Triage Time: Fire up the Grills
August 27th, 2008 by Will Carroll
Doing college football as well as pro (over at a little website called SI.com) this preseason reminds me of just how much I hate the preseason. Endless reports from practices are just not the same as evaluating game injuries for so many reasons. The first is that it’s harder not knowing and seeing how it happened. The mechanism of injury is key to evaluation – did he get hit? did he stop short? did the knee just give? was the hit a monster? — and without that, there’s more reliance on sourced information. Of course, my sources are pretty darn good, so I’m not less confident, just … sick of preseason. I want to see games, scores, and above all, context. Games begin soon and the full schedule hits shortly, so there’s light at the end of this preseason tunnel and like the players coming out of the tunnel to field, I’m ready to run out. Let’s get to it:
Nate Costa QB OREGON
Deja vu? Not exactly. The Ducks QB, Nate Costa, might have a knee problem, but don’t think Dennis Dixon here — in a lot of ways. Costa will have cartilage repaired in his knee, one he’s had problems with before. Costa had issues the same knee last year, though it was ligament damage, so in ways this is a bit common, but it’s also a bad sign for future health. While the current 8 to 10 week projection for return is reasonable, even conservative, Costa is a risky play to stay healthy in both the short and long terms. Here’s the bad news – Costa’s ligaments will be checked during surgery and it could be that they’re the real problem here. If those need repair, he’s done for the year.
Chris Brown RB OKLAHOMA
Backups count in the college game, so the knees of Chris Brown are important, especially given similar problems to starter DeMarco Murray. Murray will get the starts, but if Brown is healthy after offseason microfracture surgery — and not suspended, as he will be for the first game — he’ll get his share of carries, yards, and TDs. Through camp, Brown has had virtually no problems and sources tell me he “looks great.” In scrimmages, he’s been able to juke and cut without issue, so if you’re looking for someone who might be down the list but could put up numbers, Brown is as good as any for a late pick or waiver pickup.
Jaycen Taylor RB PURDUE
Purdue’s RB split between Jaycen Taylor and Kory Sheets is done with Taylor’s season. Taylor, the more reliable half of the split, is done for the season with a torn ACL, leaving the Boilers short-handed in the backfield. There’s plenty of other RBs, but none with as much talent and certainly none with as much experience. As the team transitions slightly out of Joe Tiller’s explosive offense, the two backs were expected to play a much more “Big Ten” style as compared to years past in order to take a bit of pressure of Curtis Painter. We’ll have to see how the team adjusts, but the schedule gives them some room with the team’s first game coming Sept 6 against Northern Colorado.
Malcolm Lane WR HAWAII
Hawaii’s offense might be without Colt Brennan at the helm, but they still figure to put up big passing numbers. Problem is that Malcolm Lane’s lingering problems with his legs might keep him from getting a plurality of those yards. Lane’s latest setback is a groin strain and the team seems to be comfortable throwing to Michael Washington. Lane holds the outside receiver position so assuming the groin clears up in time for their Week 1 game, he’ll still see plenty of action and the deep ball. That’s just a bigger question now and one that the Warriors might have different answers to than if Lane had a healthy camp.
Louis Murphy WR FLORIDA
The medical staff at Florida is getting tired and the season hasn’t even started. Urban Meyer is doing something to these guys that’s making them drop like Junction Boys. (Yeah, I’m an Aggie. Get used to that analogy.) With Pervcy Harvin questionable already, the last thing the Gators need is for Louis Murphy, the #2 WR, to come up lame. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happened with an ankle sprain. Sources tell me that Murphy should be ready, but that he might not be back to 100%. Now the question is whether he’ll have Harvin lined up across the field from him, which is still very much up in the air. Expect Meyer to be cautious in the first few weeks, though caution here might mean having good receivers to keep defenses from keying on Tim Tebow.
Trent Guy, Scott Long WR LOUISVILLE
At least a gunshot wound is a bit off the beaten path for me. That’s probably a good thing. Trent Guy was shot on July 5th, hit once in the back when his attacker popped off 19 shots for a poor completion rate. (What, too soon?) That he’s back at all is pretty astounding. That he might start Week 1 is even more so. The Cardinals will need him since Scott Long, the team’s best returning WR, is out for much of the season with a foot injury. That injury will affect his speed and cutting ability, so he goes from a solid pick in a good passing offense to someone you might consider as a waiver pick. Having inexperienced WRs also cuts down on the numbers that QB Hunter Cantwell should be expected to put up.
Chris McGaha WR ARIZONA STATE
The Sun Devils have a chance to test Cousin Pete’s Trojans this season, but Rudy Carpenter is going to have to have someone to throw the ball to. Luckily, things look pretty good for Chris McGaha, coming back from a broken toe. It will be painful, but he’s back at practice and should be able to deal with the discomfort. Expect his numbers to be a bit down in the first game or two as it could keep him from getting separation.
Rob Gronkowski TE Arizona
Look, if you were a big man on campus like Rob Gronkowski, you might have a higher risk of mono too. The bruising TE is awaiting tests to see if he has mononucleosis or just strep throat. Neither is good, but mono saps strength and stamina and would make his playing in the first few weeks nearly impossible. Given his place in the Wildcat offense, losing him for any time is a bad thing. We’ll have to wait to see if it is mono before assessing how bad it is. That should come before long, but if you’re drafting, he might be worth the risk.
Mike Ragone TE NOTRE DAME
The Domers will have to rebuild without their starting TE, as Mike Ragone is done for the season after tearing his ACL. It’s interesting in that evidently the injury occurred during the summer and that Ragone was trying to play through it. While he was still projected as this season’s starting TE, the knee was deteriorating and the decision was made to have surgery, take the redshirt, and come back in ’09 fully healthy. Will Yeatman, a senior, is the likely replacement, though he’s much more of a blocking TE than Ragone.
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