Oregon Expecting Key Starters to Return vs. UCLA Bruins

The Ducks welcome back some key players as they prepare for their highly anticipated matchup against UCLA.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Oct 18, 2021 4:56 PM EDT

With Oregon traveling to Los Angeles this weekend to face off against UCLA, it was good news for Duck fans to hear that some big name players will be returning for the clash between two of the conference's top teams.

During his press conference on Monday, Head Coach Mario Cristobal gave the media an update on some of Oregon's injured players. Here are the players you can expect to return from injury.

Alex Forsyth has been an excellent offensive lineman so far this season. He was a part of the line that was able to bully Ohio State, but wasn't able to play against Stanford due to back spasms. He did not play in Oregon's only loss of the season, nor did he play against Cal after Cristobal said he looked good in the week of practice leading up to the game.

Cristobal seems to have faith that he will be ready to go against UCLA, which will be a massive boost to the offensive line that hasn’t been the same without him.

“Alex Forsyth should be back at full strength–was almost back last game,” Cristobal said. “Last second, we had to pull him because he wasn’t quite ready.”

Mase Funa has been battling injuries all season, and it has caused him to miss time this season including the most recent game against Cal. He's had limited action against Arizona and Stanford, but appears to be fully ready to go against UCLA.

“Mase Funa is a full go,” Cristobal said.

DJ James was also brought up. James left the game against Cal but it seems it wasn’t anything too serious.

"DJ James is also full go, I know he got a little bit dinged up during the game but he is good," Cristobal said of the cornerback.

Another player that the Oregon head coach brought up on Monday was Trey Benson. Benson has been recovering from a leg injury that required a lot of recovery time. With the absence of CJ Verdell, he's going to be looking for more snaps.

Even without Verdell in the game plan, Benson did not see the field against Cal. While he didn’t get any reps against Cal, it seems that he might get some later on in the season.

“Trey is healthy. Trey is ready to go,” Cristobal said. “And he’ll be in the rotation.”

The Ducks, boosted by these returns, will now face UCLA in their second road game of conference play. The Bruins return home to the Rose Bowl after defeating Washington the road in week 8.

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