The Injury: Addendum A

 This week, I heard some interesting statements coming out of Gale Gilbert.  You know, Garrett’s dad.  Garrett Gilbert, the Texas quarterback who recently transferred to SMU after a disappointing 2010 season and a 2011 season that ended in a medical redshirt?   For some reason, Garrett’s dad felt the need to throw digs at the Longhorns – unable to let bygones be.

"It was a bad team anyway," Gale said. "You could have put John Elway in at quarterback and it wasn't going to be pretty. I'm proud of the way Garrett handled himself. He showed great perseverance putting up with what he had to deal with here in Austin."

Uh…really Dad?  I’m glad you’re proud of your kid.  Too bad you’re not classy like your kid, who’s comment was:

"It was definitely a learning process down there, facing that adversity, but you have to go through that kind of stuff," Garrett told the Morning News. "Now that I'm here, I don't look back on it negatively; I look back on it and say, 'What can I learn from it?'"

What I find most irritating about the comments, is that I believe deep down that Mack Brown and Texas threw Gilbert a bone.   In the weeks after Gilbert was booed off the field (which I discuss in my post, The Open Letter) it was announced that he was undergoing surgery for an undisclosed shoulder injury, and subsequently, that he would be able to transfer with two years of eligibility due to the medical redshirt afforded by said surgery.

Look, injuries happen all the time.  I’m not stranger to them myself.  But nowhere can I find what exactly the injury was.  All I can find are vague references to an injury and surgery, such as this USA today article:



Jazz Hands!

"The injury appeared to occur during the Rice game," Texas Head Athletic Trainer for Football Kenny Boyd said. "He had symptoms, but was not affected in practice leading up to BYU. After that, it got progressively worse. We did an MRI on the shoulder last week, and after our medical staff looked at the results, we recommended that he have surgery. He spent some time talking with his family and they agreed that was the route they wanted to go."

Doctors examined the shoulder again last week and recommended surgery, Boyd said, adding Gilbert is expected to make a full recovery.  Gilbert said he opted for surgery now, "so I can get it taken care of, start my rehab and be healthy and ready to go for next year."

Right now you may be thinking “You ignorant girl!  They never disclose the specific injuries of college football players!”  Well, I used to think that too…but it doesn’t take much research to see that Texas Head Athletic Trainer Kenny Boyd, indeed does have a history of disclosing injury specifics:


2006, Texas vs. A&M, Colt McCoy:  McCoy was taken to Breckenridge Hospital where he spent more than three hours undergoing an evaluation that included an x-ray, MRI and a CAT Scan. Longhorns trainer Kenny Boyd said the injury was a severe pinched nerve in McCoy's neck.

2012, BRAND NEW Texas recruit from Penn State:  “Texas athletic trainer Kenny Boyd said Friday that Fera reported to training camp with a groin strain that he recently aggravated. Boyd says there is no timetable set for Fera to return to practice.”

2001, Big XII Championship, Chris Simms:  “Simms completed nine of 17 for 130 yards before, according to Texas Trainer Kenny Boyd, he dislocated a finger on his left hand in the first half after throwing three interceptions.”

2011, Brown and Bergeron:  “Malcolm Brown, the team's leading rusher, has missed the last two games with turf toe. Bergeron, who had back-to-back 100-yard games, missed the Missouri game with a hamstring injury, according to Boyd.”

2011, Texas vs. Missouri, Fozzy Whittaker:  “Senior running back Fozzy Whittaker sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee at Missouri on Saturday, will undergo surgery and be out for the season, Texas Head Athletic Trainer for Football Kenny Boyd confirmed on Sunday.”

Sooo....look.  I fully believe that Gilbert had shoulder surgery.  From what I understand, he had some shoulder problems in high school, as well.  But!  I can’t get over the timing of the injury, the surgery and the transfer, and there’s probably very little that will convince me that Texas & Mack Brown didn't work a little something out to facilitate a transfer with a redshirt year of eligibility for Garrett.
  

Do I think it was the right thing to do?  ABSOLUTELY!  Mack, Major and Harsin clearly did the kid no favors.   I’ve highly vocalized that I believe the coaches put him in a no win situation and threw him under the bus by not giving him the tools he needed to do his job, and not having the guts to pull him when it wasn’t working out.

Do I think that Elder Gilbert’s comments are on target?  Absolutely.  Barring the extreme hyperbole that Elway would fail as quarterback of that same team, I absolutely agree that 2010 team and that 2010 season were a huge big ‘ol mess.  But I will also throw it out there that Gilbert had a 59% completion rating in the 2010 season when he threw 17 interceptions against his 10 touchdowns.  

Just. Sayin’.  Daddy Gilbert’s comments were unnecessary and a little bit of a slap in the face to Mack Brown and the Texas program who many (including myself) believe did his son a solid by facilitating the medical redshirt. 

I will absolutely be rooting for Garrett when football season rolls around (IN TWO WEEKS!!!) - I love the SMU program and wish their new quarterback great success for the next two years.

I think Gale would be wise to just put Austin behind him,  and keep it classy the way his son, Mack Brown and the Texas Program have.