It happened on a play near the end of the second quarter.
Tight end Ed Dickson took a pitch from quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and rolled to the right. Dickson dropped the pass short to receiver Jeff Maehl in the end zone and the Ducks moved to third down.
That running back Andre Crenshaw then rushed for a six-yard touchdown on the next play is inconsequential (the score was 35-0 Ducks at that point). It’s what we didn’t see: Masoli getting hit on the Dickson pass and rolling at just enough of an awkward angle that he tweaked his right knee.
In the next series, backup Nate Costa was in and the Ducks continued to roll, scoring another 17 points. Masoli, on the other hand, emerged from the tunnel in sweats sans pads — not an encouraging sign if you’re a Duck fan. However, after the game Masoli said he was fine and although he said his knee was sore, he was OK.
But the newest development to the story of Masoli’s injury is that he is not fine. At practice Monday, he was in his jersey (no pads) and shorts. And wrapped around his knee was a huge bag of ice. Despite all of this, head coach Chip Kelly — notorious for not giving the media much in terms of injury details — said that his junior quarterback is in a good state of mind.
“Jeremiah is good,” Kelly said. “He’s in very good spirits. He’s day-to-day.”
So although the extent of Masoli’s injury is unknown, it looks like Costa will be the starter Saturday in Los Angeles against UCLA. He took all of the reps with the first team offense Monday, and Darron Thomas moved up to work with the second unit.
Safety T.J. Ward says that whether it’s Costa or Masoli Saturday, the Ducks will be just fine. Costa is coming off two ACL injuries that have held him out since 2006.
“I think Nate has a lot of heart,” Ward said. “Anybody who comes back from two ACL (injuries) does. He’s playing really well. I think Nate has the best ball out of any of the quarterbacks. He’s just like a starter going in there.”
Ward also added that it is tough to see a guy like Masoli get banged up, but the team will have a game regardless of who’s starting.
“Anytime you have a teammate out with an injury, it hurts, especially when it’s your starting quarterback,” Ward said. “But, we have to move on. We have another game. Regardless of if I’m on the field, or Jeremiah or Walt, the Oregon Ducks still have a game.”
Kelly touched on the subject, saying that it’s actually necessary to have two quarterbacks who can start. He’s not at all worried about Costa if he is the one to take the snaps at the Rose Bowl.
“USC has had to play two quarterbacks, UCLA has had to play two quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “It’s a deal in this league where if you don’t have a backup quarterback, you’re probably going to be in a little bit of trouble. We’ll see what happens this week and when Jeremiah starts practicing and we’ll deal with it at that point … I have all the confidence in the world in Nate Costa.”
While Masoli’s knee has been the focus of the Oregon football world for the last two days, another injury has quietly gone unnoticed by all but a few.
Offensive lineman C.E. Kaiser was carted off at halftime of the WSU game with a bruised shin, and he is also listed as day-to-day. He did not practice Monday either, but Kelly isn’t concerned because he says the team practices “10-deep” at the lineman position anyway, so they are deep enough with enough experience to weather the storm until he gets back.
There is some good injury news, however, amid all of this. Ward, who has been out since injuring his ankle at Boise State, is nearing a potential return this weekend. He was doing high knees and some running Monday with strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe, and he says he’s eyeing actually practicing for the first time with pads by Wednesday.
“I’m confident I’ll be ready by this weekend,” Ward said. “I did some running today and I’ll do some more tomorrow and see how it goes. If I practice Wednesday, I’ll be playing.”
That’s very encouraging for the defense, even though the unit has been successful without him and cornerback Walter Thurmond III. With one more weapon in the secondary, the Ducks will fare better coming into some of these tough road games on their schedule.
“It says a lot (about our depth),” Kelly said. “The teams that can handle the injuries — because it’s going to happen — are the ones that shine through. We’re really pleased with the quality of our guys, and they’ve really stepped up.”
The team is also treating another situation as an “injury.” The LeGarrette Blount situation, which took another turn on Friday when Kelly announced that Blount could possibly be reinstated on Nov. 7 for the Stanford game if he follows a set-up plan, has been a slight bump to some, but everyone has coped with it and they say it’s not a distraction.
“We’re trying to not let anything hold us back,” center Jordan Holmes said. “It would be similar to if he was injured, what would we do? We’d have to keep going. We’re trying not to get distracted and play football.”
“LeGarrette has been here, so it really hasn’t been a distraction,” Ward added. “The first week was kind of hectic, but we’re just moving on. We’re just trying to get on with the season and make the best of it.”
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