USC coaches and fans are holding their breath, waiting to hear the status of 2012 Biletnikoff Award winner Marqise Lee. The All-American USC wideout left practice on Friday in a sling, after slamming hard into the ground diving after a deep pass in Friday’s practice.
USC has still not updated the status of their star player, and this has many concerned.
Following practice, all head coach Lane Kiffin would say is that “I saw them looking at him, and then I had to get going to the rest of our players just like we would in a game.”
“It was a really deep ball, and I was getting ready for the next play,” Kiffin said,“Somebody has to step up. [Freshman] Darreus Rogers has looked good, next guy up.”
Teammates were publicly hopeful that Lee would not miss much time.
“Obviously, your heart stops for a second,” quarterback Cody Kessler, who threw the deep ball on which Lee was injured, said. “But Marqise is a tough guy. He’ll be fine.”
Lee, who is in the pre-season conversation as a Heisman Trophy candidate and is expected to be a top 10 pick in the 2014 NFL draft, is key to the Trojans offence. This is especially true as USC looks to find a replacement for last year’s starting quarterback, Matt Barkley.
The Trojans are already thin at wide receiver as Robert Woods is now in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, George Farmer tore his ACL in April and is out for the season, and incoming four-star freshman recruit Steven Mitchell also tore knee ligaments and is also out for the year.
Lee had 118 receptions for 1,721 yards and 14 touchdowns last year as a sophomore. In addition to winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver, he was also named the Pac-12 offensive player of the year. He holds numerous school records at USC for a wide receiver despite only playing two years at the school.
In addition to being a star wideout, Lee also returns punts for the Trojans and this injury also threatens to hurt the team’s special teams’ play.
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