Could the injury to Montrell prove to be a blessing in disguise?

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:

Twenty-five days after surgery for a torn meniscus, Novak Djokovic played at Wimbledon. Two weeks after that, he played in the championship match. That was July 11. Twenty-four days later, he won the gold medal match at the Olympics in Paris.

Contrast that with Zion Williamson, the oft-injured power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA. He played just 24 games his rookie season in 2019 after arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus. It has been one injury after another for Williamson during his short NBA career. He missed the entire 2021-22 season after foot surgery, played in only 29 games the next season.  

Back in 2013, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had his knee scoped a week before the start of training camp. Two days after camp began, Roethlisberger was off the crutches. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I think I could play Sunday if I had to.”

What those three examples tell you is that recovery varies from athlete to athlete. When there is very little post surgery swelling, range of motion should return quickly. Then the main issue should be pain tolerance. Djokovic and Roethlisberger obviously have a high tolerance. The joke around the NBA is that a hangmail can sideline Williamson for at least a week.

Florida running back Montrell Johnson Jr. is listed week-to-week after his arthroscopic surgery. In a perfect world, he’s back for the Miami game 26 days from now but we have no way to know how quickly he heals. If he’s a slow healer or if he has a low tolerance for pain, it could be mid-September before he returns to the lineup. 

There are two ways to look at Johnson’s injury. We could take the Chicken Little approach that the sky is falling. Or, we could take the Wilber Marshall blessing in disguise approach. In the spring of 1980, Charley Pell told Wilber Marshall he was moving him from tight end to outside linebacker. Wilber was upset and determined to transfer out, so he showed up at the Pells late at night. Charley was already in bed so he spent a couple hours with Ward, who convinced him to give linebacker a shot. When Charley woke at 5 a.m. for breakfast he told Ward he dreaded going to the office because he was afraid Wilber would be gone. Ward told him to go down the hall and look into son Carrick’s bedroom. Charley saw Wilber sleeping in the twin bed opposite Carrick and knew Wilber was going to be staying. The switch to linebacker was the best move possible for Wilber, who won the national defensive player of the year award in 1981 and 1982, then went on to have a Pro Bowl career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.

In the case of Montrell Johnson Jr., the blessing in disguise approach could be the answer if backups Treyaun Webb, Ja’Kobi Jackson, Jadan Baugh and KD Daniels take advantage of the extra reps they’re going to get the remainder of training camp. All four of these guys are long on talent but short on actual experience. Running the ball is the easy part. That pretty much comes down to doing what they’ve always done with the ball in their hands instinctively.

The tough part of playing running back in the Southeastern Conference isn’t the running part, it’s the pass blocking and route running. When it comes to pass blocking, it’s knowing how to take on an onrushing defensive lineman or reading a blitzer. There is a real skill to chipping a pass rusher, getting into a pass route and becoming a ready target if the QB needs to dump the ball off. There is a real skill to selling that you’re going to block or chip, then turning on the speed to get into a wheel route where you are a primary target.

If Treyaun Webb, Ja’Kobi Jackson, Jadan Baugh and KD Daniels take advantage of the extra reps they’ll be getting in practice, the Gators could be stronger than ever at running back, especially if Montrell is able to recover by the Miami game. Having five backs capable and ready to go is insurance for a 12-game regular season schedule and the possibility that the Gators will find their way into the postseason.

Georgia boots Rara Thomas off the team

Wide receiver Rara Thomas, arrested for felony child cruelty and two misdemeanor counts of family violence, has been dismissed from the Georgia football team by Kirby Smart. Is this a sign that perhaps Kirby has drawn a line in the dirt and threatened his team with bad consequences should they run afoul of the law? Or is it a case of this one was just so obviously rotten that Kirby had to make it seem as if he’s cracking down on a team that has turned trouble into an art form?

If you go with No. 2, odds are that you win the kewpie doll.

Among the run-ins with the law, still no word on how Kirby intends to punish running back Trevor Etienne, arrested for DUI and reckless driving shortly after arriving on campus in Athens back in January. Odds are that Etienne was made to run at least a couple of laps around the practice field and suspended for the final five minutes of the spring game.

