Ben Olson will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today, leaving UCLA's quarterback situation unsettled.
Olson suffered a partial tear of the lateral collateral ligament in the knee in the first quarter of the Bruins' 20-6 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. The surgery is termed as "precautionary" by UCLA officials and is being done to check for a possible tear in the lateral meniscus.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction
UCLA football: An article in Tuesday's Sports section about UCLA quarterback Ben Olson's upcoming knee surgery said he suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the 2006 season. It was his left knee.
A timetable for Olson's return will not be known until after the surgery determines the extent of the damage, though a UCLA official said Olson would sit out the Bruins' game against California on Oct. 20. Last season, Olson sat out the Bruins' final eight games after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Patrick Cowan, his backup, is in murky territory as well. He has sat out the last two weeks because of what is called a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. If Cowan is unavailable, the Bruins' options at quarterback are walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Osaar Rasshan, who moved to wide receiver this season, and freshman Chris Forcier.
Coach Karl Dorrell said Sunday that Cowan would "be back doing some practice on a limited basis this week, and hopefully by the end of the week his status will continue to improve." But Dorrell is facing serious unanswered questions at quarterback as he tries to correct a season that has been damaged by losses to Utah and Notre Dame.
Requests to interview Dorrell on Monday night were turned away with the explanation that he could not be located.
Dorrell, though, was available to comment through a prepared statement released by the school's sports information department Monday night: "The rash of injuries that has hit our team is unfortunate. We are optimistic that everything will go well with Ben's procedure. We hope to have all of our injured players back as soon as possible. We will continue to work hard and improve as we prepare for our next opponent."
On Sunday, Dorrell said that Olson's knee had passed the initial examination, "the main structure is all intact," but the MRI exam Monday revealed more damage.
Without Olson and Cowan, Dorrell's options all come with severe limitations.
Bethel-Thompson proved to be a significant drop-off in ability after replacing Olson against Notre Dame. He completed 12 of 28 passes for 139 yards and had four passes intercepted. He also had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
