 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki The University of Toledo football team opened the 2001 season against the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a new playing surface called NeXturf. The Rockets won the game 38-7 and it looked like NeXturf was to become the next "big thing" in football playing surfaces as other stadiums throughout the country were installing the surface. That was 2001 and this is 2007. NeXturf is made by the same company that made AstroTurf and AstroPlay. Apparently the NeXturf idea was a bad idea though. Glass Bowl Stadium is the only stadium used by a Division I-A school or professional football team that still uses NeXturf. Though many stadiums did install the turf earlier in the decade, including Western Michigan and Oregon, they have all ripped out the surface for a new playing surface. In each case the NeXturf surface was removed well before it's life expectancy had expired and reasons given for the change ranged from player and coach complaints to actually saying the surface was too unforgiving and caused more injuries. Anyone else notice an extremely large number of injuries to Rocket players the last couple of years? Toledo's offensive line was buried with injuries last year. Some guys were out for the season before even playing in a game. Wide receiver Nick Moore "tweaked" his ankle on the Glass Bowl surface last summer and missed the first couple of games because of it. Quarterback Clint Cochran tore ligaments in his knee against Kansas in the Glass Bowl last year. Free safety Tyrrell Herbert and cornerback Nigel Morris both went down with injuries in the home opener against Purdue and haven't played since. The other starting cornerback for Toledo, Walter Atkins, was also injured in that game against Purdue and missed the next game before coming back in Toledo's 3rd game at Kansas. Defensive end Bernard Faithful was also injured in the opener and missed the 2nd game before coming back in game #3. Offensive lineman Jan Gewont got injured in that first game and is out for the season. Defensive end Sean Williamson got injured in that first game and is out for the season. Offensive lineman Kevin Kilgo got injured against Iowa State in a game at the Glass Bowl and missed last weekend's game against Western Michigan. Just a couple of days ago starting quarterback Aaron Opelt injured his "lower leg" and backup quarterback Clint Cochran suffered what appears to be a seperated shoulder, both in the same game played on the Glass Bowl surface. This has forced Toledo to burn the redshirt on true freshman DJ Lenehan and the only other quarterback on the roster available for Saturday's game is true freshman Travaris Cadet. In that same game against Western Michigan, running back Jalen Parmele left the game limping and didn't return. At least he appears to be OK and should play Saturday night. Yes, it is true that a couple of injures occurred in road contests against Central Michigan and Kansas, but the number of injuries occurring in contests at the Glass Bowl is much greater. Former players at Western Michigan that played there when they had the NeXturf surface have said that the surface was not forgiving and guys were getting banged up more frequently with that surface. An un-named source here at Toledo told me "I worry about the number of injuries on this turf" and "it's not gonna get any better until a new surface is put in." It's true that injuries are a part of football, but not this many. Something needs to be done to minimize the likelihood of injury. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |