Fall camps continue to roll on, but thankfully the season is growing ever-closer. Let’s take a look at what the biggest happenings from practices across the country on Monday, where injuries seemed to be a common theme.
Fall college football camp roundup: Injuries abound
Some key contributors picked up injuries on Monday. Here’s a roundup of what happened across the country at fall camps.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
BYU
The Cougars were dealt a tough card on Monday when starting cornerback Jordan Johnson tore his ACL, which will keep him out for the entire 2013 season.
It’s a tough blow for a defense that already was coping with significant turnover among its starting unit, and the Cougars didn’t have a lot of proven depth at the cornerback spot to begin with. Johnson has 25 games’ worth of experience at BYU, and he was an All-Independent first team selection by Phil Steele in 2012.
Cal
Safety Avery Sebastian gave everyone a big scare on Monday night, laying motionless on the field at practice for close to 20 minutes before being taken to the hospital. Reports seemed to indicate that he suffered a head injury after hitting running back Jeffrey Copprich, but details are still pretty thin. Thankfully, though, it sounds like the whole episode looked scarier than it really was.
Texas
The Longhorns also went down a man on Monday, losing sophomore wideout Marcus Johnson to an undisclosed injury. The Texas wide receiving corps is already dinged up, so Longhorn fans should hope that this injury doesn’t keep him on the shelf too long:
With junior wide receiver Jaxon Shipley and senior wide receiver Mike Davis both limited because of pre-camp injuries, Johnson was receiving first-team reps and had appeared to earn the trust of junior quarterback David Ash, who consistently targeted Johnson in open practices on Friday and Saturday.
More than that, Johnson is one of the only true outside wide receivers on the team with Davis, Shipley, and sophomore Kendall Sanders all more effective from the slot. As a result, potentially losing Johnson for any serious length of time hurts depth a position that is already thin.
Florida
The Gators, meanwhile, are actually getting players back from injury! Offensive linemen Max Garcia and Trip Thurman were cleared to return to practice from back and shoulder injuries, respectively. The Florida offense will lean heavily on the running game this year, so a full stable of offensive linemen would be a big help.
Texas A&M
In non-Manziel autograph related news, it sounds like the Aggies got a real weapon on their hands in freshman wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, who is already running with the ones in fall camp. Seals-Jones was the top-rated athlete in the 2013 recruiting class, and I'm sure defensive coordinators across the SEC are looking forward to having to defend another aspect of the Texas A&M offense. Kevin Sumlin smiles knowingly.
UCLA
The Bruins were poppin’ pads on Monday night, but it sounds like they got a bit carried away:
The Bruins’ hot practice on Monday evening didn’t refer to the weather as much as the intensity. Unfortunately, that intensity boiled over and got Mora red hot as well. The second practice of Monday’s two-a-day started out as a great session with some intense live goal line situations. Unfortunately, the competition and live hitting led to some intense skirmishes and a fight between two players that had an irate Mora end drills early and put the team through sprints for 30 minutes. Afterward, the coach was calmer about the events, noting that the team has to learn to maintain composure and stay disciplined. He added there wouldn’t be any disciplinary actions directed at the two players but did say that he hoped this was a learning moment for the team and a chance for more leadership to develop on the squad.
Arizona
Quarterback Jesse Scroggins was back at practice on Monday after sitting out both sessions on Saturday with concussion-like symptoms. Scroggins, a USC transfer, is probably behind B.J. Denker for the starting job, but from the sounds of things, the competition isn't a foregone conclusion.
More from SB Nation:
See More:
