They can strike at any moment.
Injuries have long been an unfortunate part of the game of football. They affect every team at every level of the sport throughout the season.
For the ASU football team, the devastating injuries began to hit during spring practice and they’ve continued to arise well into the 2011 regular season.
Senior cornerback Omar Bolden and senior wide receiver T.J. Simpson suffered ACL tears during the team’s spring drills. Then there was senior linebacker Brandon Magee who tore his Achilles while participating in a fall scrimmage.
The cornerback position took another hit when redshirt freshman Devan Spann was lost for the entire season due to a shoulder injury. The most recent injury to plague the Sun Devils (2-1) came against Illinois when sophomore defensive end Junior Onyeali tore his meniscus.
Of course, all of these blows have occurred while sophomore running back Deantre Lewis, yet another talented player, remains sidelined from a gunshot wound that occurred in February.
With these injuries, ASU is now forced to compete without several key members of its roster.
“It’s hard,” senior wide receiver Gerell Robinson said. “I’d be sugar coating and lying to you saying that wasn’t but it is. But the fact of the matter at the end of the day is we still got to come out here and compete and go with the guys that we have and make it happen.”
While ASU admits that dealing with the injuries has been a challenge, it realizes that all the team can do now is battle to overcome the losses.
“That just comes with the territory of football,” senior wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad said. “You’re going to lose a couple guys per year. You just got to rally together, and other guys got to step up to fill their void because those are some pretty good players.”
Stepping up is something the Sun Devils have handled well. ASU entered the season with a plethora of depth up and down the roster and its proven to be beneficial so far.
In Bolden, ASU lost an experienced cornerback who entered the season with seven interceptions and 21 pass breakups in his career. Although he’s unable to play, Bolden remains an integral part of the team from the sideline.
“It’s great,” senior linebacker Colin Parker said. “It’s something where he can do a lot more from a coaching standpoint. He can help out with the corners and the safeties in the meeting room. In the weight room and out at practice, he’s vocal. He’s motivating people.”
Junior cornerback Deveron Carr and sophomore cornerback Osahon Irabor have now stepped up in the secondary in Bolden’s absence.
Simpson’s injury left a void at wide receiver, but ASU has benefited from the stellar play of a variety of wide outs. Robinson and Pflugrad have each enjoyed strong starts to the season. Last week, Robinson grabbed eight catches for 88 yards and a touchdown against Illinois. Pflugrad posted a breakout performance with eight catches for 180 yards and pair of touchdowns versus Missouri the week before.
Magee’s career high 73 tackles last season placed him second on the team. In his place, Parker and senior linebacker Shelly Lyons and junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict make for a formidable trio.
Onyeali’s injury is yet another crucial loss for ASU. He was awarded as the Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year last season and displayed lighting quick speed and power on the field. Sophomore defensive end Davon Coleman now looks to be an ample replacement for his injured teammate.
“With Omar and Brandon we’ve had guys step up behind them and play well,” Parker said. “With Junior, it’s got to be the same thing. Junior’s going to be out. We’ve got ends that can play and they’ve just got to step up and fill their role.”
The 2011 season is just three weeks old, and ASU has already been dealt its fair share of debilitating injuries, and it knows that more injuries are likely to arise as the season progresses. After all, injuries are a significant part of football.
But the Sun Devils are adamant these injuries and any in the future can’t keep them down.
“That’s tough seeing you’re brothers go down especially when they’ve worked so hard their senior year,” Pflugrad said. “But at the same time that’s football, and guys got to step up because we’re not stopping as team when someone goes down.”
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
