UCLA Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson Injury Updates Following Loss to Oregon
As a player who has struggled to stay on the field for much of his college career, Dorian Thompson-Robinson had been able to power through every nick, bruise and bump he suffered in 2021.
Until Saturday.
The UCLA football (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) quarterback left his team's game against No. 10 Oregon (6-1, 3-1) with an injury late in the fourth quarter. The Bruins would go on to lose 34-31 in Thompson-Robinson's absence, with their lead signal-caller missing what was on pace to be either a game-tying or game-winning drive.
Thompson-Robinson was taking hits to his back and chest all night, as the Ducks were sending constant pressure in the form of edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who recorded 2.0 sacks, one quarterback hit and a forced fumble. Oregon finished with 4.0 sacks and two quarterback hits, not counting all the times Thompson-Robinson broke off runs that went past the line of scrimmage.
From 2018 to 2020, Thompson-Robinson was removed from four games with separate injuries and he missed a total of five starts in that span as well. Thompson-Robinson had missed just one snap due to injury through seven games in 2021 however, and that was when he got banged up late in the fourth quarter against Stanford.
The play that knocked Thompson-Robinson this time around came just moments after cornerback Jay Shaw got an interception that set the Bruins up to stage a late comeback. Trailing 34-31 with 3:00 left to play, Thompson-Robinson passed for two first downs and had UCLA on its own 49 with plenty of time still on the clock.
One play after a holding pushed the Bruins back, Thompson-Robinson dropped back again and tried forcing it in to receiver Kam Brown as Thibodeaux came crashing through the line right towards him once again. The pass dropped incomplete, setting up a 2nd-and-20 for UCLA, only Thompson-Robinson wasn't going to be the one to dig his team out of the whole this time.
Thibodeaux hit Thompson-Robinson hard on the play, wrapping him up right around his midsection and sending him to the ground. Thompson-Robinson looked to be favoring his right shoulder on his way off the field, but it could be anything from his ribs to his chest or collarbone by the looks of it.
After the game, coach Chip Kelly was asked about Thompson-Robinson's status.
"The protocol is the trainer just tells me if they were in or out and he said he was out, so we put (Ethan) Garbers in," Kelly said. "I don’t have any information on where he is or what his situation is, they just said he was out."
Garbers came in and completed two of his five pass attempts before tossing the game-sealing interception when the Bruins were just a few yards outside of field goal range.
Linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath made it clear after the game that he didn't think there was a significant dropoff from Thompson-Robinson to Garbers, although he said it was clearly hard on Thompson-Robinson to have to watch the game go final from the sidelines.
"Especially when you have somebody that cares as much as Dorian, and as you guys know, he gets any and all backlash," Genmark Heath said. "It can be the defense didn’t get a third down stop and all of a sudden it’s Dorian’s fault."
Once the team had wrapped up its media obligations and postgame meetings, Thompson-Robinson offered some insight into his situation online.
The claim did not provide much specificity, but at the very least, it seems as if this is a short-term injury in the same vein as the shoulder/arm one he suffered against the Cardinal late in September that didn't prevent him from making his next start.
Thompson-Robinson also posed for pictures after the game with some visiting recruits from his old high school, Bishop Gorman (NV). He wasn't wearing a sling, brace or cast or anything visible on his upper body, and his equipment bag is actually slung over his throwing shoulder.
It's all speculation at this point, with no official word from Kelly after the game, but it would be surprising if it was his shoulder that forced him out just looking at the photo.
We will be keeping a close eye on Thompson-Robinson in practice this week to see if he is a full participant or is being protected or limited in any new ways.
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