Injury Updates for UCLA Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Dorian Thompson-Robinson was taking hits all night long, and it finally caught up to him in the final minutes.
The star quarterback for No. 24 UCLA football (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) was injured late against Stanford (2-2, 1-1) when he tried to turn the corner on the right side deep in the red zone. Instead, Cardinal linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar caught up with him, and although Thompson-Robinson tried to hit him with a stiff arm, he got yanked down out of bounds.
Thompson-Robinson laid on the ground for a few seconds grabbing at his right shoulder, but he was quickly pulled up and rushed to the bench to talk with trainers.
The Bruins were ahead 28-24 at the time with four minutes left on the clock, now facing a 2nd down and goal scenario. Backup quarterback Ethan Garbers entered the game and elected to keep in on a read option, crawling forward for 2 yards.
After UCLA called a timeout, Thompson-Robinson trotted back onto the field and wound up throwing the game-sealing touchdown to receiver Kyle Philips. While his teammates celebrated, Thompson-Robinson hurried back to the sideline for more medical attention.
Thompson-Robinson apparently played through pain for more than just that one play, however.
Earlier in the game, possibly as early as the first half, Thompson-Robinson had already hurt his shoulder. He remained in the game and played through the injury, only getting forced out after the one tackle out of bounds with a few minutes remaining.
Thompson-Robinson was not made available to the media after the game, which is typical of players who get hurt during UCLA games. In talking to Philips, running back Zach Charbonnet, safety Qwuantrezz Knight and coach Chip Kelly after the game, we were able to get somewhat of a more detailed story on how it all played out for the senior signal-caller.
CHIP KELLY
Dorian coming back in and the end?
"I thought the one thing that I don’t think gets mentioned enough with Dorian is how tough he is and he’s been tough from the get-go. I remember really the first game – he played in the opener against Cincinnati but then started against Oklahoma and got bounced around – and I just remember seeing his mom after the game and saying, 'You have a tough son, right there.' And it’s an underrated quality for a quarterback to be a tough guy who will stand in there and play and I think that was on display today, it’s something that we’ve known for four years now but I think he really showed that tonight and I was really proud of how he played."
Was he injured in the first half too?
"I don’t know that. He didn’t miss any time in the first half. They just tell me when he’s out and he got taken out there for a little bit and they told me he could go back in, so he’s a competitor, he loves to play and I think that was on display today."
KYLE PHILIPS
Dorian coming back in and the end?
"We saw him go down, fighting a shoulder injury the whole game. We ran the ball and he went down, the game was on the line and he came back and made a huge play. We’re all just really proud of him."
Was he injured in the first half too?
"It was just kind of over time. He was taking hits and it was wearing on him a little bit, but he’s tough guy and you know it will never hold him down, small things like that."
QWUANTREZZ KNIGHT
Dorian coming back in and the end?
"Oh man, that was great. Dorian literally put the team on his back. He was really down bad throughout this whole game, took a couple hits and it was great to see him go in, and literally (say) 'I’m going to go win this game for us.' I think he went down one play and came right back in and threw a touchdown, so that was amazing. I told him, 'That’s what we need from you.'"
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Stay tuned throughout the week for breaking news and daily practice reports, which will surely bear updates on the health of Thompson-Robinson moving forward.
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