Bush’s injury could have larger implications

By Darrell Laurant  |   Tuesday, September 05, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Louisville Cardinals
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!

When you think about it, the devastating injury that put star Louisville running back Michael Bush out for the season wasn't just bad for Bush and bad for the 13th-ranked Cardinals. It may turn out to be bad for all of college football.

Because the elite players will notice, and it will remind them that football is a game in which nothing is guaranteed.

Bush could have gone to the NFL after the 2005 season, but he decided to play out his last year with the Cardinals for a couple of reasons, one team-oriented and the other in his own interest. The 245-pound senior from Louisville's Male high School wanted to help his home team win a national championship, for one thing. Then, too, he was told he might not be a first-round NFL pick if he came out.

Now, a lot of other players in that situation -- juniors in eligibility but with a redshirt year behind them -- will be thinking: "I could come back, but look what happened to Michael Bush."

With luck, Bush's leg will heal cleanly and he will be able to fulfill his enormous potential in the NFL. With luck, backups Colby Smith, George Stripling and Anthony Allen will be able to replace Bush by committee.

After all, Michael Vick broke his leg in his second year with the Atlanta Falcons and came back strong. But then there was University of Virginia safety Anthony Poindexter, a first-team All-American as a junior who blew out his knee as a senior in college and was never the same again.

When you look at how much emphasis NFL scouts place on whether a player runs a 4.4 or a 4.6 in the 40 -- two nano-seconds most people wouldn't even notice -- you realize how much just a slight loss in speed can matter.

A lot of running backs are big. A lot of them are fast. Not many combine those attributes the way Michael Bush does -- or did.

The way Bush was hurt in the third quarter of a 59-28 rout of instate rival Kentucky was sadly ironic. After bursting for a 48-yard touchdown on his opening carry and amassing 128 yards and three touchdowns in little more than a half, he was hurt while being tackled by UK linebacker Wesley Woodyard.

"I just heard a big pop," Woodyard said later.

But if you look at a photograph of the play that was circulated nationwide, it wasn't as if Woodyard delivered a stunning hit. Bush was actually in the process of running over the Wildcat 'backer, whom he outweighed by 30 pounds, when his right leg buckled awkwardly under him and the tibia snapped.

A day earlier, Clemson LB Anthony Waters, another player who returned for his senior year, suffered a torn ACL that will put him out for the season. Before the season even started, Cal safety Tim Mixon, an electrifying receiver and special teams player, tore his ACL simply by planting his foot the wrong way on a simulated kickoff return with no one near him.

In that sense, football is like war. Some soldiers dodge bullets for years and emerge unscathed, others die in their first action.

Now, if you're a Louisville fan, you're going to get to know three guys from Florida -- George Stripling from Jacksonville, Kolby Smith from Tallahassee and Anthony Allen from Tampa.

And they aren't chopped liver, as the saying goes. Stripling rushed for 621 yards as a 2005 freshman, averaging 7.9 yards a carry. He gained 137 yards and scored twice against Syracuse, which despite its dreadful record had a strong defense, and gained 96 yards on Rutgers.

Smith -- 5-foot-11, 215 pounds and fast enough to have run high hurdles in high school -- had 528 rushing yards as a junior last season, and true freshman Allen -- from Tampa -- was rated the No. 3 back coming out of Florida last year.

None of them are Michael Bush, of course, but it's time for the Cardinals to move on.

As for Bush, he bravely waved to the crowd as he was being carted off with an inflatable cast around his leg.

He could just as well have been waving goodbye to a lot of football-playing juniors around the country.

Get more on Michael Bush and the Louisville Cardinals at Realfootball365.com
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (1)

About Darrell Laurant

Sorry, Darrell Laurant's bio is currently not available. Please check back soon!
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report