Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Injuries are a natural part of football. They're unfortunate, but bound to happen. How teams deal with these injuries can determine the success or failure of a season.
This week as we at KSL.com look forward to college football, the topic will be which players can't get hurt in order for the school to have a successful season. This could include any number of factors.
It seemed last year that it would be difficult replacing Michael Alisa, but Jamaal Williams stepped up. Riley Nelson got hurt and was replaced by Taysom Hill, who got hurt, who was replaced by an injured Nelson, who got hurt again, who was eventually replaced by James Lark. The Cougars have been historically deep on their offensive line, but struggled last year with depth. Ross Apo has had injuries plague him, but Cody Hoffman's presence has softened the blow.
Utah had a rough time with injuries last year. John White IV was battling injury through the first half of last season and the Utes struggled mightily. Jordan Wynn was expected to take the big step his junior year and lead the team in Pac-12 play. He lasted two games before another injury finally forced him out of the college game. What would have happened had Star been hurt? He is a transcendent player, but defensive tackle isn't the most important position.
Utah State stayed very healthy last year. They had a few big injuries, but their main players were basically all solid. Chuckie Keeton's backup Adam Kennedy missed time, but Keeton made that injury moot. Other than missing a game here or there the Aggies were the healthiest team among the three, which helped them finish as the best of the three.
Looking back there are plenty of players that were hurt throughout their careers that truly hampered the team. The biggest name might be Luke Staley who hurt his ankle after the Cougars started 12-0 with him, but lost the final two without him.
Brian Johnson missed a lot of playing time through his career he missed a year in 2006 and was banged up or missed games in '05 and '07. The year he finally got healthy was the 2008 Sugar Bowl year, and the Utes went 13-0.
Injuries will happen. Are there backups in place? Is someone simply irreplaceable? How does scheme and function fit in?
Check back everyday as the experts break down the local schools and show you who can't be injured for a great season.
