Tutogi injures ankle at Arizona’s practice
by Anthony Gimino on Aug. 09, 2010, under Sports
Taimi Tutogi tajkes a carry in the spring/Photo by Brad Allis, WildcatSportsReport.com
Scary moment near the end of the Arizona Wildcats practice this morning, as sophomore fullback Taimi Tutogi laid on the field, crying out in pain.
He stayed down for several minutes as trainers attended to him, and the coaches moved practice drills to another part of the field.
Tutogi left the field sitting on the back of a cart, but coach Mike Stoops said after practice the initial diagnosis was only a sprained left ankle. He added that he didn’t know if it was a high ankle sprain, a more serious version of the injury.
“We hope that is all it is,” Stoops said of the possible sprain.
“It will be a day-to-day, week-to-week kind of injury. He’s a big part of our offense. We certainly need him to do the things we like to do.”
Tutogi, 6-foot-1 and 258 pounds, emerged in the spring as a powerful and versatile option in Arizona’s offense as a fullback/H-back/tailback/tight end.
He took advantage of his opportunity in the spring, when UA’s top three tailbacks — Nic Grigsby, Keola Antolin and Greg Nwoko – were either limited or out of practice.
In the spring game, Tutogi made one of the highlights, hauling in a deep pass over the middle with one hand, knocking safety Mark Watley to the turf, making another guy miss and churning until two defenders brought him down after a 73-yard gain.
In other injury news, leading receiver Juron Criner sat out of Monday’s practice after being hit in the mouth during Sunday’s drills. Criner needed stitches “on both sides of his lip,” Stoops said, and was suffering from headaches.
