ACL Injuries: They're a fact of life in football, people

Shortly after Florida announced the loss of Dominique Easley for the season to a torn ACL, I made a prediction as to what the response of UF fans would be.

Re: Florida's rash of ACL injuries -- really just a case of bad luck for #UF, although I'm SURE someone will try to read deeper into it.
— Justin Wells (@justinlwells) September 25, 2013

Remember when Florida had a rash of knee injuries -- especially at the safety position -- in the summer of '08? Sometimes it happens.
— Justin Wells (@justinlwells) September 25, 2013

I wanted to expand on this matter a bit more in-depth. That 2008 team, which experienced a rash of ACL injuries, still went on to win a national championship. I'm not predicting the same fate for Florida this year, but the Gators can overcome their injury issues to have some semblance of a "succesful" season, depending on your definition of "success." The knee injuries the 2008 team encountered included the following:

– Safeties Dorian Munroe and John Curtis suffered ACL injuries during offseason conditioning drills in July. Combined with the loss of Jamar Hornsby (for some very notable off-the-field transgressions), UF went into the season with a razor-thin depth chart at safety.

– Expected to be a major factor on offense in 2008, Cornelius Ingram tore an ACL just two days into preseason camp for the Gators that August.

–  Not even a week later, reserve offensive lineman Jim Barrie and backup linebacker Brendan Beal would incur ACL injuries just two days apart, adding to the misery for UF fans heading into the season.

This fall for Florida, the Gators have seen an assortment of season-ending injuries. A torn labrum for Chaz Green, a surgically repaired shoulder for Nick Washington as well, a broken leg for Jeff Driskel, and ACL injuries for Andre Debose, Matt Rolin, and now Easley. It's been a rough two months in terms of health for Florida. If the Gators can avoid the injury bug from here on out, they still have a shot at a pretty good season. But if not, well, things could get ugly in a hurry.

For the fans that want to blame this on the Strength & Conditioning coaches: please stop. Everyone was singing their praises last fall. Did they suddenly just forget how to do their job? This is simply a freakish streak of bad luck that no one could prevent. There was nothing different for which Jeff Dillman and his staff could have done to prevent any of these injuries from happening. In fact, two of the ailments (Rolin and Washington) were simply re-injuries of previous issues both players had dating back to last season, when they were still in high school. Hopefully, both freshmen have received proper treatment and won't have any issues moving forward as they rehab during their redshirt seasons.

As for the notion that an indoor practice facility (or "IPF," for the football facility diehards) could have prevented Easley's injury, I'll just agree to disagree. Easley could have torn his ACL walking down the street and stepping off (or onto) a curb in the wrong fashion. It's just one of those things. Unless he was pushed around in a wheelchair all day, in a protective bubble, and didn't play football, there was no way to prevent this from happening. It was a non-contact injury. One of those freak things. Hopefully Easley's surgery goes well, and he rehabs quickly enough to put himself in a position to sneak into the bottom of the first round of next May's NFL Draft. That's really about all we can hope for at this point.

This is a bitter pill to swallow. I get it. Until Easley's injury, there was still a sense that this team could accomplish anything on its list of goals heading into a season. Despite the injuries. This one is different. It happened to a guy who came back for all the right reasons, and who was playing himself into a potential All-American. In many ways, Easley was the guy who stirred the drink of this 2013 squad. He'll still be there in spirit. The question is, can the other guys on this vaunted Florida defense step up in his absence? We'll get the first indications from Lexington just two days from now.

How much does the UF-UM game really mean to recruits?

Going into Saturday's in-state showdown between Florida and Miami, there are going to be plenty of predictable storylines over just how much this game means to the two programs as they square off over a number of prospects from around the Sunshine State (many of whom will be in attendance at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday.) But is that really the case? How much does this game ultimately mean in the decision-making prospects of the top seniors who make the trip to Miami Gardens?

The answer, in the big picture, is "probably not much."

I look back to one of the first feature articles I wrote for recruiting, entitled "A Battle for the Hearts and Minds." It's on a site I refuse to link in this blog, but a quick Google search of "battle for the hearts and minds gators" will bring it up if you wish to give it a look.

The piece centers on the Florida-Miami game in 2008, and how many key prospects that both schools were targeting planned to attend the game. Now, keep in mind, there were other recruiting battles that had already concluded (defensive tackle Curtis Porter, for instance, had already picked Miami over Florida. He will compete for the 'Canes on Saturday as a redshirt senior.) I'm also not aware how many of these prospects actually showed up to the Swamp on Sept. 6, 2008, and I have no intention of going back to research it all. However, let's use the 14 prospects featured in the article as a small cross-section of how the recruiting battles between Florida and Miami played out that year.

– Three of the 14 players (DB Ray Ray Armstrong, DE Dyron Dye and OL Jared Wheeler) signed with Miami, although it should be noted that Wheeler didn't have the option to attend UF.

– Three prospects also elected to attend Florida: LB Jon Bostic, WR Andre Debose and OL Xavier Nixon.

– Of the remaining eight players, two went to Georgia (TE Orson Charles and LB Jarvis Jones), and one each went to Alabama (RB Trent Richardson), Michigan (QB Denard Robinson), Minnesota (CB Michael Carter), North Carolina (WR Jheranie Boyd), Rutgers (DL Antwan Lowery) and South Florida (DE Ryne Giddins).

So, despite the big (although far from pretty) win by Florida, the Gators didn't appear to get any major boost from the victory. Bostic had long favored Florida. Nixon was on his official visit that weekend, and the entire experience helped deliver him to Florida, although the Gators had been trending positively before the trip. Andre Debose was sort of all over the map, but his decision seemed to come down to Florida and LSU more than Miami in the end.

A late field goal conversion to cover the spread, ordered by Urban Meyer, didn't help Miami "more than [we] will ever know." However, the loss didn't particularly harm Miami's efforts on the recruiting trail. They signed the No. 15 class in the country according to Rivals, only inking 19 a year after they signed 33. Florida, likewise, was limited on numbers and only brought in 16 that cycle, good for No. 11 in the Rivals team rankings.

In the end, it's relationships that ultimately matter in recruiting. Florida has one of the best assistant coaches in the country as it relates to establishing relationships in Travaris Robinson. The Gators will be fine, regardless of what happens on Saturday. Looking further down the line, winning this game is bigger for the Florida program because they don't want to take a huge step back from 2012. No one expects 11 victories from the Gators again this year. I think most fans would be satisfied with nine wins or more. But this tilt is a key to for Will Muschamp to make that figure happen. Dangerous trips to LSU and South Carolina loom in the distance. Georgia is a tough out in Jacksonville. Florida State will prove a tough test to close out the regular season schedule.

From the Miami perspective, this game is about trying to re-establish themselves on the national scene. A win would potentially provide a huge boost, as the only other marquee game on their slate is an November date in Tallahassee against FSU. If they lose, no big deal. The 'Canes still have a real shot at winning 10 games and competing for the ACC title. But a win ... well, a win could catapult them towards something entirely different.

One thing that strikes me when going back to reading my article from five years ago: I was guilty of propagating the exact same storyline I'm now debunking. I guess I was naive back then. There is a lot hanging on the line for what will likely be the last regular season contest in many years between the two programs – especially in terms of bragging rights for the two fanbases. But the point is, if someone tries to sell you on the idea that the decisions of 20 recruits are hanging in the balance, don't buy. In the end, all this game means to high school recruits is the opportunity to watch a big game in person, and the opportunity to check out some hot girls while they're at it.