The Michigan Wolverines clarified its athletic-injury policy Sunday following questions about the health of sophomore quarterback Shane Morris. From ESPN.com - College Football - Hoke: My choice to keep QB Morris in game
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Michigan coach Brady Hoke said the training staff was responsible for QB Shane Morris staying in the game
Hoke issued a statement late Sunday evening saying that Morris suffered a leg injury during the game and the training staff deemed him OK to play.
“The safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority,” Hoke said in a statement. “We generally never discuss the specifics of a student-athlete's medical care, but Shane Morris was removed from yesterday's game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest. He was evaluated by our experienced athletic trainers and team physicians, and we're confident proper medical decisions were made. The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play. Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition. The health and welfare of our student-athletes is and will continue to be a top priority.”
While yes, Morris was struggling with a leg issue during the second half, that wasn’t the only injury that had many up in arms following the 30-14 loss.
Morris suffered a leg injury at some point during the game, which had him hampered much of the second half. With about 12:32 remaining, Minnesota's Cameron Botticelli landed on Morris’ ankle and Morris was noticeably hobbled. So much so that the announcers on the broadcast were calling for him to be taken out of the game. However, he never went to the sidelines, trainers never went out to evaluate him and he continued the game despite a healthy substitute quarterback in Devin Gardner waiting on the sidelines.
The injured leg left Morris with limited mobility, which was evident when he couldn’t step into a pass two plays later. Then, the worst possible thing happened. Morris took a helmet-to-helmet hit by Minnesota's Theiren Cockran that left him wobbly. At one point, Morris collapsed into the arms of right tackle Ben Braden.
Morris motioned to the sideline that he was fine and stayed in one more play before finally coming out of the game.
But then it got worse. A few plays later, Gardner lost his helmet and Michigan subbed Morris back into the game for a handoff. Morris could barely even stand. And what would have happened if the ball had been fumbled or the play had been broken? The injury to Morris could have been catastrophic.
We don’t know whether Morris was concussed, but he was certainly injured — so injured even his teammates were motioning for trainers to come look at him — and it should have never gotten to that point. This was a losing effort. Morris had thrown for less than 50 yards and at the point he was injured, the Wolverines were down 23 points. Morris wasn’t going to all of a sudden lead a dramatic comeback on a bad drumstick and a possibly scrambled head.
It’s interesting that the Hoke statement doesn’t address a concussion or possible concussion since it’s the thing that concerned people the most. He could have even dismissed the notion that Morris was concussed, but he didn’t do that either.
Regardless of what Morris’ injury was, the coaching staff, training staff and university let Morris down. Hoke noted that it’s up to the trainers to determine whether a player is physically able to play, but how about just some common sense? How about just using your eyes and seeing that a player is in distress? That’s on the coach and the staff. Hoke can throw the training staff under the bus if he wants, but he needs to take responsibility for not doing anything to protect a player that everyone watching the game could see was in obvious distress.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Michigan coach Brady Hoke said the training staff was responsible for QB Shane Morris staying in the game
Brady Hoke 'confident proper medical decisions were made' for Shane Morris
Michigan coach Brady Hoke issued a statement Sunday night on why QB Shane Morris didn't immediately sit out Saturday's game against Minnesota after he was hit in the head.
Morris took a shot to his chin a few plays after he landed awkwardly while being taken down throwing a pass. Morris was limping after the first hit and after he got hit in the head he had a hard time standing up.
He stayed in the game for another play and then re-entered when backup QB Devin Gardner's helmet came off and he was forced to leave the game for a play. Hoke said Sunday he was confident proper medical decisions were made during the game regarding Morris' health.
“The safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority. We generally never discuss the specifics of a student-athlete's medical care, but Shane Morris was removed from yesterday’s game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest. He was evaluated by our experienced athletic trainers and team physicians, and we're confident proper medical decisions were made. The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play. Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition. The health and welfare of our student-athletes is and will continue to be a top priority.”
Morris left the game after taking the one snap for Gardner.
When he was asked about Morris having a possible concussion after Satuday's 30-14 loss, Hoke said he didn't know if Morris had a concussion and that if Morris didn't want to be in the game, he would have stayed down or gone to the sidelines. After the hit to his helmet, Morris gestured to the sidelines that he watned to stay in.
However, similar to what Hoke said about coaches not having influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition, the player shouldn't have any influence either.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Brady Hoke 'confident proper medical decisions were made' for Shane Morris
Did Hoke put player in game with concussion?
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After a Big 12 memo, Bill Snyder ditched his Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl pullover
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is a man of routine. When he finds a pullover to wear on the sidelines, he wears it for multiple games.
The Wildcats ended the 2013 season with a win over Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. For the first few games of 2014, Snyder was wearing the purple pullover windbreaker from the game with the bowl's logo on the back.
He wasn't wearing it Saturday for Kansas State's win over UTEP. He wore a white jacket. Why?
“Truth be known, I got a memo from the conference office that said whatever bowl was on the back is no longer a conference bowl,” Snyder said via KansasCity.com. “So I thought that if we cannot get that bowl game again, I am not going to advertise for them. That is a true story.”
The now-retired Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl pullover is not the only bowl jacket Snyder has regularly used. Before the Wildcats went to the game in 2013, he wore his Kansas State Cotton Bowl jacket regularly. The Wildcats went to the Cotton Bowl (and won) in the 2011 season. The picture on the right is from a game in 2013 at Oklahoma State and below is from Kansas State's trip to Baylor in 2012.
Is the white jacket now here to stay? Snyder's Wildcats looked impressive in a 30-point romp on Saturday.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - After a Big 12 memo, Bill Snyder ditched his Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl pullover
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Kansas fires Weis; Bowen is interim coach
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Charlie Weis fired at Kansas
After his team was shut out at home against Texas, Charlie Weis is out as Kansas' coach.
The school announced the decision on Sunday morning.
"I normally do not favor changing coaches mid-season," Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger in a statement. "But I believe we have talented coaches and players in this program, and I think this decision gives our players the best chance to begin making progress right away.
"I appreciate what Coach Weis did with several facets of our football program," Zenger continued. "But we have not made the on-the-field progress we believe we should. I believe new leadership gives our coaches and players the best chance to make a fresh start."
2014 was Weis' third season at Kansas. His teams had a combined record of 5-22. The Jayhaws won a solitary Big 12 conference game in his tenure, a win last season at home against West Virginia.
Clint Bowen, the team's defensive coordinator, will serve as the interim coach. The 2014 Jayhawks are 2-2 with wins over Southeastern Missouri and Central Michigan. The other loss was a blowout loss to Duke. After the game, a fan sent Zenger an email asking for Weis to be fired. The fan got a response with Zenger's name on it that said the school was aware of fans' frustration and was watching the situation with the football team.
Weis has a strong background as an assistant coach but his head coaching stints in college football haven't gone well. He was the head coach at Notre Dame from 2005-2009 and his teams were 6-6 in his final two seasons.
Before he was the coach at Notre Dame, Weis was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. He served as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 after he parted ways with Notre Dame and for Florida in 2011 before he took the Kansas job.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Charlie Weis fired at Kansas
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Kansas fires Weis for lack of on-field progress
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