Rebels suffer injury to All-SEC tight end
By Staff
UP IN THE AIR Vanderbilt's Dan Stricker (85) catches a pass for a touchdown as Ole Miss's Desmon Johnson defends during the fourth quarter in Oxford.
AP Photo
By Joey Vaughan / special to The Star
Sept. 22, 2002
OXFORD Ole Miss 45-38 victory over Vanderbilt Saturday didn't come without a price.
Several Rebels were hurt in the ball game, some seriously. The worst was All-SEC tight end Doug Zeigler, a fifth-year senior tight end whose career at Ole Miss is likely done after a nasty broken leg he suffered late in the first quarter.
The Rebs were knocking on the door deep in Vandy territory when Zeigler was injured blocking on a pass play. He didn't move for several minutes, and a team of doctors and medics placed Zeigler's lower left leg in an air cast and carted him off the field on a stretcher. X-rays confirmed that Zeigler had broken both the tibia and fibula in the left leg.
Zeigler is done for the season and has already used his redshirt year. Since he played in four games this season, its not likely the NCAA will grant a medical redshirt year.
Cutcliffe was more than a little displeased to see on of his leading receivers go down.
Zeigler had his season ended early last year, too. He broke his right forearm against Georgia and missed the last two games.
But Zeigler wasn't the only Ole Miss player to hobble off with a leg injury. Senior linebacker Lanier Goethie left the field on crutches in the first half. X-rays showed a broken fifth metatarsal in Goethie's left foot. Also, senior running back Robert Williams sprained his left ankle in the first quarter and did not return.
Cutcliffe said Goethie may have to have surgery on his foot, but Williams should heal sometime this year. Zeigler and Goethie are two of the three tri-captains.
Eli notes: Manning's 386 yards passing made him the first Ole Miss quarterback ever to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games. It was a career high for passing yards for Manning, and the fourth career 300-yard game, surpassing the record held by Archie Manning, Romaro Miller and Stewart Patridge. Mannings 79-yard touchdown pass to Chris Collins and 78-yarder to Mike Espy made him the first quarterback in Ole Miss history to have two 70-plus yard scoring passes in the same game.
