COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Hicks Out for ‘95; Edwards Healthy

Skip Hicks’ season is over.

The UCLA tailback, unable to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery at the start of the season, has decided to sit out the rest of the season and hope that a UCLA application for a medical redshirt will be approved.

Had Hicks played another game, he would have been unable to apply.

“I’m down,” he said, “but I’m trying to look at the long run. I hate to see the season go down in flames, but the knee is just not ready.”

Hicks appeared in three of the five Bruin games this season, gaining a total of 100 yards in 16 carries. In his first carry, against Oregon, Hicks ran 52 yards for a touchdown.

But each time he played, his injured left knee would swell up. “I’m pretty much looking to get ready for spring ball,” Hicks said. “I’m looking to the future. That is what is best for me.”

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Donnie Edwards has been cleared to play Saturday against Arizona by the UCLA medical staff. But whether he’ll receive clearance from the NCAA remains to be seen.

Edwards, under investigation because of allegations he received money from a sports agent, has been declared ineligible by UCLA, pending the outcome of the investigation.

A decision could come as early as today.

Edwards has been in rehabilitation since suffering a compression fracture of the vertebrae Sept. 16 against Oregon.

If NCAA officials decide to suspend Edwards, UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis was asked how the NCAA could be sure Edwards was medically able to play this week? “Is there no longer any such thing as trust?” replied Dalis.

Defensive lineman Gary Walton, suffering from a strained knee, is not expected to play this week.