Mike Saffer was sitting in math class Friday morning ““
painful enough.
But when the senior offensive tackle took a routine deep breath
and coughed, he experienced something even greater.
“It was one of the sharpest pains I have ever felt in my
life,” Saffer said. “It felt like somebody took a knife
and stabbed me.”
One of Saffer’s ribs had snapped. Apparently, it was
originally fractured the previous Saturday during the Colorado game
when Saffer was kneed early in the game.
Doctors believed that Saffer merely suffered a bruise, as the
6-foot-5, 304-pound lineman played the rest of the game and
practiced the following week.
One day before the San Diego State game, Saffer needed a
replacement, and 6-foot-9, 330-pound redshirt freshman Ed Blanton
was well equipped to pick up the slack.
Blanton, seeing his first career snaps, performed well.
“I was very pleased with how he played,” head coach
Bob Toledo said. “He didn’t cause a sack, he knew who
to block. He smothered some guys.
“I call (Blanton) “˜Mountain Man’ since
he’s as big as a mountain. He’s going to be a heck of a
football player.”
Saffer was acting as Blanton’s personal coach during the
game. But he didn’t have to really do much. During the game,
he told Toledo, “Coach, (Blanton’s) doing a heck of a
job.”
“Any time you put a guy in there who’s never taken a snap,
you just never know,” Toledo said. “He now knows he can
play football at this level. We’ve found a guy for the
future, I know that.”
Saffer, meanwhile, will be limited in practice and is listed as
doubtful for Saturday’s game against Oregon State. He is
expected to be out for three to five weeks.
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C.J. Niusulu had his court appearance for pretrial deliberations
in his hometown of Barstow continued to Nov. 5. The freshman
defensive lineman is charged with felony battery after allegedly
punching a minor at a drive-in theater in July. Niusulu, who has
not appeared in a game this year, is expected to redshirt.