Gregory: Don't worry about Grothe injury

USF quarterback Matt Grothe was held out of practice for the second straight day with a hip injury, but offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said the injury isn't anything severe enough to keep the sophomore from playing in the Bulls' season opener against Division I-AA Elon in 10 days.

"If we were playing a game tomorrow, he'd be lining up and playing," said Gregory, who said Grothe could return to quarterback as early as Thursday. "I guarantee you, he'd play. It's just a precautionary thing. Any time anybody's got a little tweak of a muscle, especially when you're tired during two-a-days, you've got to be a little bit careful."

USF moved former quarterback Carlton Hill back to his old position Thursday, but coach Jim Leavitt said the shift was unrelated to Grothe's injury. Hill has already lined up at safety and receiver this fall, and Gregory said he would not see action at quarterback in Wednesday night's scrimmage.

"We're trying to find a place for him," Gregory said. "We don't know what's going to happen with him right now. We've got to find a position for him and try to develop him. We've got to get him stable at one position."

Gregory said he's confident in Grothe's top backup, junior Grant Gregory, his son, who has not thrown a pass in a game since 2003 but has been in USF's system for two years.

"I think Grant's had a very good preseason," Coach Gregory said. "I think our players are comfortable with him. He knows our offense, pretty much inside and out. He hasn't played in a game, so you don't know how he's going to play. But last year, Matt hadn't played in a game and we didn't know how Matt was going to play. ... I think we're solid at 1 and 2."

Gregory shed some light on Grothe's injury, calling it "a bruise ... he got hit right as he was throwing right there (motioning to hip). For a quarterback to get a hip pointer, it's hard to torque and throw. You don't want to pull something by throwing the wrong way."

-- Leavitt also said that true freshman receiver Dontavia Bogan has shown enough to be running with the No. 2 receivers, meaning he would likely play this season rather than redshirting. "He's making a real big move," Leavitt said.

-- Also, defensive tackle Terrell McClain, considered a top candidate to play as a true freshman entering fall drills, has lingering issues with the NCAA Clearinghouse. "They needed more paperwork," Leavitt said. "I think it's a formality." Players have a 14-day window to practice without being cleared, and that window has ended for McClain, so he'll watch practice as a spectator until he's cleared. A decision is expected sometime next week.

Comments

[Adam]

You're my hero Greg.

[Griggsy]

HURRICANE GRIGGSY UPDATE:
1632hrs//NHC.NOAA.GOV

AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT RECORDED NEAR-LEVEL 5 FORCE WINDS AS HURRICANE GRIGGSY REPORTEDLY SHOWED GUSTS LIKENED TO A "SIGH OF RELIEF". GRIGGSY IS ASSESSED AS LIKELY TO DISSIPATE AS THE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES, ALEVING CONCERNS THAT GRIGGSY WOULD BE DOWNGRADED TO THE STATE OF DEPRESSION.

[Jason]

In a Grothe-related note, Grothe's photo is currently on the front page, main feature of ESPN.com, listed as one of four Heisman candidates in the Big East.

[Dave]

I guess Gregory doesn't read this blog-it's our job to worry about Grothe.

[RR]

Telling a USF fan not to worry about a Grothe injury is somewhat akin to telling Michael Vick not to worry about one of his dogs that didn't win a fight.

It just isn't going to happen.

[Al]

I don't worry about Matt or any of the other players, that's the coaches job.

It's a game, it's entertainment, if the producer, director, and the actors don't put on a good show then there are other things I'll spend my entertainment dollars on.

[Stephen]

HMMMMM, don't worry about Grothe, yet Hill moves back to QB? I am getting mixed signals here. Sounds like a snow job to me.

[G.A.]

HMMMMMM is right. It'd be an amazing coincidence. I think USF's coaches are trying to downplay the Grothe injury, but it's naive to think one didn't have anything to do with the other. It's probably more important to have a fourth viable quarterback than it is to have a 13th viable receiver.

[cee]

i agree. the USF coaching staff is trying to deceive the media due to their own mishandling of grothe in practice. now he is hurt and we have to create more depth at QB. another thing that concerns me is this greg gregory character. he came over from some MAC school and all of a sudden he thinks he's BCS material-- worst of all, he brings over his son as a QB.. how do you expect to not play favorites when your own offspring is out there on the field? kinda fishy if you ask me.

[G.A.]

Cee, how many assistants on USF's staff had BCS experience when Gregory came on two years ago?

[cee]

that's a great question. Now that we are a BCS program, we need to keep our standards as such-- which means we need to be recruiting BCS players (not 1 or 2 stars that fail to qualify academically or legally) and hiring BCS coaches (much like UM and FSU have this past offseason). anything less will have us losing to programs like kansas on a continual basis.

[Stephen]

This will be interesting to watch and we shall see if Cee is right about Leavitt.

Grothe, from everything I have read about hip pointers, will need at least two weeks off. If he plays against Elon and gets hurt, Cee would be right.

[Steve]

Do we want Grothe's first snap of the season to be under the lights at Jorda Hare? I think he should play against Elon, but the game plan should include lots of running from Mike Ford and company. No option plays or running up the middle for Grothe.

[Stephen]

If we think we are just going to be able to run the ball straight ahead and beat Elon, I am not too sure about that. Mike Ford may be great, but we have a lot of injured or hobble offensive lineman. We will need a QB that can run the offense and make plays. An injured MG is not a good thing to put out there.

[Steve Stacy]

Why is everybody on this blog named Steve?
Anyway...yes, Steve/Stephen; we should "beat the dog," as CJL would say, out of the Elon Phoenix/Phoenixes/Phoenii(?) without Grothe in the game. I think I could start at QB and we'd still win. And just an aside to anyone (except Cee) who may be monitoring the blog: I do still have 4 years of eligibility left, unless that awesome mud game I had on the sand volleyball court behind Iota counts.

WAR PELICAN!

[Dave]

The volleyball court near Iota is properly referred to as a litterbox. Beta courts are where it's at!

Anyways, cee, Grant Gregory was a heck of a high school QB- big and strong-armed. Plus, Greg Gregory has a lot of experience- everyone has to start somewhere. I think he'll do better than Rod Smith (heck, I would do better than Rod Smith) and he could either turn into a fixture at OC or groom Simmonds for if/when he gets a HC opportunity (almost a given in my mind, given all of his connections).