Rodney Smith injury watch thread

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Gophers running back Rodney Smith is out for the season - TwinCities.com

Jon K. ran a story saying that Rodney is out for the season. P.J. then responded.

Gophers running back Rodney Smith will miss the rest of the 2018 season with a left knee injury he suffered in the 21-14 win Saturday over Fresno State, the school confirmed Monday.

“I am devastated for Rodney, but I know he will keep his oar in the water and continue to move forward and attack his rehabilitation process,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said in a statement. “He is a leader on this team and I look forward to him working with our young players as we continue to grow this season.

Gophers running back Rodney Smith will miss the rest of the 2018 season with a left knee injury he suffered in the 21-14 win Saturday over Fresno State, the school confirmed Monday.

“I am devastated for Rodney, but I know he will keep his oar in the water and continue to move forward and attack his rehabilitation process,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said in a statement. “He is a leader on this team and I look forward to him working with our young players as we continue to grow this season.

Fleck initially planned to share the extent of Smith’s injury during his press conference Tuesday, but responded to news of Smith’s injury breaking on The Athletic on Monday afternoon. His desire to do so was because “I don’t have official results yet” and because he wanted to present “other things attached to it,” Fleck said earlier Monday in a meeting with beat reporters...

https://www.twincities.com/2018/09/...will-address-rodney-smiths-injury-on-tuesday/
 
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Out for the year is a big blow. I literally was going to start a thread after the first game saying something like "Gophers aren't expected to do much this year but WHAT IF the injury bug doesn't bite them for a change this season?" I ultimately decided not to post it because I felt a wave of superstition and didn't want to jinx anything.

Well, injury to the top player on the team. It only took 'til game #2 this year. Business as usual.

Frustrating. I hope he recovers well and has a great football career going forward. What a shame. I hate to see players get injured.
 

There is more quality depth at RB than we think there is. It is the OL that has to step it up and no loose balls. Footballs.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Ibrahim could have played last week, but they held him out.
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Disagree- they showed him trying out the ankle and he could barely jog let alone sprint or cut. Be surprised (pleasantly) if he can play this week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

well that sucks big time!

but im holding out hope that the trio of Mo, Williams, & Femi-Cole can hold there own.
 


diehard said:
There is more quality depth at RB than we think there is. It is the OL that has to step it up and no loose balls. Footballs.
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100% agree with this!

Ibrahim - will be back by Maryland or Iowa.
Williams - Talented and will grow each week.
Femi-Cole - can offer serviceable carries.
Brooks - We will ideally use his 4 games strategically.
Edmonds - haven't even seen him yet, but he had very strong offers.

We should be fine with Williams and Femi-Cole this weekend against Miami of Ohio.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Medical hardship is not the same thing as a redshirt.

A medical hardship gives you 6 calendar years to use your eligibility, instead of 5. A redshirt means that you don't use up one of your seasons of eligibility.
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I was explaining to Writer why RS playing in two games ends his ability to come back next year without a waiver of some kind.

Medical waiver will also only be granted if RS is in grad school. If you have been in school for 5 years and haven’t graduated, the 6th year will 99% not be granted. OJ Smith’s situation was freaky rare...
 

highwayman said:
I was explaining to Writer why RS playing in two games ends his ability to come back next year without a waiver of some kind.

Medical waiver will also only be granted if RS is in grad school. If you have been in school for 5 years and haven’t graduated, the 6th year will 99% not be granted. OJ Smith’s situation was freaky rare...
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Well, good thing Rodney has already graduated.
 

highwayman said:
If you have been in school for 5 years and haven’t graduated, the 6th year will 99% not be granted. OJ Smith’s situation was freaky rare...
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Would be interesting to know if either of these statements are in fact correct.

First maybe ... but why punish them, rather than give them opportunity to actually graduate in 6th year? Last I guess depends on definitions. Probably more common for players that aren’t as likely to be drafted (I-AA programs, maybe G5 programs).
 



If Rodney Smith wants a 6th year, the granting of it from the NCAA is as much of a slam dunk as any NCAA decision can be - he will get it. His exact situation is accounted for in the granting of an extra year.
 


Well, a good chance for Femi-Cole to get carries.
Williams will get a lot of carries.
Edmonds likely becomes a component. I wonder if they'll try to keep him to 4 games or less though.
 




Oregon Gopher said:
Disagree- they showed him trying out the ankle and he could barely jog let alone sprint or cut. Be surprised (pleasantly) if he can play this week.
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Agreed. They showed a clip of him warming up during the TV broadcast and he looked pretty gimpy still.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Dom London, any chance??
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He got 0 carries in the spring game, I don't think he is on the coaching staffs radar when it comes to RB.
Really feel bad for Rodney as he was becoming a really good RB here and had a chance at playing on Sundays.
If he does return next year and so does Shannon, those younger guys are really going to be battling for the #3 role and
I could see a couple of them decide to transfer if they aren't in the rotation much in the Spring.
 

If he and Brooks are both healthy next year the Gophers could be really really good.
 