Considering Georgia opens the season in Atlanta with Clemson and that Etienne’s older brother was a Clemson All-American, what are the chances Kirby will suspend Etienne for that one? Or anyone else that Kirby thinks is necessary to win game one on national television?

Kentucky gets probation, but avoids something worse

Apparently, one of the two best football seasons in University of Kentucky history could be wiped out. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has handed down a 2-year probation and fined Kentucky for using players who received impermissible benefits from spring 2021 until March 2022. The NCAA says 11 players had jobs at UK Health as patient transporters during that time frame, eight of which went on to play for Kentucky in the fall of 2021. Allegedly the players in question filled out inaccurate time cards for work they did not do. 

Kentucky went 10-3 in 2021, one of only two 10-win seasons in school history. If all 10 wins are vacated, then the Wildcats would officially have an 0-13 record for that season. Also in question is the 2022 season (UK went 7-6). How many of the players were on both the 2021 and 2022 seasons? It is possible that Kentucky could also be forced to vacate those seven wins as well.

While names were redacted in the NCAA notice of allegations to which Kentucky agreed and settled, there are reports from more than one outlet that two of the players involved were star running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. and wide receiver WanDale Robinson. Rodriguez ran for 1,379 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021 while Robinson caught 104 passes for 1.348 yards and seven touchdowns. Robinson went to the NFL after the 2021 season but Rodriguez came back in 2022. He did not play the first four games, perhaps as UK self-imposing punishment for working at UK Health. In the eight games he did play, Rodriguez ran for 904 yards and six touchdowns.

During the same time period the NCAA was investigating the UK football program, it investigated violations within the swimming program for excessive practice hours and not enough time off. Lars Jorgensen, the swim coach at the time, resigned in 2023 for alleged sexual assault.

Kentucky avoided the dreaded lack of institutional control tag because the NCAA said that no football coaches or staffers could have reasonably known what was going on.

More NCAA issues for Michigan football

Jim Harbaugh is gone and Big Blue has its national championship, but the NCAA continues to investigate. It turns out that Harbaugh successor Sherone Moore deleted text messages that involved himself and Connor Stalions, the staffer who was in charge of the elaborate sign stealing scheme. Moore could be hit with a show cause and possible suspension.

Harbaugh, Stalions and staffers Chris Partridge and Denard Robinson have all been accused of committing Level I violations by the NCAA. Moore could see the charges against him increased since he is deemed by the NCAA to be a repeat offender.

Michigan went 15-0 last year and won the national championship. Would the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, have the guts to slap the Wolverines with a multi-year probation that included vacating the 2023 national championship?

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Gator Bobby Finke salvaged a week of swimming for the United States men’s team at the Paris Olympics when he set the world record in the 1500 meter freestyle, his second consecutive gold medal in the event. Finke’s gold kept alive a streak that dates all the way back to 1904 in which the American men have won at least one individual gold medal.

Finke was brilliant, pushing the pace from the start and wearing down opponents from Italy and Ireland who just couldn’t keep up the first 1450 meters. The final 50 was vintage Finke. He made the turn, turned on the gas and was swimming against the clock the rest of the way, finishing in 14:30.67 to beat the world record by .35 seconds.

Finke’s gold also helped soothe the wound of the American men losing the gold in the 4X100 IM relay. Despite a brilliant butterfly leg by Gator Caeleb Dressel, anchor Hunter Armstrong couldn’t keep up with Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, who swam an astounding 45.92 on the final leg.

Given the Chinese history of better swimming through chemistry, there are certain to be raised eyebrows by Zhanle’s finish as well as his world record 100 free earlier in the week. Back in 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned substances. Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated reported that 11 of the 23 swimmers from the 2021 scandal were swimming in Paris, two of whom were on the winning 4X100 relay. Forde also reports that there were other positive tests that were kept secret and resulted in no penalties.

Given the International Olympic Committee’s defense of biological males competing as females in the boxing competition, we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised if no Chinese swimmer tests positive in the aftermath of the relay of swimming competition. Nor should we be surprised if there have been positive tests covered up.

I know I date myself here, but I’m old enough to remember the USSR beating the United States in basketball at the 1972 Munich Olympics. I don’t care how old I get, the cheating that went on to give the USSR the gold is something that will stick in my memory forever. I haven’t trusted the IOC since and there is nothing they will ever do to earn my trust again.