College Football Injury Notes: Week III

September 20, 2017

LSU is now saying that star junior RB Derrius Guice is “very questionable” for Saturday’s game against Syracuse because of an undisclosed knee injury. That’s a concern, because earlier in the week LSU head coach Ed Orgeron waved off Guice’s absence from practice as a “minor injury.” Guice, one of the top two RB prospects in the 2018 draft class along with Penn State’s Saquon Barckley, hurt his left knee in Saturday’s devastating loss at Mississippi State.

Meanwhile, Old Dominion RB Ray Lawry, a solid second-tier prospect who ran for over 1,000 yards in each of the past couple of years, is likely out for the year with a torn hamstring. Lawry, who has not redshirted, is expected to apply for a medical hardship 5th year of eligibility. Same story for Louisville RB Jeremy Smith who is out for the year with a fractured toe. The 6-2, 225-pound Smith, who originally suffered the injury during pre-season practice, dressed for the season opener but played little and was shut down for the year after that game. Since he only played part of one game, Smith has a good case for the medical hardship waiver.

Veteran Tennessee safety Todd Kelly is also likely out for the year after an MRI showed that the knee that he originally injured during fall camp last fall has gotten worse to the point that he may possible have to miss the rest of the season. Kelly, though, plans to get a second opinion before having surgery on the knee, but he doesn’t return this year will have the option of applying for a medical hardship waiver to request another year of eligibility. Speaking of UT safeties, junior FS and KR Evan Berry remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Berry, who missed the 2016 injury with a torn ACL, hasn’t played since the first half of the season opener against Georgia Tech.

Washington State ILB Peyton Pelluer, a 3-year starter for the Cougars and another decent second-tier type prospect at the position, will miss the rest of the year with a fractured foot. Because he has already redshirted, it seems unlikely that Pelluer would be eligible for an extra year of eligibility.

At the same time, UMass TE Adam Breneman, one of the more interesting prospects for the upcoming draft, re-injured his ankle in Friday’s loss to Temple and has not practiced this week and is listed as questionable going forward.