UCLA senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa will miss the 2013 season with a hip injury.
Second-year head coach Jim Mora told the Associated Press that Odighizuwa was not "physically or emotionally" ready to play after undergoing two surgeries on his left hip this offseason, one after the Holiday Bowl and another following spring practice.
Following a strong junior season during which he recorded 44 tackles, six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, Odighizuwa was expected to replace Green Bay Packers first-round draft pick Datone Jones in the starting lineup. Redshirt senior Keenan Graham and true freshmen Kylie Fitts and Eddie Vanderdoes, who recently won his appeal against Notre Dame and is eligible to play this season, would now be the likely candidates for that spot.
The 6-foot-3, 268-pound Odighizuwa is eligible to redshirt and play for UCLA next season. With All-America outside linebacker Anthony Barr off to the NFL after this year, Odighizuwa would be one of the anchors of the 2014 UCLA defense and likely its top draft prospect on that side of the ball.
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