"Hey, ref! That should be a penalty kick!" (AP photo)
For 3 1/2 hours Monday, we all played the prognosis game: “If you break your ankle on Feb. 19, can you play college football in the Georgia Dome against Boise State on the night of Sept. 3?”
Moot point now. Aaron Murray’s ankle is sprained, not broken. Bulldog Nation can rest, if not easy, then certainly easier.
And we saw, not for the first time and I’m guessing not for the last, the viral power of the Internet and social media. You’ll recall the feeding frenzy over Tweeted news that Joe Cox would miss the South Carolina game in 2009. (He didn’t.) We’ll never forget the thrill-ride that was Georgia’s search for a defensive coordinator. (For late tuners-in, the Bulldogs hired Todd Grantham.) Now this.
Monday’s original report, offered by the UGA student newspaper The Red and Black, was that “team sources” were saying Murray had broken his ankle in two places. Turns out it wasn’t broken in even one place. (Rule of thumb: Not being broken is better than being broken, especially if you’re the starting quarterback of a team that just went 6-7 and has to face Boise State and South Carolina in September.)
Turns out those 3 1/2 hours of teeth-gnashing were for naught. And apparently it turns out that European brand of football — we call it “soccer” — might be tougher than some red-blooded Americans care to admit.
On Nov. 13 Aaron Murray stood up to the pummeling, some of it within the rules, administered by Auburn’s massive meanie Nick Fairley and kept coming back. On Feb. 19 a pickup soccer game on campus left him on crutches. Just sayin’.
By Mark Bradley
183 comments Add your comment
TommyJack
February 22nd, 2011
9:17 am
Glad it’s not bad. Want the under-performing dawgs to be at full strength.
Eisendawg
February 22nd, 2011
9:17 am
Big deal! Murray playing soccer is like Chipper Jones going to the mailbox.
WDE
February 22nd, 2011
9:21 am
This just shows you how meaningless UGA’s consecutive “Dream Teams” have been. You have absolutely no depth at QB. Yes, I understand Mett got kicked off the team, but that shouldn’t leave you as thin as you are.
Maybe if you consistently recruited and signed gameday quarterbacks (not Logan Gray the wideout, and not getting your only two prospects in the same year and redshirting them both) you wouldn’t be so worried about a game of soccer.
And before you say it, losing your starting QB to injury will screw up ANY team. But when you’re only alternatives are Hutson Mason the last-minute offer, and a QB who is coming out of HS and hasn’t played a meaningful snap in a year and a half, then you have roster management issues.
BG
February 22nd, 2011
9:22 am
Nick Fairley is a fat punk!! He will get his a** handed to him in the NFL.
BG
February 22nd, 2011
9:25 am
WDE, UGA actually kicks players off of their team when they get into trouble. Does your team do the same?? I doubt it! LSU signed Mett after we kicked him off the team. Kinda weird isn’t it?
It is what it is
February 22nd, 2011
9:36 am
The sky is falling, the sky is falling.. give me a break.. (no pun intended)
Buckeye
February 22nd, 2011
9:44 am
Can we please see some investigative reporting and detail the rehab schedule?
Paul N Destin
February 22nd, 2011
9:47 am
Glad for UGA that the kid is good to go.
JB
February 22nd, 2011
9:47 am
WDE will go back to his nest next year when Auburn falls back to earth. Killer schedule and massive personnel losses= 6-6… Maybe…..Trooper Taylor might even wear his hat correctly. I’m so glad Mark Rich doesn’t allow that on our staff.
joe
February 22nd, 2011
9:54 am
Any truth Murray will grow a couple inches taller due to the sprain?
schmeckdawg
February 22nd, 2011
9:58 am
Good lord people he is a 20 year old college kid who was out messing around playing soccer with some of his buddies and twisted his ankle. Y’all are treating him like he just killed your pet. The same thing could have happened stepping off of a curb the wrong way. Give him a damn break (pardon the pun)!
Stay strong AM and go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul N Destin
February 22nd, 2011
10:01 am
Rodney Garner must be waiting for Scout and Rivals to send him their top prospect list before he starts recruiting. UGA should do what Auburn does and that is if Nick Saban offers then so does the barn. Strong rumor says Trovon Reed is leaving Auburn. Look for a lot more about the trees and less about Reed. The trash will be taken out of the SEC before fall.
St. Clarkston
February 22nd, 2011
10:12 am
He’s got to stay in shape..I suppose Richt could have him bubble wrapped but he wouldn’t be ready in sept.
Buckeye
February 22nd, 2011
10:16 am
Pryor had ankle surgery after the Sugar Bowl win and is just now getting out of the cast. But, he has an extra 5 weeks to heal.
