Lincoln Riley gives encouraging update on USC's Jordan Addison, Eric Gentry
USC coach Lincoln Riley gave a seemingly encouraging update on injured star wide receiver Jordan Addison and linebacker Eric Gentry after practice Tuesday.
Gentry was carted off the field during the loss at Utah on Saturday, returning with a protective walking boot on his foot/ankle, while Addison was walking with a slight limp after taking a hard hit on the sideline following a reception.
"They'll be day to day. We've got a little bit of time with them, which is fortunate on our part so we'll be smart with them this week," Riley said. "I don't think it's anything long-term with either one of them, but just grinding back to recovery and probably fortunate for us we're not playing this week.'
The two have been among USC's MVPs this season.
Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award as the top pass-catcher in college football last season at Pitt, leads the Trojans with 39 catches for 585 yards and 7 touchdowns in his first season with the program.
Gentry, a transfer from Arizona State, leads the Trojans with 52 tackles, to go with 2.5 tackles for loss (including 1 sack), an interception, a forced fumble, 2 pass breakups and 3 quarterback hurries.
Even though Gentry was unable to return to the game Saturday night, he couldn't be kept on the sidelines, hopping on one foot to the defensive huddles on the field to encourage his teammates and continue his role as a leader for the unit.
"That's just moving. That just tell you the heart of this team and who we are," right guard Justin Dedich said Tuesday about Gentry. "That was just surreal. This team is unbelievable, the heart of this team."
"It doesn't surprise me at all," linebacker Shane Lee said. "He loves us, we love him. We've got a really good group of guys here so that doesn't surprise me at all. We really love each other, we really work for each other, care about each other. So to see that didn't surprise me. Obviously, it fueled us, gave us a lot of good energy."
Rush end Nick Figueroa said much of the same after the game Saturday night.
"I mean, I could point to so many guys that want to just give it their all. Eric's one of them, and tough to see him go down, but he'll be fine. We know he'd be out there fighting for us every second of the way," he said.