Henry Lusk was being counted on as the heart of the Utah offense this season, a player who could play several positions as well as be the main punt returner.
Back in August, coach Ron McBride said of Lusk, "He's a real key for us. He may never leave the field."However Lusk's season came to a sudden and disappointing end on Aug. 24 when he was hit in the back during a scrimmage and broke a bone in his shoulder blade.
Because Lusk is a senior and has already used his redshirt season, a lot of folks assumed his career at Utah must be over.
Not necessarily true.
The Utes are hopeful that Lusk will be granted a sixth year to complete his eligibility because the injury occurred before the season and because he was also injured as a redshirt freshman.
"I hope so. He meets all the criteria," said McBride. "Based on past cases he should qualify."
McBride says he has had more than one player over the years be granted a sixth year, but he knows the Utes are at the mercy of the NCAA.
According to Dee Menzies of the Western Athletic Conference office such cases of granting a sixth year used to be rare, but are more common lately.
The NCAA was contacted about the matter, but didn't return phone calls Tuesday afternoon.
INJURY UPDATE: Aside from Lusk, the Utes have had a rather remarkable year, injury-wise. However, a few injuries here and there are starting to make a difference. The Utes didn't have defensive end Nate Kia last week, which hurt depth on the defensive line. They also were without defensive tackle Mike Wilson, who hurt his knee in the first quarter and will be out this week as well.
The running back position continues to be thin with Sylvester Cooperwood out for the year with a knee injury and Juan Johnson still hobbled by a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action for four straight games.
David Kozlowski, who suffered that big hit against New Mexico is questionable this week with a bruised sternum. Curtis Marsh will replace him as the punt returner if Kozlowski can't go.
TURNING IT OVER: One of the more overlooked statistics is turnover margin, the difference between fumbles and interceptions given up and those taken away. It is usually the key to winning and losing and no one knows better than Utah.
Through its first eight games, Utah was one of the best in the country at turnover margin, ranking 4th in the nation.
"That was one of the reasons we were 8-0," said McBride.
But against New Mexico, the Utes came up with zero turnovers, while losing three (two interceptions and a fumble). Two of the turnovers, a fumble by Robert Hamilton and an interception to Mike McCoy came deep in New Mexico territory, halting potential scores.
"It was especially hard since we had the chance for a few turnovers," said defensive back Kareem Leary, who caused one fumble that Harold Lusk tried to pick up instead of fall on.
"Three turnovers is ridiculous," said McBride. "And we have to make the plays and knock the ball out. They did a good job of possessing the football."
STAT WATCH: With two interceptions last week, Mike McCoy's pass efficiency rating dropped from 158.0 to 153.6, but he is still 5th-best in the nation. McCoy is also 5th in total offense with 291.2 yards per game . . . Curtis Marsh edged ahead of teammate Deron Claiborne in receptions after getting eight last week. Marsh now has 53, one better than Claiborne and the two rank 11th and 13th in the country, respectively . . . Charlie Brown is second in the WAC in scoring and 33rd in the nation with 11 touchdowns For the year Brown has 603 yards rushing despite not playing much in the first four games of the year . . . Kareem Leary and Ernest Boyd are still tied for third in the nation in interceptions with six apiece . . . Utah finally fell out of the top ten in total defense and scoring defense, falling to 11th in each category. However the Utes are still in the top ten in pass efficiency defense (5th) and rushing defense (9th) . . . The Utes are 7th in passing offense, 9th in total offense and 10th in turnover margin.