Hartline Out A Minimum of 3-4 weeks

According to Rich Brooks, Mike Hartline's MRI indicated that he suffered a complete tear to his medial collateral ligament and also has a partial tear of his posterior cruciate ligament and cartilage damage in his left knee. The MRI did not reveal any damage to anterior cruciate ligament which would have definitely ended his season.


Brooks said, "The protocol by the doctors is to let the MCL heal and then basically wait and see if he can play with the slight cartilage tear or not. Possibly he could play by the end of the season. Possibly he could not. It's very much up in the air." At the earliest Hartline could return within 3-4 weeks, but it is not uncommon for a complete tear of the MCL to require 6-12 weeks of rehab before returning to play.

Will Fidler and Morgan Newtwon will compete this week in practice to start at quarterback against the Auburn Tigers.