Greg McElroy injury not as bad as first feared for the former Alabama QB | al.com

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Jan 312011
 

TUSCALOOSA — Greg McElroy’s hand injury he suffered during the Senior Bowl was not as bad as first feared, the former Alabama quarterback learned Monday.

McElroy visited a hand specialist Monday morning in Phoenix for a second opinion. He initially was diagnosed with a fractured metacarpal in his throwing hand.

“They X-rays and an evaluation and it was determined that he did not have a fracture,” Greg McElroy Sr. said. “It was just a deep contusion of his metacarpal.”

McElroy Sr. said his son will take at least a week to allow the injury to heal before doctors take another look at his hand.

McElroy, who had been training in California, will stay in Arizona to continue to receive treatment. McElroy Sr. said some rehabilitation would be necessary.

“It’s still swollen and very sore,” McElroy Sr. said. “He’s going to need some down time. It’s still going to be sore like with any bone that gets bruised. The good news is there’s no fracture. Hopefully, his rehab can be expedited.”

McElroy suffered the injury on the first play of the fourth quarter after a completion to South Alabama’s Courtney Smith. McElroy hit his right hand on a helmet during the attempt. After completing the series, he sat for the remainder of the game.

“I had no feeling the rest of the series,” McElroy said afterward. “The ball was kind of sporadic. I couldn’t get a grip on the ball. I still can’t get a grip on the ball. I think it will be OK.”

McElroy had X-rays taken at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium and was told he had a hairline fracture in his second metacarpal, McElroy Sr. said.

“Obviously, we were pretty upset about it,” McElroy Sr. said. “Thank goodness we went and got a second opinion. A second opinion turned out to be pretty good.”

via Greg McElroy injury not as bad as first feared for the former Alabama QB | al.com.

 Posted by at 4:17 pm

Christian Ponder throws two touchdown passes to lead South to Senior Bowl win | al.com

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Jan 302011
 

MOBILE, Ala. – Florida State’s Christian Ponder threw two touchdown passes, and the South raced to a 17-0 first-half lead and held on to beat the North 24-10 in the Under Armour Senior Bowl Saturday before a sellout crowd of 40,646 fans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Ponder, who was named the game’s MVP, completed 7 of 13 passes for 132 yards with touchdowns of 18 yards to Miami’s Leonard Hankerson and 23 yards to TCU’s Jeremy Kerley.

“We knew as a team that we always got to take the tempo,” said Ponder. “We wanted the ball first and we were able to do that. To score on the first two drives was just great for us.”

Hankerson, who caught 5 passes for 100 yards, adjusted to an underthrown Ponder pass on the first play of the game for a 49-yard gain, ultimately setting up a 23-yard field goal by LSU’s Josh Jasper.

On the South’s next possession, Kentucky running back Derrick Locke ran 5 times for 34 yards, and Hankerson caught a short pass from Ponder, spun away from North Carolina cornerback Kendric Burney, and scored from 18 yards out.

“(Burney) was playing inside and the coaches were seeing it, so we (decided) we’re going to run to the sticks and then we’re going to throw the ball outside,” Hankerson said. “When I turned outside, it was straight end zone.”

The South made it 17-0 two possessions later when West Virginia’s Noel Devine capped a 10-play, 45-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

South receiver Leonard Hankerson celebrates his touchdown with Rodney Hudson of Florida State during the Senior Bowl Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. (Chip English, Correspondent)

The North did not earn a first down until Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi, who finished 7-of-12 for 87 yards, hit Wisconsin’s Lance Kendricks with a 27-yard pass just before the two-minute warning.

The North got back into the game in the third quarter. East Carolina’s Dwayne Harris returned a punt 20 yards to the South 37, setting up a 30-yard drive for a 24-yard field goal by UCLA’s Kai Forbath.

Washington quarterback Jake Locker then hit Boise State’s Titus Young and Maryland’s Da’Rel Scott for gains of 15 and 34 yards to set up Scott’s 1-yard touchdown run that cut the South’s lead to 17-10 with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

“I thought we got in a little better rhythm, were able to move the ball, got our running game working a little bit better, and it allowed us to put some points on the board,” said Locker, who finished 6-of-10 for 98 yards.

But Ponder put the game away in the fourth quarter, leading the South on a 6-play, 68-yard drive for his touchdown strike to Kerley.

via Christian Ponder throws two touchdown passes to lead South to Senior Bowl win | al.com.

 Posted by at 10:38 am

Senior Bowl Notebook: Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy cracks bone in throwing hand | al.com

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Jan 302011
 

MOBILE, Alabama — Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy cracked a bone in his throwing hand during Saturday’s Under Armour Senior Bowl and is expected to miss about two weeks of throwing.

McElroy completed a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to South Alabama’s Courtney Smith, but hit his right hand on a helmet on the follow-through. He completed the series, but did not come back into the game.

“I had no feeling the rest of the series,” he said immediately after the game. “The ball was kind of sporadic. I couldn’t get a grip on the ball. I still can’t get a grip on the ball. I think it will be OK.”

X-rays at the stadium minutes later revealed a bone near his thumb was cracked, according to his father.

McElroy was 5-of-8 passing for 36 yards. He was invited to the NFL combine beginning Feb. 23 in Indianapolis.

NO. 12 IS NO. 12: McElroy wore jersey No. 12 at Alabama. On Saturday, he became the 12th Crimson Tide quarterback to play in the Senior Bowl.

Other Alabama quarterbacks to play in the game include Joe Namath (1965), Steve Sloan (1966), Scott Hunter (1971), Richard Todd (1976), Jeff Rutledge (1979), Walter Lewis (1984), Mike Shula (1987), Gary Hollingsworth (1991), Jay Barker (1995), Brodie Croyle (2006) and John Parker Wilson (2009).

CHAMPS AT TACKLE: The South squad opened the game with a couple of national champions at offensive tackle. Alabama’s James Carpenter, whose Crimson Tide won the national crown in 2009, started at left tackle. Auburn’s Lee Ziemba, who helped the Tigers win the title this season, started on the right side.

Carpenter and Ziemba helped the South drive 73 yards in 10 plays for Josh Jasper’s 23-yard field goal to open the scoring.

FIRST-ROUND TALENT: Ten players from last year’s Senior Bowl were first-round selections in the 2010 NFL draft, led by Cal defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, who was taken with the No. 10 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Several players in this year’s game are projected to go in the first round, including Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder, Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, Cal defensive lineman Cameron Jordan and Washington quarterback Jake Locker.

DYAS REMEMBERED: Mobile’s Dr. Ed Dyas, who died Sunday at the age of 71, was honored at Saturday’s game. Dyas, a former Auburn All-American, played in the 1961 Senior Bowl and later served on the Senior Bowl committee for more than 30 years.

A moment of silence was observed before the game, and the players wore a sticker on their helmet with the initials ED.

via Senior Bowl Notebook: Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy cracks bone in throwing hand | al.com.

 Posted by at 10:36 am
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