Mario Cristobal Provides Injury Updates Ahead of Utah Matchup
Sticking with the tradition we've seen all season, the Ducks are turning their attention away from their victory over Washington State and are now solely focused on the task at hand with a road trip to Salt Lake City on the schedule this week.
Health has been a major hurdle for this team throughout the season, losing players to injury for various stretches and looking to gel on both sides of the ball as the schedules heats up here in November. With the Utes on deck, Oregon Head Coach Mario Cristobal provided the latest injury updates on his team as another week of preparation begins.
The biggest update everyone is looking for is starting wide receiver Johnny Johnson III. He was injured in the Washington State game and was able to walk off the field on his own power and limping before being carted to the locker room favoring his right side. He did not return to play on Saturday.
"Johnny Johnson we’re evaluating, but we’re hopeful," Cristobal said.
Some other big names to keep close tabs on are linebacker Jackson LaDuke and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson. LaDuke suffered a significant leg injury prior to the season and Powers-Johnson is working his way back from an ankle injury sustained against UCLA.
"Jackson LaDuke is ready to play. Jackson Powers-Johnson also ready to play," he said. The freshmen were both fully dressed for last week's game but didn't see any snaps against the Cougars. "Both those guys were held back but they were right on the cusp and they were ready to play in an emergency."
Staying in the linebackers corps, true freshman Keith Brown recorded one tackle but didn't see extended play time on Saturday. Fortunately for the Ducks it doesn't appear that he'll miss time.
"He tweaked something but it doesn’t seem to be major. We expect him to be back."
Tight end DJ Johnson was not dressed for the last game but it sounds like he's trending in the right direction.
"DJ Johnson we’re still evaluating, but he looks like he’s gonna be good to go," Cristobal said.
Running back Seven McGee was down on the field for a short time after getting shaken up on a kickoff on Saturday, but he was able to jog off the field under his own power and is "fine" according to Cristobal.
Another player that didn't dress on Saturday was freshman quarterback Robby Ashford.
"Robby is healthy," Cristobal said. "He hurt something mildly in practice last week but he’s good to go as well."
All in all, the Ducks are pretty healthy heading into one of their biggest games of the year with their eyes on the Pac-12 championship and beyond.
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