UCLA’s Pac-12 and national title hopes have reportedly suffered a major blow Sunday has standout defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes is done for the year with an ACL injury.
The news was first reported by Edward Lewis of UCLA’s Rivals site, and then followed up with reports from UCLA’s Scout site and Fox Sports’s Bruce Feldman.
Vanderdoes left Saturday’s game and later returned to action, eventually leading the club with eight tackles and two TFLs while also serving as a lead blocker on Myles Jack‘s one-yard touchdown run in the Bruins’ 34-16 win over Virginia.
A junior out of Auburn, Calif., Vanderdoes earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 accolades in 2014 after collecting 50 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.
As noted by Bruin Report Online, Vanderdoes’ absence figures to signal more playing time for junior Eli Ankou and sophomore Jacob Tuioti-Mariner.