print story

Lucas: Injuries force Big Ten football teams to scramble

Mike Lucas  —  4/14/2008 12:51 pm

Four days after the story appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- a profile on Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, who was gearing for a breakout season after playing in the shadows of two All-Americans, Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor -- the unthinkable happened. During this past Friday's practice, Lee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, while pressuring a quarterback in a non-contact drill. Lee, who has a year of eligibility remaining, will undergo surgery and likely miss the 2008 season. "I have to turn this into a positive," Lee said in a prepared statement. "It's a bump in the road."

Thinking about Lee's plight and long recovery triggered a flashback to another Lee: former University of Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans. During the 2002 spring game, Evans stumbled to the turf after catching a pass. He went down without contact and, all of a sudden, a meaningless intrasquad exercise had deep meaning. Evans tore the ACL in his left knee and wound up being sidelined for the '02 season. Undaunted, he overcame two surgeries and bounced back in 2003 to lead the Badgers in receiving. And that led to Lee Evans being drafted in the first round (13th overall) by the Buffalo Bills; motivation perhaps for Sean Lee.

Injuries are such a part of the college football landscape that you almost become numb to the updates, especially in the spring. Wisconsin, for example, has three defensive starters rehabbing ACL knee injuries: defensive tackle Jason Chapman and cornerbacks Allen Langford and Aaron Henry. Meanwhile, UW coach Bret Bielema has been forced to use a variety of different combinations on the defensive line because of a rash of injuries that have gutted the depth chart upfront. At one point, Bielema, a former Iowa nose guard, teased that he might have to put on the pads and make a comeback. Not that he found it funny to be practicing without some of his best players. Few coaches would.

But the ramifications are far greater in August than April.

While Bielema has been piecing together a defensive line, Purdue's Joe Tiller has been doing likewise with his offensive line. The Boilermakers' three returning starters -- tackles Zach Jones and Sean Sester and guard Zach Reckman -- have not been available this spring because of injuries requiring surgery. One backup tackle, Garrett Miller, had knee surgery last season. Another backup, Ryan Prater, may need surgery on his ACL and MCL. "He'll be out for the rest of the spring," Tiller told the West Lafayette Journal and Courier. "But what you worry about is can he come back, period?"

Eight of Indiana's 15 offensive linemen have missed a portion of the spring because of injuries, according to the Indianapolis Star. Not that anyone would notice or care since Everything Hoosier is focused on new men's basketball coach Tom Crean and his incredible shrinking roster. Crean inherited seven scholarship players, not including Jamarcus Ellis and Armon Bassett. Both were suspended before Crean's arrival. Indiana's incoming freshman class has also taken a hit as two of the four signed prospects are planning to play elsewhere, the Star reported. On this hoops front, Purdue freshman forward Scott Martin ( Robbie Hummel's prep teammate) is transferring.

A former Tennessee transfer, Ray Henderson, is finally starting to make headway playing football at Minnesota. Henderson lost 40 pounds last summer while dealing with a heat-related illness. As a result, he had little impact on the defense as a backup rush end last season. Henderson has since regained his weight and strength, due in part to the support that he has received from his former Oak Creek High School teammate and best friend, UW senior-to-be Travis Beckum. "He just tells me to keep my head up and keep after it," Henderson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I just want to get my confidence and swagger back."

To this end, tight end, Beckum has not had any contact this spring and neither has his Badger backup, Garrett Graham. Both are recovering from shoulder surgery. Ditto for Michigan State running back Javon Ringer, one of the leading returning rushers in the Big Ten, along with Ohio State's Beanie Wells and Wisconsin's P.J. Hill. Despite his limited contact work, Ringer is still getting high marks from draft dork Mel Kiper, who has him projected above Clemson's James Davis and Tennessee's Arian Foster in the 2009 draft class.

Although there has been speculation that Wells, a junior, might be coming out after this season, think again. "No, it's not going to be my last year," Wells told the Columbus Dispatch. "I plan on being here four years." After having surgery on his wrist in January, he has been held out of full-contact drills. Wells has set his sights on winning the Heisman. "When somebody talks about Ohio State and the great players, I want my name to be mentioned," Wells told the Dispatch. Naming names, Archie Griffin, Eddie George and Keith Byars, he added, "And those are great guys, don't get me wrong, but I want my name to be at the top."

Regarding the name-calling between Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, there may be an uneasy truce. The source of their dispute? Recruiting players who have already committed to a school. After Rodriguez was able to get a prospect to flip from Purdue to Michigan, it was Tressel who implied "gentlemen" would honor the unwritten code. "If not being a gentleman is recruiting the guy until the end, until the signing date," Rodriguez told the Detroit Free Press, "guilty as charged." A bruised ego or two in the Big Ten would seem to be the least of anyone's injury concerns. Especially in the spring.

Mike Lucas  —  4/14/2008 12:51 pm