Bruins top RB spot up in air after losing Manfro for season

Published Sep. 3, 2014 7:49 p.m. ET

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Only a few days after taking heat for being outscored by the defense, the UCLA offense now has to improve without one of its biggest weapons.

News broke late Tuesday night that running back Steven Manfro would be out for the season with a torn ACL. Wednesday afternoon, UCLA athletics officials confirmed that the No. 11 Bruins would be without the services of their most versatile back for the rest of the season.

Manfro was injured in the last of play of Tuesday's practice and was carted off the field in a stretcher. Tests later in the afternoon revealed the extend of the injury, further complicating UCLA's inability to establish the running game.

"It kind of changed the mood of the entire practice," head coach Jim Mora said Tuesday, only minutes after Manfro was taken off the field. "It upsets everybody when a guy as critical as Steven gets hurt... That looked pretty serious to me."

A speedy scatback used as a return man who also caught passes out of the backfield, Manfro was slated to be an integral part of the Bruins' running game this season. He rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries and caught nine passes for 113 yards in 2013 but missed some timedue to a back injury.

The running game has been marred by inconsistencies and injuries since Mora took over in 2012. Quarterback Brett Hundley and tailback Johnathan Franklin saw the bulk of the workload in 2012, with Franklin proving to be the feature back the team had been missing.

Hundley led the team in rushing yards last season after Jordon James went down. James was stopped cold last week by Virginia, gaining only three yards on five carries. Paul Perkins, a redshirt sophomore, appears to have the job after a strong performance in the season-opening win, but UCLA will look to their stable of freshman for help.

"He's a awesome young man, right? Very valuable and very important to this football team," said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. "But there will be somebody that steps up and that's kind of the game. Somebody will step up and give us the things that Steven had."

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Craig Lee, Nate Starks and defensive back-turned running back Adarius Pickett are the top candidates. However, not one of them boasts the same pass-catching abilities as Manfro, and coaches have said that all three still need to improve in pass-blocking situations.

"He'll be fun to watch play on Saturday night," Mazzone said of Starks, hinting that the true freshman out of Las Vegas, Nev., might be playing a supporting role sooner rather than later.

It's a blow, yes, but one the Bruins expect to recover from by Saturday. After all, they've already recovered after the sky seemingly fell due to the lack of offensive production in Week 1.

"Let me just tell you the first thing that I was really shocked about," Mazzone said, sarcastically. "I woke up Sunday morning and the sun actually came out. It was shocking, I didn't think it was going to."