Rockets dealing with injury issues heading into matchup with Northern Illinois

It’s a question that no head football coach wants to contemplate, yet a query Toledo’s Matt Campbell now has to answer heading into the Rockets’ biggest game of the season.

Who backs up the backup quarterback?

Sophomore signal caller Logan Woodside left Tuesday’s victory over Kent State in the third quarter with an injury to his lower leg. While Campbell said there is no serious damage, Woodside’s status for UT’s matchup with Northern Illinois next week is still up in the air.

If the Kentucky native is unable to go against the Huskies, redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Julian will get the start. The roster gets decidedly murky, however, following Julian’s name on the list, prompting literally everyone to wonder who will back him up if he is deemed the starter.

“You know, my wife asked me that last night,” Campbell said when asked about the issue. “I said ‘well, since you’ve been studying so much film lately, maybe you’re going to have to be the backup.’ We’ve got some options.”

The first possibility is senior wide receiver Dwight Macon, who Campbell says has always taken reps as an emergency option at quarterback.

Macon actually attempted a pass earlier in the year – to Woodside during a trick play at Cincinnati – but Woodside was unable to come up with the catch.

The second backup quarterback option, according to Campbell, is freshman Jalen Reese, but the entire conversation is hypothetical if Woodside proves enough during the practices leading up to the trip to NIU.

“I think there is a good possibility that Logan will play this week,” Campbell said. “We’ll know a lot more come later on this week as we get into practice, but there is no break there’s no anything that will really limit him from a full time status so I guess ours is just how that ankle and really that lower leg rehabs itself.”

While Woodside’s availability for Tuesday remains up in the air, senior center Greg Mancz, who also went out in the second half against Kent State with a leg injury, is probable to suit up for the matchup at Northern Illinois.

Campbell said that Mancz suffered a deep knee bruise and would have gone back in against Kent State had it been deemed necessary.

“Initially, the way [Mancz] was screaming out there, I thought he probably had gotten his head cut off,” joked senior offensive lineman Jeff Myers. “No, but it’s hard to see one of your brothers, one of your fellow offensive linemen that you’ve been here so long with, walk off the field. It’s good that it’s not a huge injury and that he’s going to be able to rehab and he’s going to be able to play next week.

“At the same time, it was nice to see that we have the opportunity to move guys around and still run the ball and still be a successful offensive line. From my standpoint, that was huge.”

As far as UT’s running game is concerned, the Rockets appear to be close to 100 percent.

Sophomore tailback Kareem Hunt and freshman Terry Swanson will be full go against Northern Illinois despite Hunt appearing banged up at the end of the Kent State game and Swanson dealing with an eye issue after some loose turf material flew into his facemask at the end of a play.

“I almost feel like Kareem, I think he likes it when everyone asks how he’s doing in my next day press conference,” Campbell joked. “Kareem’s doing fine, just battling through some of the soreness of just the amount of carries that he got in the football game – especially the last two weeks – and just battling through some of that. I think he felt better [Wednesday] than he felt last week after the UMass game, so I think that is a real positive for all of us.”

The Rockets know they need to be ready for a brutal contest, no matter which players suit up Tuesday against Northern Illinois.

“I think that’s part of hopefully where we are in our football program,” Campbell said. “You’re going to have injuries, you’re going to have those times where you lose a guy for a quarter, two quarters maybe a game. You better be able to adapt and continue on.

“Certainly we were able to do that [against Kent State] and if we have to continue to do that down the road I’ve got complete confidence in the guys to do it.”

Kickoff is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill.