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UCLA Football: Dorian Thompson-Robinson limited in practice… or is he?

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: Linebacker Colin Schooler #7 of the Arizona Wildcats pullls at the jersey of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson #7 of the UCLA Bruins as offensive lineman Jake Burton #73 of the UCLA Bruins tries to block Schooler during the first half of the NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: Linebacker Colin Schooler #7 of the Arizona Wildcats pullls at the jersey of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson #7 of the UCLA Bruins as offensive lineman Jake Burton #73 of the UCLA Bruins tries to block Schooler during the first half of the NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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After taking a hit and having to exit the Arizona game, freshman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been limited in practice… or is that what Chip Kelly wants us to believe?

During the second quarter of UCLA football‘s contest with Arizona, Dorian Thompson-Robinson scrabbled out of the pocket behind his own 10-yard line to the left side and was unfortunately brought down hard by Arizona’s Colin Schooler.

RELATED: UCLA’s Play Calling/Outcome Analysis Against Arizona

The hit resulted in DTR having to leave the game. The broadcast showed the young QB going into the sideline injury tent and eventually leaving for the locker room.

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Thankfully, he reemerged on the Bruins’ sideline still in uniform, but did not re-enter the game. Graduate transfer Wilton Speight had taken over and would handle things the rest of the way. The Bruins escaped with a 31-30 win, but they did not escape worry in regards to Thompson-Robinson.

With a short week ahead of them as they are set to play Utah this Friday night at the Rose Bowl, UCLA went right back to practice on Sunday night. Reports out of the Spaulding Field indicated that DTR was limited in his reps, only throw a small number of short passes before watching from the sideline. On Monday, reports emerged that the young signal caller was not participating in throwing drills and instead, watching from the sideline.

But knowing that the media is only allowed to see only a fraction of practice, we can not be sure of exactly what Kelly and DTR are doing behind closed doors.

Though there has been no official word about his injury or the extent of it, UCLA fans should prepare for Speight to start against the Utes. Though this might be another deception on Kelly’s part. The first year Bruin coach has been pretty tight-lipped about revealing what is going on with his roster this season and that continues in regards to DTR.

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If the young QB’s injury is severe enough that it will keep him out of action for an extended amount of time, then it is best that he sits out and makes a full recovery. The hope here is that the offense can continue to progress with Speight running the show. There was an obvious difference in the way the offense flowed with the transfer under center. With DTR, the Bruins seemed to move more fluidly as they fluctuated between the run and pass, but with Speight, it looks as if they might go pass-heavy.

Still, we will not know until Friday night. We also do not know if DTR is actually good to go and Kelly is keeping him out to deceive Utah. At this point in the season, Kelly will take any advantage he can get.

UCLA might only have two wins this season, but they are still in the running to win the Pac-12 South Division. With Utah beating USC this past weekend, both teams have a conference record of 3-2, putting the Bruins a half game back with a 2-2 Pac-12 record. Though Kelly insisted that he wants to win now, he might just be setting up this team for next season. Still, knowing Kelly is a competitor, he might just go after the division with so many teams unable to live up to their expectations this year.

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If UCLA beats Utah, they could claim the top spot in the division, but that is a huge task to take on as the Utes have not only shown flashes of dominance, but they have also owned UCLA in their last two meetings at the Rose Bowl. Hopefully Kelly has a plan to take down the might Utes, but for now, it seems that he will have to work with what is available.