As the clash between Stanford and Oregon fast approaches, it seems appropriate to break down the extensive injury list for the Cardinal. Wide receiver Chris Owusu@@CE@@ has been officially ruled out with a concussion, and he is just the latest Stanford player to go down in the last few weeks:
Shayne Skov, LB@@CE@@ (out) — Stanford’s best defensive player suffered a torn ACL in the Cardinal’s third game of the season against Arizona@@http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/10/pac-12-rewind-andrew-luck-stanford-matt-barkley-usc/1@@, and will miss the remainder of the year. While Stanford has had plenty of time to adjust to his absence, Skov’s tenacity and tackling ability have been hard to replace. The Cardinal defense lacks experience at middle linebacker — two underclassmen have received the majority of playing time at the middle linebacker spots in Stanford’s 3-4 defense in recent weeks.
Wayne Lyons, DB@@CE@@ (out) — One of the highest-rated recruits in the nation as a high school senior, Lyons was expected to make a big impact this season as a true freshman on The Farm. But after playing well in his first two collegiate games, Lyons came down with a foot ailment that has sidelined him for the duration of the season@@http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/tag/_/name/wayne-lyons@@. His athleticism would have added a serious boost to the Cardinal’s suspect secondary.
Chris Owusu, WR (out) — After suffering his third documented concussion in the last 13 months against Oregon State, Owusu will miss this weekend’s game, and possibly more.@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7208476/chris-owusu-stanford-cardinal-not-play-vs-oregon-ducks@@ On an offense largely devoid of big-play threats, Owusu was Stanford’s best playmaker, and arguably the fastest player on the team.
Zach Ertz, TE@@CE@@ (doubtful) — Ertz was injured on the first play of Stanford’s win over USC, and is expected to miss a few more games.@@http://bayarea.sbnation.com/stanford-cardinal/2011/11/8/2547774/stanford-vs-oregon-injury-report-zach-ertz-chris-owusu-delano-howell@@ While the Cardinal has several star tight ends, Ertz was perhaps the most well-rounded of the bunch, and his absence denies Stanford the ability to run plays out of a three tight-end set that has flummoxed opponents all season long.
Jordan Williamson, K@@CE@@ (questionable) — Williamson was having a brilliant season as a redshirt freshman for Stanford prior to suffering an undisclosed injury before the USC game. Although his replacement, sophomore Eric Whitaker,@@CE@@ has been perfect on field goals, he has struggled on kickoffs. Whitaker has had three kickoffs go out of bounds and as of yet has failed to record a touchback.
Cameron Fleming, OL (questionable) — Fleming suffered a lower body injury in the USC game that kept him out of action last week against Oregon State.@@http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/pac12/stanford.htm@@ While this loss would hurt the Cardinal, fifth-year senior Tyler Mabry@@CE@@ is an adequate replacement for Fleming, and shouldn’t prevent Stanford from executing its offense like normal.
Delano Howell, S (probable) — After a three game absence due to a hand injury, Howell is expected to be healthy this weekend. His return should provide a huge boost to Stanford’s defense because he’s the biggest hitter on the team and one of the leaders on the Cardinal defense. He’s also a sure tackler and could be called upon as the last line of defense in stopping Oregon’s skill players.
Breaking down the Stanford injury report
Daily Emerald
November 7, 2011
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