Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed can't catch a break. After an injury-plagued season allowed the senior to see time in only six of the team's 13 games, it looks like the Senior Bowl has been no nicer to him . Sweed aggravated an existing injury to his left wrist during one-on-one drills early in the week and as a result, has spent much of his senior week experience sitting and watching. Not exactly what this fifth-year senior, former all-conference selection had in mind.
Texas squares off against Texas Tech this weekend in what should be another tough test for a Longhorn team that has underperformed all season, but this matchup adds some injury intrigue. The Red Raiders are known for their wide-open, spread-em-out offense, which requires a quick and athletic defense, especially the secondary, to stay with their high-speed receivers. But with an injured defense taking the field in Austin on Saturday, the Longhorns can't be looking forward to this Big 12 test.
With an 0-2 Big 12 record, Texas is off to its worst conference start in 51 years, their starting quarterback is in the full swing of a sophomore slump and the team's most talented receiver is suddenly out of the picture. It is not a pretty picture in Texas.
After suffering a mild concussion (and a major case of frustration) during Texas' 41-21 loss to Kansas State on Saturday, starting quarterback Colt McCoy will be just that this week -- starting -- when No. 19 Texas takes on No. 10 Oklahoma in a far-less-important Red River Shootout. The sophomore passed a series of tests by team doctors before telling media on Monday that he "feels fine." He may not for much longer if his Longhorns do not start playing better football.
Saturday afternoon must have been horrifyingly familiar for No. 7 (for a few more hours) Texas. The Longhorns faced off against Kansas State, the team that kocked them off by a score of 45-42 at the end of last season, thereby roping the Longhorns out of the national title picture and taking out their starting quarterback in the process - quarterback Colt McCoy injured his neck on a one-yard run in the game's opening drive and sat out the rest of the contest. This time it took a little longer, but the same chorus sounded its ugly refrain in Austin: Kansas State topped Texas and injured McCoy while they did so.
Week 5 is upon us and with conference matchups heating up around the country, the injury tally is climbing faster than Tim Tebow's Heisman rating. From No. 1 USC to No. 25-wanna-be Miami, everyone is dealing with something injury-related this week, but some news has been better than others.
Oklahoma defensive end John Williams put a damper on the Sooners' 62-21 victory over Tulsa when he tore his Achilles tendon in the third quarter of Friday's game, sidelining him for the rest of the year. This is not the first time Williams has felt the pain of a season-ending injury. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound defensive end was primed for a big season in 2005 before tearing his ACL in the season opener -- but not before he could record four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery, just enough to make Oklahoma coaches drool about the power he would bring to the Sooner defense once healthy. Now, the coaches may never find out; since Williams redshirted in 2003, this should be his final year of eligibility, unless an application for a sixth season is approved by the NCAA.
Texas released a statement after its oh-so-close win over UCF saying that senior wide receiver Limas Sweed could have returned from a left ankle injury in the second quarter. Obviously, Sweed did not come back onto the field, which begs the question, why?
Wide receiver Limas Sweed is watching his Longhorns try to make a fourth-quarter comeback from the sidelines. The senior is having his ankle retaped after catching just one pass for nine yards and with Texas trailing UCF by one point in the fourth quater, they could really use the 6-foot-5, 219-pound senior's height advantage off of that cart and back on the field.
Oklahoma is enjoying the view from the nation's No. 3 spot after disposing of Miami last weekend, but the win was not so sweet for starting defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. The redshirt freshman broke his right hand against Miami and will not get the start against Utah State on Saturday. McCoy was back in practices by Tuesday with his right hand in a cast that he says is not at all painful, but does slow him down. If McCoy does get in the game this Saturday, his playing time will certainly be limited.
Texas and Texas A&M both notched big wins last weekend - Texas topping TCU and A&M knocking of Fresno State in triple overtime - but neither team came away fully healthy. A&M fullback Chris Alexander injured his left leg in the first half, taking him out for the remainder of the game, and Texas offensive tackle Adam Ulatoski banged up his right elbow, bringing his status into question for Saturday's game with Central Florida.
Texas is in a must-win situation when No. 19 TCU comes to town on Saturday, and the Longhorns will have to snuff the Horned Frogs without the help of defensive end Brian Okrapo. The junior suffered a knee injury in last weekend's 21-13 sneak-by win over Arkansas State and will miss the oh-so-important statement matchup with TCU.
The official kickoff of the 2007 season is a mere three days away and injured players are now forced to answer a key question - are you in, or are you out? Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed is in, despite what official school reports say, while teammate Billy Pittman must sit out. Wake Forest defensive end Matt Robinson is in, the elusive Florida cornerback Markihe Anderson is questionable, and Michigan State tackle Mike Gyetvai is out.
After an MRI, Texas has changed its mind - wide receiver Limas Sweed will be ready for the team's season opener on September 1. The senior sprained his left wrist during a scrimmage on Wednesday morning.
Colt McCoy is going to have to find someone else to go hunting with - and play catch with - for the next few weeks. His go-to pass catcher, senior All-Big 12 wide receiver Limas Sweed, sprained his left wrist during a scrimmage on Wednesday and he will be out for at least three weeks. That's an enormous loss for the Longhorns, and not just because Sweed is 6-foot-5.
Isaac Newton was clearly a football fan. He figured out that for every team devastated by a player's injury, there is another team uplifted by a player's recovery. (Granted, he made it a bit more general, since the despair of losing a starting quarterback does not always equal the elation at getting a third-string linebacker back, but you get the idea.) In an effort to move away from the depressing news of season-ending injuries suffered on day one (add to that category Arizona defensive end Ron Jackson, who dislocated his hip after an offensive lineman fell on him), today's focus shifts to the equal-and-opposite-reaction side of the equation. The ever-diligent Rivals.com has come up with a list of the top 10 comeback players bringing hope and excitement to teams throughout the country, and their top two picks are not who you'd expect.
