Persa, Trumpy Out for UM v NU?

Submitted by Bronco648 on

The Sun-Times is reporting that Dan Persa left the NU/Illinois game, limping,  at 13:38 of the 4th Quarter after getting sacked and getting hit on the back of his right foot (same leg with repaired Achilles). Coach Fitzgerald said holding Persa out was "precautionary". Kain Coulter finished the game at quarterback.

"I got hit when I was rolling out, and I felt some pain in the bottom of my heel and the top of my Achilles started to stiffen up, and in the past that's when setbacks have happened" Persa said.

Additionally, Mike Trumpy went down with an injured left knee in the second half. Coach Fitzgerald said Trumpy might have a sprained knee, but the injury will have to be re-evaluated. Trumpy left the game early in the third quarter and was taken off the field in a golf cart. He finished with 63 yards on 12 carries.

Kind of a shame for Persa. He's pretty dynamic when healthy but Coulter is no slouch. If this game is truly a sell-out (it's being reported as such), it should be a blast.

Bronco648

October 2nd, 2011 at 8:50 AM ^

Interesting how media outlets report news; the sub-headline in the Sun-Times is "Adding injury to insult, Cats lose Persa". I guess we'll have to wait and see on Saturday night.

evenyoubrutus

October 2nd, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^

I will never forget after the BGSU game last year when Denard went out for Tate because he took a hard hit and we were dominating anyway, and then Gardner replaced Tate in the second half after he got the wind knocked out of him, and the world wide leader had a headline of "Michigan loses two QB's in win"

coldnjl

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:02 AM ^

I wonder if that is part of the reason we haven't seen DG in the first four games this year...I heard that sometimes, players receive a redshirt year, but have to sit out the total games they played in in the disputed year...not sure how correct that is, but makes sense to me

BlueUPer

October 2nd, 2011 at 8:50 AM ^

I'ma  a fan of Dan Persa and Pat Fitzgerald, ofcourse not when they play Michigan.  I hope he can get healthy and finish off a great career and beat State!

jmblue

October 2nd, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^

Beating a team that's at full strength is more satisfying than beating them when they're shorthanded . . .  but beating them when they're shorthanded is still infinitely better than losing to them.  If Persa's out, that increases our chances of winning.  I'll take a win however we can get it.

Moe Greene

October 2nd, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^

Persa did not anticipate missing any further games due the injury.

"I feel fine," Persa said. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

 

...that is until he meets the law firm of Campbell, Martin, Van Bergen and Roh....

/ BOOM edited

Needs

October 2nd, 2011 at 9:22 AM ^

Trumpy looked to have a pretty significant lower leg sprain when they took him out. He was in a lot of pain. I'd be surprised if he played. From watching a bit of the game, though, I think he's just a guy. The backup - the awesomely named Adonis Smith - seems about as good.

LSAClassOf2000

October 2nd, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^

It is a shame really, as they are good players - I really like Persa at QB when he's 100%, except when we're NU's opponent, of course. Coulter looks good too, so I don't see this coming game being any less exciting for both fanbases. 

Needs

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^

It's really too bad about this happening to Persa in his senior year. He was set to have an excellent year and he's really good, you could see that against Illinois yesterday.

Colter's a good runner but he's pretty bad as a passer. He'll be good prep for Taylor Martinez if he's the main qb.

That said, I expect Persa to at least try to play if his account of his injury is accurate. I'd be very surprised to see Trumpy.

Beavis

October 2nd, 2011 at 9:40 AM ^

Don't matter. Northwestern D is like ours last year. 

We made the leap in that Minny game.  Hope we don't fall off the cliff, but we're legit B1G title contenders right now, maybe even the favorite in our division (depending on how you view the Neb / Wiscy game).  

switch26

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^

Well i got a chance to visit with my friend who played for NW a couple years ago last wk.  He was working out at NW and talked to persa before he left for pre-season football.  It wasn't that long ago, but he said Persa's leg was half the size of his healthy one.   

 

Not sure if other people noticed that yesterday, but he doesn't think persa will last long into the BIG season this year

Yinka Double Dare

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:16 AM ^

Trumpy's not a huge loss (they have mutliple running backs that all seem about the same, no big star like teams of Northwestern past), but Persa is the difference between a competitive game and a likely Michigan blowout.  Colter's not bad but he's obviously not a first team all conference guy either.

m1jjb00

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:25 AM ^

Bellotti (sp?) on the telecast said that what could have happened is that he broke up some scarriing. It hurts a lot but is not damaging. That said, there is no way his game won't be severly hampered. He may have his accuracy but the running and movement in the pocket will be severely diminished. I'd also add that you could have pulled that quote from any point in his recovery.

We know how these things go with K Lucas. That timetable suggests Persa still has issues. To be sure every recovery is different. Ion this case Persa had his operation right away. Some doctors think that an early surgery is beneficial. (Lucas waited.). On the other hand Lucas's injury was higher up which isn't as bad from what I hear.

tbeindit

October 2nd, 2011 at 10:59 AM ^

I totally agree that persa is a game changer.  In some ways he may bemore valuable than Denard to his team, especially this year.  Northwestern's been ok, but yesterday when I glanced up at the score I was amazed that Northwestern was handling Illinois so easily, but when I heard that Persa left the game at teh end and that's what allowed that comeback, I'm not too suprised.

The backup is solid, but there's clearly a difference between a Heisman hopeful (we all know he wasn't going to win it) and a backup qb.  If persa plays on Saturday, whether 100% or not, I still think they will be a tough matchup.  I think Michigan should have enough to beat them either way, but personally, I just see Persa as a very dangerous player who can change the entire game on 1 or 2 plays.

Either way, I hope he gets healthy because an injury ruining a senior year is always horrible to see

True Blue Grit

October 2nd, 2011 at 11:02 AM ^

I'd be very surprised if Persa doesn't start for NU.  He may not be 100%, but I'm pretty sure he'll play.  I have no idea about Trumpy, but Persa is the main guy in their offense.  Either way, Michigan's best strategy against the Wildcats is keeping our offense on the field.  We shouldn't have much trouble moving the ball against them.