Rodney Smith injury watch thread

Donate To GopherHole
Pompous Elitist said:
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.
Click to expand...

Backup to the Backup RB becomes a star...:clap:
 

The kids take us to the rose bowl... let's gooo
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
The high school QB from my hometown tore his ACL in preseason practice last year and than tore the same ACL in the first game this year. He walks without a limp and can jog/run in a straight line. It's cutting or moving laterally where the ACL tear comes in.......
Click to expand...

From personal experience, yes, straight line running after ACL surgery comes back and isn't worrisome; it's the cutting, the stopping, the confidence in the knee. Some get it all back, some get most back, some never fully recover. The strangest thing is the atrophy in the muscles around the knee. It's unbelievable how fast they go. And while some people (typically older people who no longer play competitive sports) opt not to go through surgery, almost everybody who wants to play high-end athletics needs surgical repair.

Does anyone have the final word on exactly what injury Rodney has?
 
Last edited:


GhostofBronko said:
Fleck will play him the second that he's cleared to play.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but - let's say Brooks is cleared with 6 games left in the season. Now, it's a choice between play Brooks in 6 games, and use a year of eligibility, or hold him out until the last 4 games of the season and save a year of eligibility.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Yeah, but - let's say Brooks is cleared with 6 games left in the season. Now, it's a choice between play Brooks in 6 games, and use a year of eligibility, or hold him out until the last 4 games of the season and save a year of eligibility.
Click to expand...

Fleck will play him the second that he's cleared to play.
 

GhostofBronko said:
Fleck will play him the second that he's cleared to play.
Click to expand...

I have always liked Brooks a lot, and preferred his style of running to that of Rodney (although both very good) - one level below Barber/Maroney, at the level of Gary Russell), but I really hope he does not come back until the last four games of the season, and then only if he feels very solid. I do not recall when in the spring he hurt his knee, but everyone heals differently I guess.

Can anyone confirm that a Bowl game can be one of those four games?

Ibrahim was pretty impressive before he was hurt, and #21 looked pretty tough at times, if not a little Cobb like on some of those inside runs, so between the two of them and Femi-Cole, it will be a drop off but not as bad as I had feared. I'd like to see this other RB Edmonds get his four games in once we get past the Miami game.

This extra four game exception could not have come at better time. I would expect all the RBs the roster that show anything at all in practice to get a chance to show what they can do.
 
Last edited:

Didn't Rodney miss a year of playing time in high school due to a leg injury too?
 





It appears that Fleck has been able to unearth some good 3-stars recruits in the skill positions (Terell Smith, Annexstad, Autman-Bell etc.), so I trust that Bryce and Ibrahim have a shot to MAHture into solid enough Freshman to at least give us balance with the run.

Smith and Brooks are good, but they're not David Cobb types. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to see one of the two Freshman grow into something similar or better than our upperclassmen by the end of the year.
 
Last edited:

I feel bad for Rodney. I think where he will be missed the most is catching passes out of the backfield. He has had very good hands and he’s so good in space.
 

Seth Green will get more carries than he might have with Rodney healthy.
 



Seth Green is going to show up all over the place on O. He is the difference maker we are looking for and didn't expect. For now Fleck has utilized Green's brutality and not his speed. That will change also. We will be fine on RBs. Just sick for Rodney. :(
 

diehard said:
Seth Green is going to show up all over the place on O. He is the difference maker we are looking for and didn't expect. For now Fleck has utilized Green's brutality and not his speed. That will change also. We will be fine on RBs. Just sick for Rodney. :(
Click to expand...

After he changed positions here was nothing but talk about what we would expect from him....
 

I really feel bad for Rodney. This was to be his coming out year to showcase his talent. Next man up. Remember when Donnell Kirkwood got hurt? David Cobb stepped in and never relinquished the starting position.

This is an opportunity for one or more of the RBs to step up and audition to the coach what they can do. We have Mo Ibrahim, Bryce Williams, Noland Edmunds, Dominik London, Jonathan Femi-Cole, and Preston Jelen in the stables. Seth Green will be an excellent choice to spend some time at the RB position. In case of an emergency, maybe someone can be converted to RB.
 

This is such brutal news. First off, hats off to Rodney Smith if this is indeed the end of his Gopher career. He was really fun to watch and did a great job of turning plays that should have been negative/zero yardage in to positive yards. There were several games earlier in his career where the Gophers could have suffered some really bad losses if Rodney didn't make something out of nothing on key downs. Hopefully Rodney makes a full recovery and gets a shot in the NFL. I certainly understand if he chooses to move on from college ball at this point whether or not he gets that 6th year, but would obviously love to have him back in the Maroon and Gold.

