And more importantly, will he be effective? I've never seen such a good player have such a serious injury that remained so utterly mysterious. No one seems to know if he'll ever recover well enough to play, and no one seems to want to say what the injury is. I've only heard that it's a "lower body" injury. If he plays, it greatly solidifies our offensive line by allowing us to move Herman Johnson to the right guard position and moving Lyle Hitt to a backup role. So, if anyone knows the deal, please fill us in.
Who knows? I'd feel alot better about the OL depth issue and the running game if Arnold could play and stay healthy the whole season.
He's expected to be healthy for the season opener, the question is whether he can stay healthy... I hope so because he shores up our OLine and depth is a concern.
If it's really questionable that he can stay healthy, then we should use him spottily. Put him in for SEC games only, and take him out whenever we're up by more than one score. Let's not lose him because he re-injured himself or wore himself out playing in blowouts.
That would not be a good idea for any player if you could help it. He needs to gain a rhythm throughout the season and practice during the year. He needs to get to know the Olineman around him and they need to know him to have any cohesiveness. It is not uncommon for players to get hurt when they are trying not to get hurt. Arnold doesnt need that kind of mental block that could make his play and the entire Oline suffer. I do agree that he should be taken out of the mid 3rd quater or 4th if we have established a decent lead.
Arnold wants to play and Les wants him to play, so I expect he'll play. Who can say how well he has recovered until he plays and this is his last year at LSU. Arnold has a pro career to think about, too. He has to play this year, early and often, if he's fully able. No one will risk a high draft pick on him if he misses another season. Neither can he risk a career-ending re-injury. If he's back and 85% or better in August, he'll start and play all season and be drafted in the top three rounds. If he is still 50% and needs another year of recovery, and must sit out, then he's looking at a free-agent contract.
This would not be fair to Arnold. Remember this is his senior year. Basically it is his job interview for the next level. If we remove him from the line up that often nobody will draft him. He has the talent to be a first day draft pick, we cannot take that opportunity away from him. If he gets hurt becaue he plays, then someone else will just have to step up. You can't tell the guy he has to sit just because he MIGHT get hurt.
bhelm is right about cohesiveness among the Oline. They have to play together to play well together. ChosnOne, I think Arnold is a Jr, not a Senior.
I think if he needed to sit out the season, he could probably get a medical redshirt if he isn't eligible for a traditional redshirt. As for the observation that it isn't fair to Will to play him sparingly, I have read a number of things about his injury. All of them are vague, but none of them are good. Among them: It will never fully heal It will always be subject to re-injury He can only play a limited amount before he will wear it down or re-injure it Of course, i don't know if all of that is true. It's just message board talk. If true, however, it means that Will Arnold is not going to be able to be the full-time starter, but that he COULD play a limited role. It also probably means that an NFL career is out of the question. That's the source of my "play him limited minutes at key times" conclusion. Now I understand that if he really is that limited, it might be better for line cohesiveness to just not play him at all. It's also possible that he'll be healthier than is rumored.
