Michigan Football: Key injuries pile up as Wisconsin looms
Michigan football could be without several key players against Wisconsin this week, as the win over Maryland proved costly on the injury front.
The win by the Michigan football team over Maryland was one of those good news/bad news scenarios. It was good that the Wolverines won the game 35-10. The bad news however, was some of the injuries incurred in the process.
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The injury that was felt the most during the game, was an ankle injury suffered by Karan Higdon. Higdon has been the best running back for Michigan football. Heck, he’s been arguably its best offensive player. Even in limited action yesterday, he rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries and had a 35-yard reception, where he did the majority of the work.
He was taken off late in the second quarter and never returned. Even worse, it’s an ankle injury, which can be a nightmare for a running back. The ability to push off and make quick cuts, requires a strong ankle, so Higdon at anything less than 100 percent is worrisome.
Chris Evans did fine in his stead. But he finished with just 80 yards. He averaged 5.3 a carry, but over an entire game, he is sometimes ineffective. Teamed with Higdon, the duo is extremely dangerous. But just Evans against Wisconsin gives you an uneasy feeling.
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While the Higdon loss could be huge, a loss or two on defense could be just as critical. Rashan Gary, the Wolverines other-worldly defensive end, left the game late and didn’t return. Yet the Detroit Free Press reported that teammate Maurice Hurst, said Gary was fine.
The Free Press also had some good information on corner Lavert Hill, who suffered a concussion. According to head coach Jim Harbuagh, Hill is in the concussion protocol, plus a few other tidbits on Higdon and Gary.
“We’ll see (on Higdon), we didn’t want to play him in the second half,” Harbaugh said. “Lavert got diagnosed with a concussion, so we put him into that protocol and took no chances with that. Rashan (Gary), we’ll see. Karan, we’ll see.”
It sounds like Gary is ok, which is very good news. Michigan will need him against Wisconsin. With Hill, it’s iffy. You just never know with concussions. But if he does miss time, it will be costly. Hill and David Long have both helped the Wolverines lead the Big Ten in fewest pass yards allowed.
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Even losing Higdon and Hill would be costly for the Wolverines, who are going to need all hands on deck if they are going to wreck the Badgers playoff dreams next Saturday in Madison.