Monday Night USF Injury Update; Atterbury Out, Hector Probable, Nichols “Probable”

On Monday’s league-wide teleconference call, USF head coach Willie Taggart reported that right tackle Billy Atterbury broke his leg in Saturday’s win over Cincinnati and will be out indefinitely.

Marcus Norman will take over at right tackle for the Bulls going forward. As you may recall, he started the first game of the season vs Towson before giving way to Atterbury.

Atterbury, who was seen on crutches following the 45-20 win, tweeted this after the game Saturday, hinting at a long absence:

It’s a tough blow for the redshirt freshman, but his future is still very bright. He was also listed as the backup left tackle, meaning he could slot in on the other side of the line next season after senior Kofi Amichia graduates.

In other injury news, defensive tackle Bruce Hector hurt his ankle in the game Saturday. Taggart said Hector was probable for the Homecoming tilt vs. East Carolina, but we’ve heard that before only to be surprised on game day*. This one seems plausible though, since Hector was able to return later in the game.

The “probable” designation that’s more questionable is cornerback Deatrick Nichols, who appeared to sustain a concussion during the Cincinnati game. We’ll be out at practice tomorrow and at the press conference to hopefully find out more.

* - We had Bruce Hector listed on the team travel roster when we got to Syracuse. He didn’t even make the flight.