SUPER FOCUSED FOSTER TRYING TO LEAVE HIS UCLA TROUBLES IN PAST.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

HOUSTON - When DeShaun Foster took the handoff on a sweep to his right, bounced off two tacklers, then lowered his shoulder to bust through three more Philadelphia Eagles and into the end zone, the 1-yard run became a signature play for Carolina in its first trip to the Super Bowl.

When it's come to the subject of his departure from UCLA, Foster is not so willing to square his shoulders.

Instead, Foster dances, squirms, looks the other way and sidesteps the questions, unwilling to take the issue head on.

It was a little more than two years ago that Foster put UCLA in the thick of the national-title chase and himself at the head of the Heisman Trophy race. Then, in a flash, both were gone.

The NCAA, acting on a tip, found that Foster was driving a sports-utility vehicle owned by actor-director Eric Laneuville, a violation of the NCAA's extra benefits rule. He was ruled ineligible, his college career finished.

UCLA's football program hasn't been heard from since, and on this subject, neither has Foster.

He chose not to practice or attend team meetings while UCLA appealed the ruling on his behalf. He declined an invitation to be introduced with his fellow seniors at the Bruins' final home game. He dropped out of school after the fall quarter and left town without a word.

When he's been asked this week about the circumstances of his final days at UCLA, Foster - never verbose to begin with - is equally silent.

It's not the only time he's ducked trouble. During training camp of his junior year, a sports talk-radio caller wanted to know why no newspapers had reported that Foster had been busted for possession of marijuana in Ventura County that summer.

When asked by a reporter about the incident, Foster said it wasn't true and there was no record of his arrest. But it was discovered two months later that Foster had been ticketed, rather than arrested, and paid a $250 fine.

Character issues might have been more important to Carolina than any team at the time of the NFL draft in 2002. The Panthers, coming off a 1-15 season, had been wracked in recent years by off-the-field problems - ranging from quarterback Kerry Collins uttering racial epithets at teammates to receiver Rae Carruth's conviction for his role in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend.

When the Panthers evaluated running backs, Foster's off-the-field problems - as tame as they were relative to their previous woes - were investigated and thoroughly discussed.

``That was a major factor,'' running backs coach Jim Skipper said. ``With all the negative stuff that had been happening in the past, they were trying to avoid that. It wasn't a slam-dunk deal.''

Skipper had two good references. He coached under then-UCLA coach Bob Toledo at the University of the Pacific in the early 1980s, and his son, Kelly, was the Bruins' running backs coach.

``When you get advice, it depends on the source,'' Skipper said. ``With the ties we had, it means a little more, their word.''

Toledo and Skipper's son portrayed Foster as a good person who made some poor decisions. Foster was drafted in the second round and has been nothing but a model citizen and teammate, Skipper said. That played a role in the Panthers drafting another former Bruin last spring, cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who had been charged with assault in a bar fight, though the case was dropped.

``Since DeShaun panned out, that was a factor with (drafting) Ricky, no doubt about it,'' Skipper said. ``There's some people who are chronic troublemakers, and that's a different deal from a one-time thing.

``I'll tell you one thing, man, he's a true professional, a good guy, a locker-room fun guy, and good on and off the field. I'm thrilled we got him.''

The thrill UCLA fans might be feeling right now might not be so unconditional.

The Bruins' season, and the grip Toledo had on the program, already had started to come undone. After going 6-0 and climbing to No. 4 in the nation, the Bruins lost back-to-back games and had sunk to fourth place in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Foster's Heisman campaign had gone down with it after his fumble in a 38-28 loss to Stanford was converted into a touchdown and another drop the next week against Washington State was returned for a touchdown, the difference in a 20-14 loss.

When Foster's suspension came down several days later, the already reeling Bruins were devastated. Toledo, who this week declined to be interviewed, expressed disappointment in Foster at the time, saying that he knew better.

``You can't say it wasn't a distraction,'' said former UCLA tight end Mike Seidman, a rookie with the Panthers. ``DeShaun was such a big name, and when somebody like that gets into trouble, it's a big deal.''

It's left many UCLA fans with mixed feelings about Foster, according to Tracy Pierson, who operates a Web site that covers UCLA sports.

``UCLA's not doing well in football and so a lot of fans want to latch on to DeShaun because he's doing something positive,'' Pierson said. ``But it also dredges up some old feelings, that he might have killed our year. They want to forgive and forget, but because of what happened it caused such a hole in history.''

Foster, who lives in Los Angeles in the offseason, didn't return to UCLA until last year's spring game, when current coach Karl Dorrell sent word to former players, encouraging them to be more involved with the program.

He said he plans to re-enroll for the spring quarter and continue working toward a history degree.

For now, though, he has other things on his mind. He's rebounded from a knee injury that required career-threatening surgery and forced him to miss all of last season to complement starter Stephen Davis in the Carolina backfield.

Foster, whose ability to get outside provides a change of pace for the punishing Davis, had been eased back. But with Davis ailing in the playoffs, Foster has been given a larger role and responded well.

He rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries in the 23-20 double-overtime victory over St. Louis, and he carried 14 times for 60 yards, including the game-clinching touchdown, in the 14-3 victory over Philadelphia.

There's so much to look forward to that Foster has no interest in looking back. He said he harbors no disappointment over the way things ended at UCLA.

``I'm in the Super Bowl, how can I?'' he said.

Viewed that way, it's easier to see. Foster has survived that suspension, a severe knee injury and is playing in the biggest football spectacle of all.

How can he be disappointed as long as he's running?

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Photo:

DeShaun Foster's 1-yard touchdown run against Philadelphia in the NFC championship game was one of the highlight plays of the season for the Super Bowl-bound Carolina Panthers.

Chris Gardner/Associated Press