Times staff, wires
Thursday, November 15, 2012
CORAL GABLES — Miami is down to a handful scholarship receivers now that Davon Johnson's leg injury ends his senior season, the school announced Thursday via the ACC injury report.
The converted defensive back caught 21 passes for 348 yards in his final season.
His absence leaves the Hurricanes with fewer options entering Saturday's home game against USF. Phillip Dorsett, Allen Hurns, Herb Waters and Kendal Thompkins are the only scholarship receivers who don't have a redshirt on the line.
Dorsett is the team's leading receiver with 42 catches for 648 followed by Hurns (27 for 307 yards). No. 2 receiver Rashawn Scott remains suspended for an indefinite period.
S Deon Bush (shoulder) will miss the USF game as well.
FSU: RB Thompson surgery a success
TALLAHASSEE — The road to recovery has begun for Florida State RB Chris Thompson.
The senior who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Oct. 20 at Miami had successful surgery last week, coach Jimbo Fisher said.
"Everything was clean, there was no other problems with the knee," Fisher said. "They expect a full recovery in normal time."
Fisher reiterated that he would petition the NCAA to grant a medical exception for Thompson, who has had two season-ending injuries in two years. On the third play of FSU's fourth game of 2011, he broke vertebrae in his back.
NCAA rules allow players to medically redshirt if they suffer season-ending injuries during the first three games of a season.
Three plays separated him from that exemption last season. This year's injury came in Game 8.
"If you take the accumulation of all those two years, he's missed 13 or 15 games over a full year," Fisher said. "All they can say is no."
Orlando Sentinel
UCF: Mirror image
ORLANDO — When UCF travels to play Tulsa, the Knights will square off against a team similar to the one it practices against.
UCF and Tulsa are similar on both sides of the ball, and on their arch this season. Both are undefeated in conference play and with losses to BCS teams.
"They're going to give you some trickeration," Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship said of UCF. "Different looks and some gimmick plays. … But they're not like other teams in this league that spread you out and (attack) with finesse. This is going to be a right-in-your-face kind of game."
Needed Body: DL Jose Jose, who got his weight down to 326, was back on the field last week after sitting out six games. One factor may have been coaches' desire to have quicker linemen on the field against spread offenses. Texas-El Paso used a run-heavy approach last week, as will Tulsa on Saturday.
Orlando Sentinel