TrojanWire

Sedrick Ellis Busts a Knee

1–2 minutes

September 12, 2006

The Trojans early-season injury issues continued on Monday, as Sedrick Ellis left practice early after his knee locked up. Sedrick underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday, and is expected to miss ‘several weeks’ — which at the very least means the Trojans’ home opener against Nebraska this Saturday, and their first two Pac-10 games, on the road against Arizona and Washington State.

Ellis will be replaced by Fili Moala, the 6’4″ 300 pound sophomore from Buena Park, California. And at least one Trojan defender doesn’t expect it to slow things up much:

“Nobody’s that worried,” linebacker Dallas Sartz said regarding the loss of Ellis. “I wouldn’t see a dropoff.”

We wish could be so optimistic — but injuries to any starters suck. Here’s hoping Sedrick makes a full recovery sooner than later.

Another Man Down — Sedrick Ellis [The Fanhouse]

5 responses to “Sedrick Ellis Busts a Knee”

USC Trojan

September 13, 2006 at 6:35 am

wtf is going on with these injuries?? I am beginning to think it has not much to do with the conditioning of the athletes, but the kind of training and practices they go through.

And if that is truly the case, then maybe it is time to think hard about how heavy the practices are? After all, we are not competing with ourselves are we? It may be the most competitive to play against our own team, but what counts is Saturdays.

And if it is athletes who are having a problem, it is just an awful lot of them going through some injury or the other and it is quite concerning!

Thankfully, and hopefully, the freshmen and backups seem to be able to step up and make plays. But how far will that go?? How long will that last?

Reply
Mos

September 13, 2006 at 10:37 am

He reportedly hurt it during a walk-through drill. Hardly a “heavy” part of practice.

I think we must have mistakenly hired Notre Dame’s grounds keeper. This grass is killing us!

Reply
Tommy Trojan

September 13, 2006 at 1:32 pm

I would say that losing Sed is big. I think he was a big part of the defense, maybe the most vital. He plugged the middle and has always made big plays on a defensive line full of great players. I know Lo Jack is great and everyone is big on him, but I think Sed (like Shaun Cody before him) is one of the big reasons the defense was so solid.

That being said, I also believe in the mantra “Practice how you play.” I think that is one of the reasons USC is so good is because we are conditioned to play ALL four qtrs, which surprisingly most teams are not.

Reply
USC Trojan

September 13, 2006 at 3:09 pm

@Mos: Yea, but the walkthrough may be the last straw that broke the camel’s back …

Reply
Mel

September 17, 2006 at 8:05 pm

We’re doing just fine, although the injury to the other guy hurts a bit. What really upset me was when the rankings first came out, and Notre Damned was ahead of SC. I had to ask myself how much the voters had to drink, the night before.

Reply