JONESBORO -- The injuries are piling up for the Red Wolves, and they have hit the cornerback position the hardest.
Arkansas State University Coach Blake Anderson spent nearly as much time dissecting the health of his players as he did the actual play on the field during his news conference Monday.
The biggest concern lies with junior cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of Saturday's 55-0 loss at No. 3 Georgia. Jacobs appeared to indicate Sunday night on Twitter that he was done for the season.
"Speechless for words," Jacobs tweeted. "For all the hard work and dedication I put in this game...I wish I can be out there with my team but you know god give his toughest battle to his strongest soldiers...I'll be back Next Year to give you the summary...STAY TUNE."
On Monday, Anderson didn't go as far to say Jacobs is out for the season, but he did say he could miss "extended" time. Jacobs is expected to undergo further evaluation and receive an MRI.
"He's obviously very questionable for this week, and it could be more," Anderson said. "It's a possibility it's something that's gonna keep him out for the year, but we don't know yet for sure. Nothing looked crazy on the film. It doesn't look bad, but sometimes knees don't look bad and turn out [bad]. We'll just have to wait and see."
On Monday afternoon, Jacobs took to Twitter again, tweeting "The ComeBack Is Always Stronger Than The Setback ..... #UnoOut."
ASU's already-thin cornerback position is now a glaring issue next to senior Jeremy Smith, who starts on the opposite side of the field. Anderson was nervous about cornerback depth heading into the season after redshirt freshman backup Jevon Jones went down in the spring with a knee injury.
"He was a No. 2 that was really pushing for playing time," Anderson said. "It's hard to imagine that losing one guy makes you thin, but it does when your [scholarship] numbers are already 10 short."
Junior Demari Medley, who rejoined the team at the start of fall camp after being suspended for the entire spring by Anderson for internal rules violations, filled in against Georgia after Jacobs went down. But Medley tweaked his hamstring in the fourth quarter and had to exit the game. Anderson said Medley received a steroid injection on the sidelines soon after and that he could give it a go Saturday night when the Red Wolves (1-2) host FCS opponent Southern Illinois (2-1) in Jonesboro.
"I think fortunately he got off of [his hamstring] before it got really bad. He was much better this morning when he was in here," Anderson said. "I think there's a very real possibility he'll be ready to play, at least on a limited basis, if not completely depending on how he responds to a steroid injection."
Sophomore Nathan Page and true freshman Jarius Reimonenq are next in line on the depth chart.
Anderson said his level of concern at cornerback is "through the roof."
"We've got next-man-up right now where we're in decent shape, but if we lose anybody else, now we got to start moving people around to compensate for a lack of depth at corner," defensive coordinator David Duggan said Monday. "It hurts. [Jerry is] extremely, extremely talented."
Key starters on offense are also on the mend.
Sophomore running back Marcel Murray, the Red Wolves' leading rusher last year, is dealing with an ankle injury, which he suffered in the first half at UNLV on Sept. 7. Senior wide receiver Dahu Green is still nursing a knee injury and hasn't played in the first three games. Anderson said they remain day-to-day.
"We'd love to have both those guys back," Anderson said. "They do create problems for people, and they do round out our offense in ways that other guys just aren't capable of doing when they're gone."
Green, in particular, has struggled to stay healthy. The former Oklahoma transfer missed nearly all of the 2018 season, his first eligible year at ASU, with a broken ankle. So far this season, a knee injury in fall camp has prevented him from playing any snaps.
"I would have to say he's really frustrated," Anderson said. "You see the glimpses of what he can do when he's healthy, and to not have that available, it definitely changes."
Anderson said junior center Jacob Still is banged up. Offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf indicated Monday that junior running back Ryan Graham, who started in place of Murray on Saturday, also isn't fully healthy. With both Murray's and Graham's uncertain statuses, it's possible ASU may have to start third-stringer Isaiah Azubuike, a true freshman, on Saturday.
"You're gonna get bumps and bruises. It's a game of attrition," Heckendorf said. "You look across the country ... there's a lot of teams in probably a lot worse shape than we are right now. For the most part, I think we're gonna get a lot of these guys back. How fast or how soon will be determined, but the next guy's got to be ready to go."
Sports on 09/17/2019