Walter Thurmond III Done…Why am I Not Surprised?

Walter Thurmond III, defensive star and playmaker extraordinaire, has been ruled out for the season. He faces knee surgery to repair the injury.

For some reason, Oregon doesn’t do injuries in the variety of “he’ll be out 3-4 weeks.” Nope, if  it’s a special season in the making, you can be almost certain that a star player will suffer a major injury.

• In 1998, when Oregon shot out to a top 11 ranking, they ended up losing running back Rueben Droughns midway through the season and limped through the second half of the schedule. They were already without top defensive player Peter Sirmon.
• Then there was 2005 when quarterback Kellen Clemens went down with a broken ankle and ended his season with the Ducks in the hunt for a BCS bowl.
• In 2007, you know what happened and I’m not talking about it.

Now, once again, the Ducks have lost a playmaking star in Walter Thurmond III (you could add LeGarrette Blount to the list, but that was self-inflicted). It would be comical if it weren’t so frustrating.

Frankly, I don’t know how Joey Harrington got through 2001 without being abducted by aliens (or perhaps something more plausible like a knee injury).

To be clear, though, this isn’t about me or you. I can cry a little bit on a  blog (and a lot in private), but Thurmond is really the one who gets a raw deal. He was in the middle of putting his stamp on the program as one of its best cornerbacks ever. The NFL was surely paying attention.

Of course, Thurmond is an amazing athlete and he’ll bounce back. His shot at the next level simply awaits his return after some intense rehab.

As for me, it’s going to take some time.