For this years team, this is a crushing blow. I honestly don't know how the Gophers move the football consistently without vastly improved offensive line play compared to what we have seen in the first two games. The offense was horrific for much of the Fresno game and lines inability to open any holes was at the forefront of the struggle. Now that we don't have a dynamic option in the backfield (Williams might be there at some point in his career, but didn't really flash any special athleticism on Saturday) it's even more important for the line to start winning at the point of attack. For what it's worth there was allegedly a walk on who ended up leaving the program that was getting reps ahead of both Femi-Cole and London this Spring (and Fall? not sure was on Burns podcast a few weeks ago), so that's where the Gophers are at behind Williams right now.
 

EG#9 said:
For this years team, this is a crushing blow. I honestly don't know how the Gophers move the football consistently without vastly improved offensive line play compared to what we have seen in the first two games. The offense was horrific for much of the Fresno game and lines inability to open any holes was at the forefront of the struggle.
Click to expand...

Run game showed nothing but inside between the tackles in first two games. What plays they trusted Williams with was probably limited.

Making the defense respect the outside will make run game much more dynamic.

Bateman or Winfield on jet sweep?

QB (either Annexstad or Green) actually keeping in read when end collapses.

Some basic pulls and tosses to the edge.

Some more 22 or 21 outside of goalline wouldn’t be all bad.

Kieft and Witham at TE, Beebe at FB helps our run blocking.

How about a 22 with Beebe and Green at RB and Annexstad at QB. Johnson and Bateman rotating.

Not worrying about saving Dunlap or Faalele for 2022 if they are better options now could help.

Oddly, if we decide to pass more, is that all bad?

Our strengths, our Big Ten opponents weaknesses might mean throwing the ball is a good thing.

Opponents will have tough time matching up with a four wide with Johnson, Bateman, Bell, Douglas (Green, Howard, Winfield).
 
Last edited:

60's Guy said:
Seth Green will get more carries than he might have with Rodney healthy.
Click to expand...

With RS our and MI probably still too gimpy and no need to risk him against Miami, I wonder how many times we’ll line up in the wildcat? 10?15?20? Hope they have a nice package of throws in that too, and/or screens.
 

EG#9 said:
This is such brutal news.

For this years team, this is a crushing blow. Now that we don't have a dynamic option in the backfield (Williams might be there at some point in his career, but didn't really flash any special athleticism on Saturday) it's even more important for the line to start winning at the point of attack. For what it's worth there was allegedly a walk on who ended up leaving the program that was getting reps ahead of both Femi-Cole and London this Spring (and Fall? not sure was on Burns podcast a few weeks ago), so that's where the Gophers are at behind Williams right now.
Click to expand...

Ibrahim is ahead of Williams and looked dynamic in Spring game and vs NMSU. They trust him with blocking assignments and as a rcvr out of backfield. Injured vs Fresno.

Nolan Edmonds prbly is ahead of London and FemiCole from Burns and others reports, so things not as bad behind Williams as you State.
 

Just as an FYI re: Fresno State: that was a legitimately good defense.

That was one of the better defenses in the country last year and it returned most of their best players. They held Rashaad Penny to under 70 yards (he put 215 on ASU and 175 on Stanford).

I think maybe because they are a west coast team we think of them more as a high-flying offense but possibly soft in the trenches, that isn't the case with Fresno State. What our offensive line and Bryce Williams were able to do against that defense should be viewed in that light. I realize it wasn't absolutely dominating, but we did have a run game and closed out the game by running it down their throats. It's a good sign.
 

hungan1 said:
I really feel bad for Rodney. This was to be his coming out year to showcase his talent. Next man up. Remember when Donnell Kirkwood got hurt? David Cobb stepped in and never relinquished the starting position.

This is an opportunity for one or more of the RBs to step up and audition to the coach what they can do. We have Mo Ibrahim, Bryce Williams, Noland Edmunds, Dominik London, Jonathan Femi-Cole, and Preston Jelen in the stables. Seth Green will be an excellent choice to spend some time at the RB position. In case of an emergency, maybe someone can be converted to RB.
Click to expand...

Next man up is starting to feel like next man out of the trench and into noman's land :(

Also I'm not sure Cobb was as much about Donnell as the coach's wanted to get him in after Cobb blew up (in a good way) in practice unexpectedly.
 

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This is from Brooks' twitter, could be nothing, but I read this as Brooks saying they'll be back for next season to tear it up...posted it after the news was out.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom