In the latest hit to Northwestern’s thinning tailback corps, head coach Randy Walker announced Monday that Kevin Lawrence will be out for the rest of the season – and possibly spring practice – with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
Lawrence injured the knee in the third quarter against Iowa on Saturday when a Hawkeyes defender forced him out of bounds on a 21-yard run. Walker said the junior will have surgery in the next couple of days.
The injury is the third a Wildcats tailback has sustained in the last week, leaving the program with only two options at the position for NU’s two remaining regular-season games.
“Just when you think we’ve had all the calamities possible, we face another one,” said Walker, who chuckled at his bad luck, almost unable to believe the string of bruises, fractures and tears.
“It’s especially devastating in that Kevin Lawrence is the guy who had been waiting in the wings as the backup tailback, really set behind Damien Anderson for a couple of years,” Walker said. “And now he has the chance to do the job and be the man at tailback taken away real quickly.”
Lawrence’s loss comes as Anderson is quietly receding into the background, leaving in his wake more confusion and speculation than concrete announcements about his future. Since announcing his injury last Monday, a shoulder problem that was previously identified as a separation and is now a confirmed dislocation, Anderson has made no official announcement about his plans.
Although it appears that the senior will have surgery on his shoulder – assuredly ending his season – Walker and a team spokesman said Monday that a date for the surgery has not yet been decided. The operation would leave Anderson sidelined should NU make a bowl game, but may allow him to recover in time for NFL training camps this winter.
“With Damien around, you think, well, it’s 2002 for a lot of these tailbacks,” Walker said. “But it has come a little sooner.”
Anderson injured his shoulder against Indiana, four days before third-string tailback Noah Herron was carted off the practice field with a season-ending stress fracture in his foot.
NU’s starting back is now sophomore Torri Stuckey – “a kid who’s found himself healthy at the right time,” Walker said.
Stuckey was hampered earlier in the season by an injured thumb, but he has recovered in the last few weeks. Against Iowa on Saturday, he carried the ball six times for 17 yards, stepping into the leading role in the fourth quarter after Lawrence left the game.
With good health now the team’s only prerequisite to play a major offensive role, NU’s rushing game could continue to deteriorate. After rushing for only 120 yards against Iowa, the Cats face the nation’s third-best rushing defense in Bowling Green this week.
NU may compensate for its poor ground game by lining up with five receivers and emphasizing the passing game. Another solution may be for quarterback Zak Kustok to become running back Zak Kustok.
“I’ve gotten to the point where, if I have to run the ball every play, I’ll do that,” Kustok said. “I’m desperate enough now that if I have to get hit on every play and that will help us win, I’ll do it.”
Kustok and Stuckey will also be aided by sophomore wide receiver Jason Wright, who will be backing him up. Wright started practicing as a rusher last Thursday.
But a similar move probably won’t be made with Ashton Aikens. Walker said he is hesitant to overwhelm the freshman, who has become a reliable receiver in his first year in the program.
Although injuries have forced the Cats into this difficult position down the stretch, Walker concedes that, from some points of view, the bad luck may be a good thing.
After all, his own college career took off when he filled in for an injured tailback at Miami (Ohio).
“I didn’t want him to get injured – I felt bad for him – but yippee!” Walker said. “Who are we kidding? I wanted the ball too.”
