After seeing their top wide receiver, Chris Autman-Bell, leave Thursday night's practice because of a right leg injury, the Gophers received some good news Monday.
Gophers get good news on Chris Autman-Bell, take 'big, deep breath'
The team's leading wide receiver is "week-to-week" and coach P.J. Fleck said there's a "legitimate chance'' Autman-Bell plays in the Sept. 2 season opener against Ohio State.
August 17, 2021 at 11:57AM
Autman-Bell's injury is a week-to-week issue, not a long-term one, coach P.J. Fleck said.
"He's one of the toughest kids we have on this football team,'' Fleck said on KFXN-FM, without going into specifics on the injury. "… He's week-to-week. He's doing great. It's not a long-term issue. We'll get him back here very shortly. He'll be in and out of some practices here and there. … Everybody take a big, deep breath.''
Monday evening after practice, Fleck took it a step further. When asked if he thought Autman-Bell could be available for the Sept. 2 season opener against No. 4 Ohio State at Huntington Bank Stadium, Fleck responded, "I would probably say there's a legitimate chance.''
Fleck considered the diagnosis a relief.
"Absolutely. Any time a young man gets hurt, you think worst-case scenario, and you think, 'Please tell me best-case scenario,' '' he said on KFXN. "There was a lot of different things they checked. … We're fortunate that it is what it is.''
Autman-Bell, a redshirt senior, was tended to on the field for a couple of minutes after being tackled by linebacker James Gordon IV during a one-on-one drill. He was helped to the sideline by training staff, who were checking his right leg after he was placed on a table. He was later assisted to the locker room.
Autman-Bell has 78 receptions for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns in 33 career games and has caught at least one pass in 27 consecutive games. Last season, he had 22 catches for 430 yards and one TD in seven games. Among wide receivers, Daniel Jackson had the next-most receptions for the Gophers in 2020, with 12 for 167 yards as a freshman.
Jackson, sophomore Mike Brown-Stephens, Texas A&M transfer Dylan Wright and senior Clay Geary were among the receivers getting long looks Monday. Also in the mix were true freshmen Brady Boyd and Lemeke Brockington and redshirt freshman Douglas Emilien.
"Nothing has changed that way in the fact of we knew we had to be by committee,'' Fleck said. "Chris is a big part of what we do, but he's not going to be the only receiver we have. And everybody else is going to have to support him and be ready to go.''
Fleck spoke about the potential of Wright, a 6-3, 215-pound Dallas native who was the nation's No. 12-ranked prep receiver by 247Sports in the recruiting Class of 2019.
"He consistently makes huge plays [in practice], but he's just got to have the detail part of the game be ironed out,'' he said.
Minnesota, ranked first in the nation, dealt with injury and absence against No. 3 Michigan State.
