Sunday Morning QB: DTR Wills Bruins to Stanford Win

While the defense was back to Week 2 aggressiveness, it was the play of DTR that won the game for UCLA.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson took a beating yesterday against Stanford, but he was able to will the Bruins to the win. (Photo Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports via uclabruins.com)

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By the end of yesterday’s game against Stanford, Dorian Thompson-Robinson was in pain. He appeared to have injured his shoulder to the point where he came out of the game in the final minutes.

It was clear watching the game that DTR had taken a beating. It looked like his shoulder was hurting for much of the game, but he finally had to leave the game.

Yet, even then, he was out for just one play before coming in to throw his second TD pass to Kyle Philips.

After the game, Thompson-Robinson didn’t meet with the media. UCLA doesn’t usually allow injured players to speak after a game, which makes sense. By not diclosing what they know, it leaves the Bruins’ next opponent, Arizona State, wondering whether DTR will start on Saturday or whether Ethan Garbers will get the nod.

But, DTR was discussed by everyone who did speak with the media.

In his comments, Chip Kelly said:

He's been tough from the get-go….The first time he played in the opening in Cincinnati, but then started against Oklahoma and got bounced around and i just remember seeing his mom after game and saying you’ve got tough son right there and it's an underrated quality for a quarterback to be a tough guy…to be able to stand in there and play….And, then, I think that was on display today.

Here’s Kelly’s complete postgame interview, courtesy of UCLA Athletics:

Kelly wasn’t the only one talking about DTR’s toughness.

Qwuantrezz Knight also spoke about how Thompson-Robinson stepped up. He said:

Oh, man! That was great Dorian literally put the team on his back. He was really down bad throughout this whole game. He took a couple of hits and it was great to see him go in and, literally, “I'm going to win this game for us.” I think he went down one play and came right back in and threw a touchdown. So, that was amazing. I told him “That's what we need.”

DTR’s top receiving threat Kyle Philips, who caught two touchdown passes yesterday, also spoke about his toughness. Philips said:

He was taking hits. It was kind of wearing on him a little bit but you know he's a tough guy. That'll never hold him down.

Here are the complete postgame player interviews, also courtesy of UCLA Athletics:

We will probably have to wait until next week to see whether DTR is able to play or whether Ethan Garbers will get his first collegiate start.

UCLA hosts Arizona State next Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm PT.

Go Bruins!!!

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