I just wanted to get a quick note up here about exactly what we know and don’t know about senior quarterback Chris Turner’s left knee injury after today’s media availability.
During Tuesday afternoon’s press conference, coach Ralph Friedgen declared Turner still questionable for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech but didnt get too specific. He really focused on back-up Jamarr Robinson and whether the team might use true freshman Danny O’Brien at some point if Turner can’t go.
In short, the answer is absolutely (even though O’Brien would prefer to redshirt and save a year of eligibility if possible).
Then, of course, the media horde turned to the players to get their take on whether Turner might be fit to make his 34th career appearance on Saturday.
Defensive tackle Travis Ivey said he had just seen Turner in the whirlpool and he was doing everything in his power to get healthy.
Adrian Cannon added this to his assertion that Turner would be ready to go: “He’s encouraging everybody and being Chris. That’s a good sign.”
In the evening, offensive coordinator James Franklin revealed that Turner still hasn’t practiced this week. He said he’d like to make a decision by Thursday and that the team is preparing as if Robinson will get his first career start a week after throwing his first career pass.
Basically, he said that he’s playing to win and will use whatever quarterback or quarterbacks it takes to do it. But he stopped short of guaranteeing Turner will definitely start if he does try to play through what seems to be a pretty painful injury: “I don’t know because he didn’t practice today. We’ll see what happens. When he comes back to practice, if he gives us the best chance to win, it’ll be Chris Turner.”
Franklin also offered this insight into Turner’s ability to cope with his first major injury in his college career: “We all know Chris,” Franklin said. “He’s pretty level-headed. He’s pretty even-keeled. He doesn’t get real high, doesn’t get real low. And he’s taken it about as well as he’s taken everything else.”
The bottom line is that right now the prognosis doesn’t sound great for Turner, who left in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at N.C. State and did not return. The team is ready to move forward this week and put its fate in a pair of unproven quarterbacks’ hands if that’s what it takes. That means Saturday might be an adventure for the Terps in front of a sold-out Byrd Stadium crowd. That also sounds like good news for the Hokie defense.
Check back for updates as the week progresses.
Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Team columnist. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.