COLE BEASLEY: Diagnosis is in
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:19 pmSMU coaches, players and fans held their collective breath in the second quarter of SMU's 42-0 rout of Memphis Saturday afternoon when senior wide receiver Cole Beasley caught a pass from quarterback J.J. McDermott, fell awkwardly under a Memphis defender and then fell back to the ground in pain after trying to get up.
Beasley clutched his right knee before being tended to by SMU's medical staff and then helped off the field. Moments later, Beasley was taken to the locker room, and returned to the sideline in the second half wearing street clothes and a brace on his right leg.
Beasley underwent an MRI Monday, and got the results back Tuesday morning.
"It's a capsule medial sprain," Beasley said. "That means there's damage to the tissue around the MCL (medial collateral ligament), but no damage to the ligaments themselves.
"They said it's an unusual injury, so they didn't give me a timetable to return (to the field)."
That the ligaments in his knee sustained no structural damage alleviated Beasley's initial fear.
"I thought I had torn something," he said. "At the end of the play, he (the Memphis defender) fell on me and my leg got caught under his body. I thought I felt something pop, but I don't know what that was."
Beasley said he will not play Saturday when the Mustangs face TCU in Fort Worth. With a bye week the following week, he said his goal is to return in three weeks against UCF, but reiterated that the injury is so unusual that there is no assurance he will make it back in to the lineup by then."
"Now they know what it is, we can start treatment," he said. "A lot of rest, a little exercise, a lot of ice — I'll be in there (the training room) as much as I can."
Beasley said the knee "didn't swell up much," but admitted it remains painful. Ironically, he said he was told that a ligament tear might have been less painful. He is walking with the brace but without crutches, and said he has been told he will not need surgery, even after the season is complete.
Beasley leads the Mustangs this year with 31 catches for 376 yards, giving him exactly 200 career receptions (the third-highest total in SMU history) and 2,295 career receiving yards, the sixth-highest total in school history.
In his place, the Mustangs could turn to sophomore Jeremy Johnson, who filled Beasley's spot in the lineup after Beasley was injured, catching three passes Saturday in Memphis for 31 yards. Beasley said he expects to play the role of an extra assistant coach to Johnson and the other young SMU receivers this week in practice.
"From what I saw, he did pretty well," Beasley said of Johnson. "He pays attention, and you can see he's getting more confident in what he's doing. He's going to make some mistakes — we all make some mistakes — but he's going to make some plays, too. He's a good player."
Beasley said he doesn't anticipate TCU will alter its defensive approach at all because of his absence from the lineup.
"TCU doesn't change what they do," he said. "They're a good defensive team, a really well-coached team. They're going to do what they do. Even when we had Emmanuel Sanders, they didn't change what they do, and I don't expect them to change now. It's up to us to find a way to beat them."
Beasley clutched his right knee before being tended to by SMU's medical staff and then helped off the field. Moments later, Beasley was taken to the locker room, and returned to the sideline in the second half wearing street clothes and a brace on his right leg.
Beasley underwent an MRI Monday, and got the results back Tuesday morning.
"It's a capsule medial sprain," Beasley said. "That means there's damage to the tissue around the MCL (medial collateral ligament), but no damage to the ligaments themselves.
"They said it's an unusual injury, so they didn't give me a timetable to return (to the field)."
That the ligaments in his knee sustained no structural damage alleviated Beasley's initial fear.
"I thought I had torn something," he said. "At the end of the play, he (the Memphis defender) fell on me and my leg got caught under his body. I thought I felt something pop, but I don't know what that was."
Beasley said he will not play Saturday when the Mustangs face TCU in Fort Worth. With a bye week the following week, he said his goal is to return in three weeks against UCF, but reiterated that the injury is so unusual that there is no assurance he will make it back in to the lineup by then."
"Now they know what it is, we can start treatment," he said. "A lot of rest, a little exercise, a lot of ice — I'll be in there (the training room) as much as I can."
Beasley said the knee "didn't swell up much," but admitted it remains painful. Ironically, he said he was told that a ligament tear might have been less painful. He is walking with the brace but without crutches, and said he has been told he will not need surgery, even after the season is complete.
Beasley leads the Mustangs this year with 31 catches for 376 yards, giving him exactly 200 career receptions (the third-highest total in SMU history) and 2,295 career receiving yards, the sixth-highest total in school history.
In his place, the Mustangs could turn to sophomore Jeremy Johnson, who filled Beasley's spot in the lineup after Beasley was injured, catching three passes Saturday in Memphis for 31 yards. Beasley said he expects to play the role of an extra assistant coach to Johnson and the other young SMU receivers this week in practice.
"From what I saw, he did pretty well," Beasley said of Johnson. "He pays attention, and you can see he's getting more confident in what he's doing. He's going to make some mistakes — we all make some mistakes — but he's going to make some plays, too. He's a good player."
Beasley said he doesn't anticipate TCU will alter its defensive approach at all because of his absence from the lineup.
"TCU doesn't change what they do," he said. "They're a good defensive team, a really well-coached team. They're going to do what they do. Even when we had Emmanuel Sanders, they didn't change what they do, and I don't expect them to change now. It's up to us to find a way to beat them."
