman saying, “We feel this is what is best for him.”

On Tuesday, the media were asked to keep a question and answer session brief, though Rasshan hung around long enough to say, “When the quarterback position is in limbo, everyone is looking around like, ‘What’s going on?’ Now we know, and everyone has rallied around me.”

Some people wonder why Rasshan wasn’t given time in practice at quarterback sooner.

Even Coach Karl Dorrell, when asked whether Rasshan’s move to receiver was a good one, said, “At this point, it doesn’t seem that way, does it?”

Hindsight, in this case, is 20-6 -- the score in UCLA’s loss to Notre Dame.

Cowan was already sidelined for that game and Olson was injured in the first quarter against the Fighting Irish, who came into the game winless and haven’t won since.

Rasshan had not played quarterback in months but warmed up. Bethel-Thompson went in, threw four intercepted passes and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

In the season opener against Stanford, with Olson starting but backup Cowan injured, the Bruins had devised an offensive scheme for Rasshan in case they needed him at quarterback.

But after that, Rasshan didn’t practice at quarterback because Dorrell said he thought his team had enough depth at the position and the coaching staff wanted to continue to develop Rasshan as a receiver.

The move to receiver happened in the first place because, the coach said, “we had three healthy quarterbacks, two were experienced starters that had played. Plus, we thought Chris Forcier was going to be a promising player. . . . [Rasshan] wanted on the field, and he saw it was an opportunity to help the offense.”

Rasshan said he “knew we needed some help at receiver. Coach thought it would be cool. They wanted to make sure it was my decision, and it was.”

However, Rasshan indicated his preference to play quarterback after he was moved back following the Notre Dame loss, saying, “I definitely would like to stay at quarterback, but I think that’s the head man’s decision.”

The head man’s decision was pretty much made for him. Cowan was knocked out of the Arizona game in the second half last Saturday with the Bruins trailing, 34-14. Rasshan produced 13 points to pull UCLA within a touchdown.

But Rasshan was unable to complete a pass and took a delay of game penalty when the Bruins had a chance to drive for the tying touchdown late in the game. First-game jitters, the Bruins hope.

“The biggest thing is managing and controlling the game,” UCLA offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. “Calling plays, making sure everyone knows what to do, controlling the play clock, that comes with experience.”

Rasshan had 57 yards rushing and, though he was an erratic three for 10 throwing the ball, he had 78 yards passing, including a 42-yard connection with Dominique Johnson that set up a Bruins’ touchdown.

The new guy’s play-making ability was hardly a surprise to UCLA coaches who saw Rasshan pass for 1,716 yards and run for 860 as a high school senior.

Now, with their season on a slide, the Bruins hope Rasshan’s mobility is causing some unanswered questions and sleepless nights in Tempe.

“There are still a lot of unknowns about what we’re going to do with Osaar,” Norvell said. “We’d kind of like to keep it that way until Saturday.”

So far, so good.

chris.foster@latimes.com