NCAA Football

Southern Cal Loses Starting Quarterback to Non-Contact Knee Injury

Posted Aug 08, 2008 11:25PM By Adam Jacobi (RSS feed)

Filed Under: USC, Pac 10, Injuries

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For all the worrying coaches do about protecting quarterbacks in the offseason and in practices, the fact remains that collision- contact-related injuries aren't nearly as catastrophic as non-contact, plant-grimace-and-collapse injuries.* Sure, you don't want your QB's ribcage caved in, but bones heal quickly and correctly. Torn ligaments, on the other hand, end seasons before they begin.

Pete Carroll was reminded of this duality today, as head QB in charge Mark Sanchez crumpled in a heap during stretching drills and was carted off the field. The AP is using non-specific, CYA terms like "apparent knee injury," but this certainly has all the symptoms of a torn ligament or patellar dislocation.

If it's a dislocated kneecap, that's not so bad; last year, their center Kristoffer O'Dowd suffered the same injury, and he "only" missed four games. ACL tears, of course, are a bit more severe.

For now, USC will turn to Arkansas transfer and former super-recruit Mitch Mustain, who never should have left Metallica. Mustain left Arkansas in the wake of some vague scandal, and did so in such a negative light that programs like Louisville and Oklahoma actually publicly balked on his transfer. But kid can throw, and while USC awaits Sanchez's fate, it's Mitch's game.

And yes, that's right, stretching drills. SbB expresses amazement that there's such a thing as a "carioca" drill in football and links to some Fred Astaire video, but surely I can't be the only one who remembers this drill from high school. It's not that obscure. As stretches go, it's actually kind of fun.

*Giant honking ruin-my-argument exception: Concussions.

Tags: mark+sanchez, MarkSanchez, mitch+mustain, MitchMustain, pete+carroll, PeteCarroll

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