The Utah Utes were locked in a tie game against arch-rival BYU Cougars on Saturday night when a trick play went awry. Following the interception, it was evident that it went really awry when team captain and star running back Micah Bernard came up lame after making a tackle.
Micah Bernard Injury Update
Bernard wasn’t necessarily making the tackle, but he was certainly trying to ensure that BYU CB Jakob Robinson was down or maybe even knocked the ball out of Robinson’s hands when he dove to the ground.
Unfortunately, following the diving attempt to bring Robinson down and jar the ball loose, Bernard bounced off the BYU defender and landed directly on his head on the sidelines.
He slowly rose to his feet before needing help to walk to the sidelines. The trainers quickly took his helmet from him on the walk over to the Utah bench, but the update didn’t look promising.
Bernard put his arm around trainers as they neared the sidelines and Utah fans collectively held their breath. However, he eventually returned to the game and even caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Without Bernard in the lineup, the Utes will have to turn to yet another new playmaker on offense. Likely to take the reps in Bernard’s place is running back Jaylon Glover.
The Utes are incredibly banged up in the backfield, noticeably at quarterback where sophomore Brandon Rose earned his first start of his career against BYU when the game kicked off. That means the Utes are down Cam Rising and Issac Wilson at quarterback, and without Bernard, would be without their starting running back in addition to being without Mike Mitchell, Dijon Stanley, and Charlie Vincent.
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Glover does have extensive experience, rushing for 562 yards a season ago and having scored a total of six touchdowns on the ground in his career, but the depth at running back is clearly a concern.
Bernard’s return was a good sign after he clearly looked hobbled and injured following the tackle. He finished with 17 carries on the ground and a total of 84 all-purpose yards with one score.
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