Grothe still wearing boot, will play Sunday

Three days after twisting his ankle in the fourth quarter of USF's 49-16 loss to Rutgers on Saturday, quarterback Matt Grothe was still wearing a protective boot on his injured left foot Tuesday afternoon but remained confident he'll play in Sunday's home finale against Connecticut.

"My leg's all right, will be all right come Sunday," said Grothe, who will not practice today and might be held out Wednesday as well. "I'm really looking forward to this game Sunday, prime time in the lights, ESPN, against a really good team."

Grothe hasn't missed a game in his three seasons as starter, starting the last 35 games for the Bulls. If he can't go, USF would turn to senior Grant Gregory, who has attempted just 15 passes this season and played the final drive in Saturday's loss. USF coach Jim Leavitt said Tuesday he wasn't concerned about the potential of Grothe not being available.

"I wouldn't want anybody else in there, other than Matt," Leavitt said. "Matt would go out there with one leg if he had to. He'd hobble through it. Matt wouldn't have come out of the game (Saturday) if it wasn't for me. I'm the one that said 'Get Grant in there.' There was no point in Matt being in there anymore. Matt would have stayed in.

"We'll keep him in a boot a few days. We'll keep him in a boot all the way up to pregame warmups if we need to. He'll go out and play. He's the guy. He's the guy who's going to play."

Leavitt said Grothe would not practice Tuesday and "probably" not Wednesday, leaving him two days of practice in preparation for Sunday. Grothe's mobility is especially important because he is USF's leading rusher, with 393 yards this season. If you take away yards lost on sacks, Grothe has gained 588 yards, nearly twice as much as any of USF's running backs.

Comments

Greg, you're at the practices and you speak with the players, do you see or are there any comments (good or bad) about the way USF sends in the plays? I'll clarify for everyone. Once the play is sent in by signal from sideline, the offense sets up and then looks to sideline for any changes from coaches (I assume from assistants upstairs where the view is best). With so little time to get that amended play in and for players to make necessry changes in their minds, I wonder if players are able to fully adjust to these changes with generally only a couple seconds left before ball is snapped? That's not a lot of time to think of assignment and to then concentrate about snap count. I'm wondering if that play-calling is the cause of some of the offensive penalties?

Oh Greg, did you dictate the comment above--like?

I can't see how getting used to the shoes would be a factor--they are just shoes, they wear them. But if they don't provide the same support or something as the others, that might be a factor.

Does UA make only one model of football shoe--that is, are the other schools using the same model we are?

[Bulliever]

I just think there has got to be a reason for all the bad injuries...How good are our conditioning coaches...If it is not the shoes then it is back to coaching....

I would believe it is more a shoe thing than BAD KARMA...

Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others.

Karma has nothing to do with injury issues that we have! Unless, all the guys that have these injuries have done bad things and it is now coming back to haunt them...

Forget the team meetings...Maybe we should just have an exorcism...

[Al]

TT's home field is Turf.

[Bull Daly]

The UA shoes dont seem to be bothering Texas Tech this year. Also, I dont think South Carolina or Maryland are having as many ankle injuries as USF. Maybe the USF players are not used to them yet??? Maybe USF will have less ankle injuries next season as their ankles should be used to the new shoes by then. I personally just think it has been bad karma for the USF players.

[G.A.]

I'm not saying it couldn't be the case. Nobody at USF is going to say anything to in any way link injuries to their official apparel provider. I've checked at the other UA teams -- there's only a handful -- and haven't encountered a similar slew of foot/ankle injuries. The very changing of shoe providers and that transition could create the opportunity for more injuries without anything being wrong with the new shoes -- just adjusting to a different feel.

We had the same discussions when USF got a new basketball court two years ago and there were like six season-ending knee injuries. Could the new court have contributed in some way? Sure, it's possible, but how do you prove such a thing? To point out the two things as being related or causal is to connect dots with a lot of presumption.

[Don G]

I heard that the USF trainer/s were asked about all the ankle injuries and any association with UA. Trainers said that it was just a coincidence and some years it's a rash of ACL injuries and sometimes it's ankles. I'm like most of you here: I've never seen this many ankle injuries in my recent memory. Who knows!?

[SRQ Steve]

Sounds like UA is paying GA.

[G.A.]

I'm pretty sure the UA shoes caused global warming as well. Definitely a contributing factor. And the economy? The government won't come out and say it, but it's because of UA shoes.

[Al]

Shoes can be a factor in ankle injuries.

Ankle injuries either hamper or totally sideline players.

Those players are replaced on the field by less skilled/less experienced players.

Well coached teams exploit those weaknesses.

The Bulls have had more ankle injuries this season than in the past.

The Bulls switched to UA shoes this season.

Chin straps or loose helmets do not cause ankle injuries.

Un-tucked jerseys look sloppy, but they do not cause ankle injuries.

Are the UA shoes totally responsible for the poor play of the Bulls? Absolutely not, but they may well have been a contributing factor.

[RR]

I don't know if this is true, but I've Greg Gregory designed the cleats the team is wearing.

Just sayin'.......

[ch]

Have we resorted to blaming shoes for our four losses..Get a grip, how about blaming it on our 4 play offensive arsenal or our lack of football intelligence on the field? Or what about our inability to stop a pass play? To me those are THE issues not what shoes we are wearing...

[Mack]

We've had equipment problems long before UnderArmour. Not everyone straps helmets on ocmpletely, the wrong cleats are on shoes a lot of the time especially in rain and shirts are never tucked in. This is a sign of a greater problem.

[Bulliever]

Greg,

Is there any team other than ours that have sustained so many ankle and knee injuries in one year...

It just seems like we had more than our share of injuries...

[Carl]

Shoes have nothing to do with Grothes ankle problem. He took some solid hits in the Rutgers game. In this case at least, it has more to do with the blocking, or lack there of.

Has anyone asked CJL about the shoes?

[Bulliever]

I can't figure out this injury thing either...Never seen anyting like it...

Definately thinking we are having some issues with the new Under Armor stuff...

Gators wear Nike and I believe they are really healthy too...No issues like what we have been dealing with this year...

[Mike Lakeland]

Get well, Matt. Let's eek out one more win so we can go to the St. Pete Bowl!

[Bull Daly]

Without Grothe, we are pretty much done. Imagine how good Grothe would have been this season if the team had a good running game and decent blocking??? Whatever the OL coach is teaching them, it is not working. Has not worked for the past couple years. I cant see how well the OL looked against NC State, then they seemed to come unglued once BIG EAST play started. It has to be coaching.

[Norb]

Chalko:

I am so touched that you care enough about what I say to personalize a response to me. Aren't you just the sweetest thing? :*

[Chalko]

Who really cares what you think Norb???

[Kyle]

That's the first bit of positive attitude I've heard out of any of them in what seems like weeks.

[Norb]

Wow, the blog entry has been up for over 1 hour & still no mention of Under Armor shoe issues. I know lots of people have given up on the team, people giving up on blog too? Grothe or no Grothe, I'm looking forward to seniors getting fired up for their last collegiate home game (No, St Pete bowl wouldn't count).