Texas A&M’s receiver room has sustained several huge blows already in the game against Kentucky, as first Terry Bussey and now Mario Craver have gone down with injury. Craver has been a focal point for the offense so far today, and he has already racked up a lot of yards, but this will certainly put a damper on things.
Craver caught a ball for a tunnel screen and nearly got a first down on third and long before he was ankle tackled by a Kentucky defensive lineman. He seemed to be pointing to his foot when the medical staff came out onto the field, which suggests that it was the way in which he was tackled that was the issue.
The replay didn’t show anything that would suggest an injury had occurred on the tackle— it looked like a normal football play— but clearly it bothered the Aggies’ top receiver. With the depth of A&M’s pass-catchers already getting decimated in this game, losing Craver was something they could ill-afford.
Mario Craver exits with injury against Kentucky after Terry Bussey did the same
The good news is that Craver walked off the field mostly unassisted. He had his arms around the medical staff but looked like he was able to put weight on his foot as he made his way to the sideline.
There has been no word yet on whether he will be able to re-enter the game, but he sat out the next few plays. The Aggies turned the ball over a couple of plays later, so fans will be watching very closely when A&M gets the ball back to see if Craver is able to make his way back into the lineup.
If Texas A&M loses Craver for an extended period of time, especially after what looks like a pretty serious injury to Bussey, it will be a huge gut punch to their chances to have an elite offense. A&M is still searching for an identity on that side of the ball, and losing Craver certainly won’t help anything.
When the game came back from break, Mario Craver had exited the tent and was watching film with his teammates on the bench. That’s a great sign for the Aggies— hopefully he will be able to make his way back into the game soon.
Update: Craver returned to the game on the following series, signaling that he is mostly okay after the injury.
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