With a history of weak knees, the junior says he's fortunate the injury isn't serious.
By: Rhett Bollinger
Lucky Lua. Linebacker Oscar Lua's MRI on his sprained knee came back negative and he says he is optimistic he will be able to play against California. USC middle linebacker Oscar Lua breathed a sigh of relief Monday when an MRI test on his left knee was negative and revealed only a strain. Lua heard a loud pop from his knee when a player ran into him during kickoff coverage after USC's first touchdown against Stanford on Saturday and he feared the worst. "When I heard the crunch down there I just said 'this is just bad timing,'" Lua said. "But thankfully nothing went wrong and it's just a little strain." Lua had previously torn one ACL in each of the past two seasons and thought this was no different, but luckily for him, he was wrong. "When you have two ACL (tears) you automatically assume the worst so anything other than the worst is good news," Lua profoundly stated.
Lua said he even has a chance to play as early as this Saturday against California. "I have a decent shot if my swelling goes down; I will tough it out," Lua said. If Lua cannot go against Cal then Thomas Williams is the likely candidate to shift to middle linebacker. Williams played in place of Lua Saturday while Collin Ashton and Brian Cushing played the outside linebacker spots. Williams recorded five tackles and had an interception when Cushing tipped a pass from Stanford's Trent Edwards. "The ball seemed like it was in the air forever and it fell into my hands," Williams said.
Williams, however, was held out of practice Monday because of what he called "regular bumps and bruises." Carroll said freshman Rey Maualuga would share time with Williams against the Bears. Maualuga was arrested last week after allegedly punching a man at an off-campus party, but Carroll still played him against Stanford, but defended the decision to reporters on Sunday. Tight end Fred Davis caught the first touchdown reception of his career in the second quarter of the Stanford game. Davis was filling in for injured tight end Dominique Byrd and made the most out of his first-ever start, catching a career-high four passes for 35 yards. Davis has made a complete turnaround from last season. He was constantly in trouble for being late to practice because of delayed flights from his home in Ohio, reason enough for coaches to not allow him to travel with the team to Miami for the Orange Bowl. "He has improved tremendously, especially in the last month," Carroll said. "He has shifted into being confident."
Davis was highly recruited as a wide receiver, running back and quarterback out of Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio. He moved over to tight end last season and bulked up to 245 pounds, but had not scored in his new position as tight end. "It was a relief and felt real good because I hadn't scored in a while," said Davis of his touchdown reception. After the catch, Davis did a little dance in the end zone to celebrate his first collegiate touchdown. "It was a just a release of something I had been holding for a long time," Davis said. Davis said he hopes to continue the momentum even when Byrd returns, which could be this Saturday.
Faulty Trojans
Safety Will Harris received bad news when an MRI revealed ACL damage. He will likely miss the remainder of the season. "It is likely he will need surgery and we will find out more about that (tonight)," Carroll said. The team practiced on Cromwell Field Monday to prepare for Cal's FieldTurf. Linebacker Keith Rivers (hamstring) and cornerback John Walker (ankle) ran during practice and Carroll said he was encouraged by their progress.
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