11-30-2005, 12:43 AM
Heres the article from the Courier Journal:
Gator Bowl gets Cards - without QB Brohm
Torn ACL knocks out sophomore star
[b]By Eric Crawford[/b]
[email=ecrawford@courier-journal.com]ecrawford@courier-journal.com[/email]
The Courier-Journal
The University of Louisville football team is in the Gator Bowl, but sophomore quarterback Brian Brohm is out for the season.
The Cardinals were left with conflicting emotions yesterday after receiving a bid to their first New Year's bowl since their historic 1991 Fiesta Bowl victory.
The sophomore will undergo surgery in the next two weeks and will face six to nine months of rehabilitation that won't allow him to return to practice until preseason workouts begin next August.
"We're obviously disappointed in losing Brian for the year," U of L head coach Bobby Petrino said. "Brian was having a great season and he was a big part of our success. He's a tremendous competitor."
The Cardinals will play at Connecticut in their regular season finale and in the bowl game behind redshirt freshman quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who came to U of L as a walk-on from Paducah Tilghman.
Petrino also didn't close the door on taking a look at junior Michael Bush as a potential quarterback for the Jan. 2 game in Jacksonville, Fla., which will pit the No. 16-ranked Cardinals against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
Bush, a standout running back, came to U of L as a quarterback out of Male High School but moved to tailback after his freshman season. He has been sidelined by a foot injury for three weeks.
U of L trainer Dwayne Treolo said he expects Brohm to make a full recovery and noted that two of the NFL's top 10 rushers -- Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James and Buffalo running back Willis McGahee -- have overcome ACL injuries.
Treolo said recovery prospects are even better for quarterbacks, particularly in Brohm's case, because of his role as a strict drop-back passer.
"It's still a major injury, but the prognosis of returning to full speed is really good," Treolo said. " ... He'll come back just fine. I've seen several dozen of these over 20-something years. It's pretty much second nature now to get these guys back."
Brohm won't be alone during his rehab process. Wide receiver Broderick Clark and linebacker Matt Sanders also are working their way back from ACL surgeries.
Treolo said Brohm's ligament is torn down the middle, adding, "it's gone." The ACL is the primary ligament that restricts forward motion of the shin bone.
Treolo said the plan is for Louisville orthopedic surgeon David Caborn, working with U of L team doctor Raymond Shea, to perform the surgery, cleaning out the torn ligament and replacing it with one from a cadaver. He said Brohm and his parents will meet with doctors today to discuss techniques.
Brohm's father, Oscar Brohm, said Shea told them Saturday night that he suspected a torn ligament.
"Obviously, (Brian) was pretty upset Saturday night," Oscar Brohm said. "But he seems to be pretty positive. ... He said it was something he'll get fixed, work hard and get back and ready to go."
Brohm was wearing a protective brace on his left knee -- the knee that is exposed when the right-hander is throwing.
Treolo said the quarterback actually had been fitted for a brace for the right knee, "in case he needed it, and it was back in his locker. But it's just something nobody has done, run around in two braces as a quarterback."
Oscar Brohm said his son told him that his cleat got caught in the turf as he was thrown to the ground at the end of a third-quarter run in the Syracuse game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
"The whole game he was getting creamed," Oscar Brohm said. "He was getting beat up, so when he ran out on that one, that actually was one of the least-hardest hits he took."
Brian Brohm threw for 2,883 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five interceptions this season. He ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency.
"We talked, and I told him he had a great year," Oscar Brohm said. "He played 10 games and is the second-leading passer in the country.
"The only guy ahead of him is Drew Olson (of UCLA). Vince Young (of Texas) is third, Brady Quinn (of Notre Dame) is fourth and Matt Leinart (of USC) is fifth, so he's ahead of some pretty good guys."
Now U of L will have to find a way to win without him. Cantwell has thrown only 11 passes all season, though Petrino and his teammates voiced confidence in his ability yesterday.
"Hunter is very capable of throwing the football and putting it on the receivers' hands," Petrino said. "He's got a great release and he's very accurate.
"We've just got to make sure he does all the other things well, get him protected. And we're going to have to run the ball if he's the quarterback, there's no question about it."
It will be easier to do that if Bush returns to the lineup, and Petrino hopes to get some idea of the big running back's status when Bush attempts to practice today.
U of L senior defensive end Elvis Dumervil said the rest of the team is ready to make up for Brohm's absence.
"Every time somebody has gotten hurt this season, this team has responded," Dumervil said. "And I think we'll do that again.
"... Honestly, I think we still have a good offense, and I don't think anything is going to change. We lost a key player, but everyone else will have to step up. That's the approach we always take."
Staff writer Jody Demling contributed to this report.
