A lingering ankle injury will once again keep UCLA’s leading rusher on the sidelines.
Head coach Jim Mora confirmed on ESPN‘s College GameDay show that Jordon James will not play in tonight’s road game against Arizona. The Bruins’ second-leading rusher among running backs, Paul Perkins, will get the start instead.
James missed three straight games after suffering a high-ankle sprain in an Oct. 3 win over Utah. He returned for the win over Colorado last Saturday, but rushed for just eight yards on six carries. The first three games of the season, prior to the injury, he averaged over 140 yards per game.
Despite essentially missing an entire month of the season, James’ 471 yards leads the team. Perkins has totaled 334 yards, while quarterback Brett Hundley is second on the Bruins with 431.