UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson doesn’t throw at practice two days after injury

As his fellow quarterbacks flung passes next to him, Dorian Thompson-Robinson clutched a ball in his left hand.

That was essentially the extent of his participation in practice Monday during the portion of drills open to reporters, Thompson-Robinson never throwing a pass to test the arm he apparently injured Saturday late in UCLA’s loss to Oregon.

Bruins coach Chip Kelly said Thompson-Robinson was available to practice, but the quarterback didn’t do much in the early going.

Further thinning UCLA’s depth at the position, third-string quarterback Chase Griffin did not throw passes Monday after not dressing in uniform for the game against the Ducks.

That left backup Ethan Garbers, a redshirt freshman, to work with the first team in practice and walk-on Chase Artopoeus as his primary backup. Redshirt freshman Parker McQuarrie wore a red jersey to signify he was on the scout team.

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Thompson-Robinson departed the Bruins’ 34-31 loss to Oregon after absorbing a hit on his team’s final offensive drive. Garbers replaced him and moved UCLA to Oregon’s 39-yard line before his final pass was intercepted.

Thompson-Robinson has not made it through a season without missing at least one game. He sat out two games last season because of COVID-19 contact tracing and departed with an injury in the second half of the season finale against Stanford.

In a further sign that Thompson-Robinson must progress in his recovery from the latest injury to play against Utah on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, he did not speak with the media as usual Monday. One of the most experienced quarterbacks in the Pac-12, Thompson-Robinson has completed 59.4% of his passes this season for 1,639 yards and 14 touchdowns with three interceptions.

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In three brief appearances this season, Garbers has completed four of seven passes for 40 yards with the interception. Kelly said after the Oregon game that he did not have to change his play calls with Garbers in the game because his preparation mimicked that of Thompson-Robinson.

Thompson-Robinson was under constant pressure against the Ducks, getting sacked three times and hurried on two other passes. Oregon finished the game with 14 tackles for loss.

“I mean, we knew going into the game they had a really good pass rush,” Kelly said when asked about the struggles of his offensive line.