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Gator Bowl gets Cards - without QB Brohm
Torn ACL knocks out sophomore star
[b]By Eric Crawford[/b]
[email=ecrawford@courier-journal.com]ecrawford@courier-journal.com[/email]
The Courier-Journal
The University of Louisville football team is in the Gator Bowl, but sophomore quarterback Brian Brohm is out for the season.
The Cardinals were left with conflicting emotions yesterday after receiving a bid to their first New Year's bowl since their historic 1991 Fiesta Bowl victory.
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Hours after accepting the invitation, the program confirmed that Brohm suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, along with a torn meniscus and a bone bruise, in Saturday's win over Syracuse. ![[Image: advert_top_white.gif]](http://www.courier-journal.com/framework/advert_top_white.gif){kind=link}
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The sophomore will undergo surgery in the next two weeks and will face six to nine months of rehabilitation that won't allow him to return to practice until preseason workouts begin next August.
"We're obviously disappointed in losing Brian for the year," U of L head coach Bobby Petrino said. "Brian was having a great season and he was a big part of our success. He's a tremendous competitor."
The Cardinals will play at Connecticut in their regular season finale and in the bowl game behind redshirt freshman quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who came to U of L as a walk-on from Paducah Tilghman.
Petrino also didn't close the door on taking a look at junior Michael Bush as a potential quarterback for the Jan. 2 game in Jacksonville, Fla., which will pit the No. 16-ranked Cardinals against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
Bush, a standout running back, came to U of L as a quarterback out of Male High School but moved to tailback after his freshman season. He has been sidelined by a foot injury for three weeks.
U of L trainer Dwayne Treolo said he expects Brohm to make a full recovery and noted that two of the NFL's top 10 rushers -- Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James and Buffalo running back Willis McGahee -- have overcome ACL injuries.
Treolo said recovery prospects are even better for quarterbacks, particularly in Brohm's case, because of his role as a strict drop-back passer.
"It's still a major injury, but the prognosis of returning to full speed is really good," Treolo said. " ... He'll come back just fine. I've seen several dozen of these over 20-something years. It's pretty much second nature now to get these guys back."
Brohm won't be alone during his rehab process. Wide receiver Broderick Clark and linebacker Matt Sanders also are working their way back from ACL surgeries.
Treolo said Brohm's ligament is torn down the middle, adding, "it's gone." The ACL is the primary ligament that restricts forward motion of the shin bone.
Treolo said the plan is for Louisville orthopedic surgeon David Caborn, working with U of L team doctor Raymond Shea, to perform the surgery, cleaning out the torn ligament and replacing it with one from a cadaver. He said Brohm and his parents will meet with doctors today to discuss techniques.
Brohm's father, Oscar Brohm, said Shea told them Saturday night that he suspected a torn ligament.
"Obviously, (Brian) was pretty upset Saturday night," Oscar Brohm said. "But he seems to be pretty positive. ... He said it was something he'll get fixed, work hard and get back and ready to go."
Brohm was wearing a protective brace on his left knee -- the knee that is exposed when the right-hander is throwing.
Treolo said the quarterback actually had been fitted for a brace for the right knee, "in case he needed it, and it was back in his locker. But it's just something nobody has done, run around in two braces as a quarterback."
Oscar Brohm said his son told him that his cleat got caught in the turf as he was thrown to the ground at the end of a third-quarter run in the Syracuse game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
"The whole game he was getting creamed," Oscar Brohm said. "He was getting beat up, so when he ran out on that one, that actually was one of the least-hardest hits he took."
Brian Brohm threw for 2,883 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five interceptions this season. He ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency.
"We talked, and I told him he had a great year," Oscar Brohm said. "He played 10 games and is the second-leading passer in the country.
"The only guy ahead of him is Drew Olson (of UCLA). Vince Young (of Texas) is third, Brady Quinn (of Notre Dame) is fourth and Matt Leinart (of USC) is fifth, so he's ahead of some pretty good guys."
Now U of L will have to find a way to win without him. Cantwell has thrown only 11 passes all season, though Petrino and his teammates voiced confidence in his ability yesterday.
"Hunter is very capable of throwing the football and putting it on the receivers' hands," Petrino said. "He's got a great release and he's very accurate.
"We've just got to make sure he does all the other things well, get him protected. And we're going to have to run the ball if he's the quarterback, there's no question about it."
It will be easier to do that if Bush returns to the lineup, and Petrino hopes to get some idea of the big running back's status when Bush attempts to practice today.
U of L senior defensive end Elvis Dumervil said the rest of the team is ready to make up for Brohm's absence.
"Every time somebody has gotten hurt this season, this team has responded," Dumervil said. "And I think we'll do that again.
"... Honestly, I think we still have a good offense, and I don't think anything is going to change. We lost a key player, but everyone else will have to step up. That's the approach we always take."
Staff writer Jody Demling contributed to this report.
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