ARdawg
February 22nd, 2011
10:19 am
Ya’ll should lighten the “F” up. Murray is a 19 year old kid. If you think he or most any other 19 year old is going to sit on his hands in the off season so you don’t have to worry about what may or may not cause an injury and soil YOUR upcoming season,. You really should re-think and perhaps realign YOUR priorities.
Are you people grown?
schmeckdawg
February 22nd, 2011
10:30 am
@ARdawg, AMEN! Please see my comment from 9:58 am today.
Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!
Don
February 22nd, 2011
10:34 am
Only 40 days mark until baseball. i am looking forward to your typical faulty prognostications. we still laugh and remember the 8 reasons why they wouldn’t squander that lead. what will 2011 bring from bradley and the braves? more of the same idiotic prediction folly.
Mark
February 22nd, 2011
10:35 am
ARdawg
STFU.
Jared
February 22nd, 2011
10:37 am
What a wussy to play soccer. This guy is not a man. He should stick to football.
It will be funny watching his game decline as it did at the end of 2010.
No more aj or kris. Sophmore slump and eventually someone else will take over and he can go try out for the columbus crew. lol
DENNY
February 22nd, 2011
10:40 am
If Washaun Ealey had done this, Ealey would be barred from buildings and suspended for 1st 2 games.
But Richt’s pet player Murray can use poor decision making = NO DISCIPLINE.
Cool!
DOUBLE STANDARD ANYONE????
dawgfacedboy
February 22nd, 2011
10:42 am
Lots of negative comments about a kid who finished 2nd behind Lattimore as the SEC frosh of the year. Dumb choice to play soccer and risk the injury but that’s as negative as I can be about this kid.
dawgfacedboy
February 22nd, 2011
10:43 am
By the way, he didn’t break any rules or laws with what he did either. Stop tryint to equate it to anything more than it was.
Jingle Dingle
February 22nd, 2011
10:47 am
I thought somebody wlse had gotten arrested at first..
Alabama | MrSEC.com
February 22nd, 2011
11:07 am
[...] ankle broken in two places to “just a little sprain” in just a few short hours. 5. Welcome to the viral world of news on the internet. Better to be first than right.6. When Kentucky travels to Arkansas tomorrow night, the [...]
5 questions regarding UGA football: From Dream Team to Drew | Mark Bradley
February 22nd, 2011
11:24 am
[...] Mark Richt turned 51 on Friday. Aaron Murray played soccer on Saturday. On President’s Day Murray went from having a broken ankle, which is bad, to having a sprained ankle, which is less bad….And now we’re all back at work, and this worker feels moved to pose five questions regarding [...]
randyman
February 22nd, 2011
11:26 am
some of you are a joke! He may not be the best qtr back in sec but he’s alot better than yall give him credit for. Yall ignorant a** want to blame him for our losses. REALLY. Passing yards were well above average this year. Had nothing to do with no running game, bad O-line, crappy defense, crappy calls from bobo? NO it was all the qtr back. I tell yall this (IMHO) if we would have won 10 games this past year it would have been because of him but since we didnt he sucks. Ever think that alot of pass plays last season werent even to A.J Green.?
randyman
February 22nd, 2011
11:35 am
If our D would have made a couple of critical stops this past season we would have won at least 3 more games. What difference would that have made? alot!
ARdawg
February 22nd, 2011
12:31 pm
That’s a really good comeback there Mark. Thank goodness your beer swiggling Mother raised in in a trailer park and afforded you such a fine upbringing
El Azteca has yummy food
February 22nd, 2011
12:54 pm
Playing soccer? Is this kid a fruit or what?
NC_Dawg
February 22nd, 2011
1:23 pm
Another useless, assinine article from Mr. Bradley. Is this even news? You can’t find a better way to spend your time. How about reporting on something relevant for a change.
reebok
February 22nd, 2011
1:56 pm
Murray has shown himeslf to be durable so far, but the Dogs need to have a backup who is ready to play at any time…Murray is not likely to survive the full season without getting dinged up.
Top Recruit
February 22nd, 2011
3:39 pm
Maybe the rules are different today. Maybe the players do not understand what a roster means. And maybe the coaches do not understand what a roster means.
But when I played high school sports every coach had one rule. That rule was this. If you get injured due to play outside of your seasonal sport, and you can not practice or play, well plan to get your ass punished for your stupidty. When you commit to a team and a roster that is your roster and team. Not a team in your parents backyard, your girl friends coed team, your church team, no, not any team but the one you are on. In this case the Georgia Bulldogs football team. If I’m CMR I send a message about this. Start running, and I’ll tell you when to stop.
Worry over UGA’s Murray ends in relief: It’s just a sprain | SportSquare
February 22nd, 2011
7:27 pm
[...] Worry over UGA’s Murray ends in relief: It’s just a sprain … [...]