Laquon Treadwell celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game against Auburn. DM Photo | Cady Herring
After practice on Monday, the injury suffered by sophomore wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was still heavy on the hearts of the team. Treadwell underwent surgery after the game for a dislocated ankle and a fractured fibula.
“The outpouring of love and support that Rebel Nation and others have given him certainly has been heartwarming. When I got there early Sunday morning, he was good,” Freeze said. “As a competitor and a guy that’s dealing with not being able to play the rest of the year, and the fact that he was involved in the play that, in his mind, he let us down in some way. Certainly, we don’t feel that way.”
The recovery time for Treadwell’s injury was feared to be lengthy and could cost him more than this season. Freeze revealed that the recovery time for Treadwell is four months, and he could possibly be back by spring practice. For such a gruesome injury, this is the best possible news for Treadwell. Freeze explained the process for Treadwell to recover and showed immense support for his receiver.
“He has to deal with all of that. We’re going to help him do all of that. Everyone else will, also. He’s a tremendous young man,” Freeze said. “We’re looking at four or so months of recovery time. He’ll be back with us and hopefully, ready to go for spring ball. We love him and appreciate the effort he gave in helping our team in that situation. Now, others will step up and carry it on.”
The rest of the wide receiver group has to step up in the absence of Treadwell. Freeze discussed the players that would need to step up in Treadwell’s absence and said senior Vince Sanders would be the new number one wide receiver.
“Vince, like we’ve talked about many times, he’s one of the more underrated players in this conference. He continued to win a bunch of one-on-ones the other night. I think Vince will respond extremely well,” Freeze said. “He had some good things to say in our team meeting yesterday, being a senior and a quiet leader.”
Many of the younger receivers need to be more mature for their age, something Freeze stressed to the media and his players.
“I’m excited about seeing his role increase, as I am (sophomore) Quincy Adeboyejo and (freshman) Markell Pack,” Freeze said. “We have to discuss this week a possible (sophomore) Derrick Jones move back with this open week and all the time we have to prepare for the last part of our season.”
Senior quarterback Bo Wallace will be one of the players who will miss Treadwell’s presence the most. Wallace connected with Treadwell 10 times for 103 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore tight end Evan Engram and Sanders both accumulated over 100 yards receiving each. Wallace also talked about who needs to help fill Treadwell’s void.
“I told Pack Saturday night that he has to step up, and he’s not a freshman anymore. Obviously, Vince is going to be the older guy and go-to guy, right now. Every time we’ve needed Vince to make a play, he’s made it, so I have confidence in our receivers,” Wallace said. “I know they are going to make plays for me. It’s going to hurt not having Laquon, but we still have a lot to play for this season.”
The injuries kept piling on for the Rebels, continuing for their brutal return from Baton Rouge, where injuries on key players came up and had an affect in the game against Auburn on Saturday. Freeze addressed the other injuries the team is dealing with.
“The list is long. (Junior running back) I’Tavius (Mathers) and (junior defensive back) Trae (Elston) both had concussions. They’ve started our concussion protocol. We’ll have to wait until the doctors clear them for them to return back to practice,” Freeze said. “(Sophomore offensive lineman) Laremy (Tunsil) has a partially torn bicep. One week wasn’t quite enough for him to feel like he could function. Now, we can get him, hopefully, ready for the last stretch.”
There were other injuries on the offensive line besides Tunsil, something Freeze talked about also.
“(Junior offensive lineman) Aaron Morris left the game and didn’t finish. He’s getting some tests done today. I don’t think it is anything that will keep him out for the remainder of the year,” Freeze said. “It just made us even more thin at the end of the game than we were already. (Junior center) Ben Still will be day to day.”
The loss to Auburn has major implications on the playoff race for the Rebels and most likely knocks them out of the first College Football Playoff. Despite the loss, there is still a lot to play for the rest of the season. Wallace talked about how the season looked after the loss to Auburn and is still optimistic about the season.
“We don’t feel like we’re out of it. Obviously, we don’t control our destiny anymore, but crazy things can happen in the SEC. A lot of people still have to play each other, so we’re hopeful good things can happen for us, and we can win all our games down the stretch,” Wallace said. “We have to come in and prepare and come out and have good showings in every game.”
