Apparently being listed opposite Dontavia Bogan as a starting wide receiver on the USF depth chart is about as hazardous as being a drummer for Spinal Tap. After A.J. Love blew out his knee during the spring game, Sterling Griffin moved up to the starting Z receiver. That is, until this morning, when Griffin suffered a serious ankle injury during voluntary workouts.
From Greg Auman's blog post:
An ambulance was called to the practice fields east of USF's athletic facility, and Griffin was taken to the hospital for X-rays. Tampa Fire Rescue confirmed that an ambulance responded at 9:20 a.m. to a call about a sprained ankle.
Monday marked the first day of classes for the Summer B semester and the first day of college classes for most Bulls newcomers. During summer classes, players have their own informal workouts without pads on -- position coaches cannot supervise workouts until the start of fall practice the first week in August.
Recent word is coming out that Griffin actually broke his ankle, and may have dislocated it as well.
There's no telling how long he will be out, but for a position that was already thin for USF, this is a rough turn of events. Griffin showed a lot of promise during his limited playing time as a freshman, racking up 14 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard strike from B.J. Daniels in the win over Florida State. With his speed and a cannon-armed quarterback to get him the ball, Griffin was setting up as a deep threat in the vein of Carlton Mitchell. He would have been (and still could be) a big player this season.
We'll have to wait and see who else can step up, or step in. I don't think you can put Lindsey Lamar in that position -- he needs to stay in the slot to use his crazy speed for mismatches. WR commit Jamaal Montague should hopefully get his paperwork straightened out so he can play this fall, and we're still waiting to see whether Donald Bowens will be able to transfer from N.C. State in time to contribute. Other than that, who knows. Daniel Bryant, Jason Sherman, Patrick Richardson... now's your chance.
P.S. I am also available to play wide receiver, although there may be eligibility issues and I would need heavy amounts of coaching to overcome my gangly-white-guy suckiness. Phil McGeoghan, I am standing by for your call. /possessionreceiver /butheworkshard
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Update: Auman talked to Skip Holtz in a follow-up. Holtz: "I don't know how much damage (there is) until some of the swelling (goes down), but very definitely, he'll play for us this season."