Clik here to view.
With the talk about FSU's logo dying down, it seems most are getting back to the discussion of football. And the main topic this week among Florida State fans is injuries.
Florida State will be without three of its four scholarship tailbacks for the spring game (Karlos Williams, Dalvin Cook, Ryan Green), and a fourth, Mario Pender, may be out as well. Williams is out for precautionary reasons, because, in Jimbo Fisher's words, "we know what he can do." Cook and Green had shoulder surgeries and should be back by late summer.
This is not unheard of. In fact, it was very much heard of, in the last year. In the 2013 game, at least 10 eventual starters were unavailable, including Florida State's top three running backs. The leading rusher was fullback Chad Abram. All of the running backs were soon back and participating in summer workouts, and Florida State went on to win the national title.
I really do not care all that much about spring injuries. Sure, they hurt the quality of the spring game, and to some extent they can hinder individual development and team development at spots that require a lot of chemistry and communication. But the actual spring game does not matter all that much.
The real key is to avoid spring injuries that keep a player out for fall. In the era of modern medicine, those are pretty much limited to really serious stuff that requires surgery and a timetable of six or more months of recovery, or more minor surgeries that are botched or don't take.
So far, Florida State has avoided any such injuries. That's not been the case elsewhere.
Miami lost its starting quarterback, Ryan Williams, for the year to an ACL tear. Al Golden said that Williams was "clearly the best option" at quarterback before the tear. The Hurricanes will now turn to Kevin Olsen, a physically talented player who has been twice suspended in two years by Miami and has been criticized for not making the right decisions with the football.
And in the SEC, Alabama lost its best cornerback in Eddie Jackson, also to an ACL tear.
I guarantee you that those schools would rather have suffered a ton of spring injuries that don't stretch into the fall than lose those players. Keep that perspective Saturday when taking in the spring game, and hope FSU's current injury situation doesn't stretch into fall.
