Diaz updates injuries, expects Lingard and Finley to play vs. CMU

Diaz updates injuries, expects Lingard and Finley to play vs. CMU

Stefan Adams
After Wednesday’s drills, head coach Manny Diaz updated the status of a few UM injuries, beginning with RB Lorenzo Lingard. The sophomore back missed Saturday’s game against Bethune-Cookman with an undisclosed injury, but was back at practice today and was cleared for the Central Michigan game this weekend.

“It’s good to see him back running around,” Diaz said of Lingard.

While Robert Burns has been the third RB with Lingard out and recorded 5 carries for 32 yards against BCU, Diaz said the competition for the #3 role is still ongoing between the pair.

“Their ability to continue to compete and be able to roll three guys in would be pretty cool," Diaz said.

Diaz mentioned that striker Romeo Finley also returned to practice today and looks ready to play against CMU, but said that WR Mark Pope is still being held out.

“We’re still hopeful, will probably be a game time decision,” Diaz said of Pope.

The Hurricanes have also been dealing with long-term injuries to DT Nesta Silvera and LB Patrick Joyner, and Diaz said today that the pair have taken steps to return to the field shortly.

“The news and outlook is all good for him,” Diaz said of Silvera. “I don’t have a date that he will be back, but he joined the team for flex today, which is all the running and going back and forth. He is starting to get excited that it is not too far off.”

Diaz added that Joyner has rejoined the team for flex as well.

Coming off their first win, Diaz has felt the team has responded well in practice this week and is hungry for more success, singling out WR Dee Wiggins as someone that has impressed so far this week.

“Everything has been very positive. Putting in hard workdays,” Diaz said. “The mood is it’s Wednesday and it’s hard and it’s designed to be hard and let’s just be a team that works.

"We have a staff that keeps it real, we’re honest in terms of what we see, say `This is not our standard, not right, we have to fix this regardless of opponent going forward.’”

After getting the first win of his career on Saturday, Diaz was presented the game ball by the team in the locker room, led by DL coach Todd Stroud.

“That was pretty cool, we’ll have to find a place for that,” Diaz said.
 

Comments (43)

am i wrong in thinking that Silvera will really make a big difference on our dline, dudes a tank!
You are not wrong. He can be a difference maker. I just hopes he learns how to keep his cool after a play. Get mean and nasty while the play is happening and then cut it off once the whistle blows. I know it is harder than it seems but he is a key player for us. Need him in the game and not getting 15 put on him.
 
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Really good news about Finely. Wee need him. And that sucks for Pope. He's been playing well. I hope this doesn't become a nagging injury for him.
It doesn’t suck for Pope because if it’s a game time decision that means the injury isn’t as severe as it could have been. The fact that he possibly is great news rather than the alternative of him being out for weeks
 
It doesn’t suck for Pope because if it’s a game time decision that means the injury isn’t as severe as it could have been. The fact that he possibly is great news rather than the alternative of him being out for weeks
You have no idea if it will become a nagging injury or how much it will impact his performance moving forward. For an entire season we heard about Stephen Morris's ankle impacting his play even though he played in every game.
 
You have no idea if it will become a nagging injury or how much it will impact his performance moving forward. For an entire season we heard about Stephen Morris's ankle impacting his play even though he played in every game.
Morris had a hurt Achilles or something like that, that’s clearly not what this is. Pope had some swelling but if he’s not good to go this week then we do have a bye week and a lot of time for him to heal up
 
It looks like we will be getting these guys back for ACC play. That's a huge plus for depth we missed early on.
 
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Morris had a hurt Achilles or something like that, that’s clearly not what this is. Pope had some swelling but if he’s not good to go this week then we do have a bye week and a lot of time for him to heal up
I'd prefer to just let him heal. Let Payton, Wiggins, and Martell get some more snaps this week. Then Pope can work his way back in when he's 100%. It's the one position where we have depth. Take advantage of it.
 
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Honestly, I wouldn't be against letting Joyner heal completely and allowing him to return against Louisville. This way he'll play 3 games and assuming we go to a bowl game he'll be able to play in that game as well. This would enable him to preserve a medical redshirt. He would sit back continue to learn and get better physically and mentally. He also still gets some reps and momentum heading toward the 2020 season. Win - win situation.
 
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I wouldn't even risk aggravating the ankle, I'd hold Pope out, plus the bye week after CMU so he's 100 % from Va Tech onwards. I think even if worst case Silvera and Joyner are back for Uva game that'll be great.
 
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