GFBfan said:
He got 0 carries in the spring game, I don't think he is on the coaching staffs radar when it comes to RB.
Really feel bad for Rodney as he was becoming a really good RB here and had a chance at playing on Sundays.
If he does return next year and so does Shannon, those younger guys are really going to be battling for the #3 role and
I could see a couple of them decide to transfer if they aren't in the rotation much in the Spring.
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Disagree, many players are one play away from starting and if they're good enough they'll get some touches no matter; you transfer if you're just not D1 good enough.
 

I have to think that if Brooks is ready to play with more than 4 games left in the season, they'll play him for the rest of the season and not have him redshirt. Redshirting made a lot more sense when he could be the starter in 2019 but now that he presumably will still be a backup in 2019 and would start this year, there's a lot less benefit to redshirting him.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I have to think that if Brooks is ready to play with more than 4 games left in the season, they'll play him for the rest of the season and not have him redshirt. Redshirting made a lot more sense when he could be the starter in 2019 but now that he presumably will still be a backup in 2019 and would start this year, there's a lot less benefit to redshirting him.
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I mean - it will be interesting how coaches handle this new rule. There's no reason to waste any games in our last contest as we aren't beating wisconsin this year. Also there's no reason to waste any games for low-mid level bowl game as those are useless exhibitions. With 9 games remaining before wisconsin, OSU being another 'skip' game, and Miami of Ohio being a game where you don't need the firepower, we really could play Brooks in 4 of 6 "swing" games if we wanted. I love this new rule!
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I have to think that if Brooks is ready to play with more than 4 games left in the season, they'll play him for the rest of the season and not have him redshirt. Redshirting made a lot more sense when he could be the starter in 2019 but now that he presumably will still be a backup in 2019 and would start this year, there's a lot less benefit to redshirting him.
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I would think they would leave that up to Brooks. I can't see the coaches forcing him to lose a full year of eligibility just for a game or two.
 

watertown 1987 guy n said:
Disagree, many players are one play away from starting and if they're good enough they'll get some touches no matter; you transfer if you're just not D1 good enough.
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So you're Bryce W. all this season you are RB #1 or #2 and have a decent season. End of year comes and the new depth chart has Rodney and Shannon above you along with Mo. You're not going to think about transferring now that your relegated to #4 and having to hope that a couple of them get injured to see the field in the way you did this year? That would be a tough sell.
This isn't an era where kids hang around and wait their turn. Good players are transferring all the time now.
 

If Bryce plays all season, I see him above Ibrahim by the end of the season. Could possibly redshirt this year or next too with the new rule.
 

GFBfan said:
So you're Bryce W. all this season you are RB #1 or #2 and have a decent season. End of year comes and the new depth chart has Rodney and Shannon above you along with Mo. You're not going to think about transferring now that your relegated to #4 and having to hope that a couple of them get injured to see the field in the way you did this year? That would be a tough sell.
This isn't an era where kids hang around and wait their turn. Good players are transferring all the time now.
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Why would you transfer if you thought you wouldn't play much next year? If you transferred, you couldn't play at all next year anyway. In your described scenario, he'd still be the #1 guy in 2020 (the next time he'd see the field if he transferred anyway).
 

GopherHomer said:
we aren't beating wisconsin this year
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Right, because no 18-point underdog has ever won a major college football game before.

Kentucky isn't beating Florida (31-game winning streak) this year. Oops.
 

GFBfan said:
So you're Bryce W. all this season you are RB #1 or #2 and have a decent season. End of year comes and the new depth chart has Rodney and Shannon above you along with Mo. You're not going to think about transferring now that your relegated to #4 and having to hope that a couple of them get injured to see the field in the way you did this year? That would be a tough sell.
This isn't an era where kids hang around and wait their turn. Good players are transferring all the time now.
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You could easily sell him (or any other player) on 2020 and beyond. After Smith and Brooks are gone, RB is wide open.
 

Setting up for an improbable Big Ten West crown run, the stuff of 30 for 30: the injured hero, the new kid playing out of his mind, the backup RB becomes a star, a defense full of returned from injury playmakers, the roster of freshmen called on too soon. Wake me up.

When both Brooks and Smith are 100% I’m not so sure Brooks wouldn’t get the start. He’s been playing hurt since his freshman year though, and his track record (and Smith’s) suggests he won’t complete a full season. Williams and Edmonds would be idiots to transfer next year even if both of the seniors return. They are the heir apparents.
 

GopherHomer said:
There's no reason to waste any games in our last contest as we aren't beating wisconsin this year. Also there's no reason to waste any games for low-mid level bowl game as those are useless exhibitions.
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Let's hope the players don't feel that way about the Wisconsin game, or any game for that matter. And I think Gopher players and Gopher fans take great joy in bowl game wins.
 

Rodney is already in grad school. Get your Master's, rehab and come back to running behind a line that should feature a couple of very highly regarded R-Fr. to add to the existing group.
 

If Fleck left the choice up to Shannon, would he choose to play now?
 


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