FreddieMercuryHayes

March 20th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^

This sucks.  It really does.  But if we want a UM to be a consistent championship program, it's going to have to be able to overcome losses like this.  Hopefully the staff will be able to adapt the defense to mitigate his loss somewhat, and hopefully some other play makers will step up.  Much like Jake Ryan did when he got thrust into the line-up after the starter in front of him went down with injury.  We'll see soon what the team is made of, and how good our coaches are.

Space Coyote

March 20th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^

Hopefully Cam can live up to the hype he has been getting. I think we can still be alright at the SAM position. It'll interesting who gets moved to SAM to get some depth there. I would say Stone but I don't think he has the weight/strength to play end man on the LOS right now.

Space Coyote

March 20th, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^

He gives something the other two at that position don't, and that's a bunch of quickness of the edge on passing downs. I think he stays mostly at WDE, though I could see him getting some reps there.

My guess is Bolden may get some reps there and be a backup at all three LB positions (I do think Cam is the starter now and next season). It would be nice to be able to slide Robinson or Furman into that spot, but I think it's a bit too late for that and they won't have the weight to play it effectively. My guess is they may move Paskorz back to defense (not sure if he has hip fluidity for the position though) and let the other backup LBs have a shot at positional depth.

bubblelevel

March 20th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^

is bi-polar.  Pure fans who don't get the game and are subsequently super high or super pissed at each thing.  This is a poor break for Jake and he will recover (think Adrian Peterson).  The coaches have contingencies for every player and every position since this is as much a part of the game as is special teams or clock-management.  Someone will rise to fill his role and maybe another star will be born for future seasons.  Bad news yes.  Does not mean the end to the successful season already. 

IncrediblySTIFF

March 20th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^

Your first post ever is going to compare Adrian Peterson with Jake Ryan?  Even if Jake Ryan could have a MIRACLE OF A RECOVERY, and be game ready in 8 months, he would be back just in time for...the season to be all but over.  UGH

Seriously, I feel like I just got punched in the balls, and now I'm taking it out on you.

SAD

bubblelevel

March 20th, 2013 at 1:46 PM ^

well at least you didn't prove your devotion and seriousness by typing the f word and no, I didn't say that he would be back in the fall jr... AP tore his ACL in December and returned in August..... I was implying that this will can have a very successful ending to it in that when he gets back he can also have a record-setting year. 

Dantana

March 20th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^

This hurts. I tore my ACL a little over a year ago so I have a pretty good idea of what Jake will go through. It's not fun and can be downright depressing at times. Him being a D1 athlete at a major university makes it that much worse. Unlike me, however, he does have 24/7 access to the best doctors and trainers out there.

One bright side is that it did happen early, so the coaches will have ample time to groom his replacement before season starts.

True Blue Grit

March 20th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^

But I'm going to try and keep some optimism that we'll see him play sometime this season.  We probably won't hear much from the coaches as they keep a pretty tight lip about injuries.  Damn.

jocular_jock

March 20th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^

Medical redshirt... strong as ever next year. Gardner is a Jr this year. We have depth. Yes he is the best we have, but its not like you or me are backing him up. Seriously this is not Purdue, he was not our only good player. We got this.

Soulfire21

March 20th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^

"torn" like ... all the way torn, or a... you know, baby tear maybe?   Like just a small one?  *grasping to any little shred of hope*

Also: fuck.

Also, also:  Have to feel sad for him because I know he probably feels terrible, woke up in the morning just fine, went to practice, everything, and in (what I assume) a split second the season is over before it starts.  Terrible.

Rabbit21

March 20th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^

Well, the small silver lining is Cam Gordon looked decent at Spur and can at least be competent as a fill-in, Bolden and Ross can improve and there's now time to move either Beyer or Ojemudia to SAM and have them practice throughout Spring and Fall camps.  At least the injury happened now instead of in the first game of the year.

All that said, get well soon Jake, we're going to miss you.

TheGhostofYost

March 20th, 2013 at 1:44 PM ^

It seems like sports medicine really hasn't progressed much in figuring out how to prevent and quickly repair this injury.  You would think more advancements would be made given how common and debilatating it is.

gbdub

March 20th, 2013 at 1:54 PM ^

Unless we replace everyone's knees with titanium joints and carbon nanotube ligaments, you can't really prevent these. You can't really grow or strengthen ligaments the way you can muscles.

All you can do is train your flexibility and leg strength and hope for the best, but any sport with hitting and quick direction changes is going to be an anti-knee minefield.

S4H

March 20th, 2013 at 1:48 PM ^

This is how Saban gets his advantage. One 5 star goes down with injury (or other issues i'm being polite here), stick another 5 star that was sitting on the bench the year before...

maize-blue

March 20th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^

I will try to look at this optimisitcally and say the LB position may be the deepest on the team so hopefully other players can step up and lessen the blow.