UCLA gets back its leader

Thompson-Robinson practices two days after injury scare forced him out.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson backed into the imaginary pocket, firing a 10-yard pass into the end zone.

His arm motion was f luid. The pass was accurate. There was nothing unusual about it.

UCLA fans could exhale Monday morning. The Bruins quarterback was back at practice as if nothing had happened two days earlier, as if he never had been forced to leave the team’s 3524 victory over Stanford because of an injury before returning to throw a clinching touchdown pass.

A right-hander, Thompson-Robinson said after practice Monday that the injury was to his nonthrowing arm.

“It’s a shoulder-slasharm-slash a whole bunch of things,” he said.

With UCLA trying to extend its 28-24 lead, Thompson-Robinson left the game after being tackled out of bounds at Stanford’s sevenyard line.

Backup Ethan Garbers ran for two yards on the next play before Thompson-Robinson came back onto the field. He threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Philips with 2 ½ minutes left, extending UCLA’s advantage to two scores.

His return was about putting his team first, no matter how much his body hurt.

Thompson-Robinson’s gutsy performance won him a new legion of fans but came as no surprise to coach Chip Kelly.

“I think it’s always been impressive and he’s been that type of player since the jump,” Kelly said of Thompson-Robinson’s resolve.