During Saturday’s practice, it was confirmed that Cody Waldrop had suffered a leg injury. The extent of the injury is unknown, but it is thought to be a broken leg, that may keep him out the rest of the season. The injury has left Gamecock fans wondering, “What will the impact of his injury be on the football team?”
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Waldrop is a guy that has been with the team going on his fourth season. He redshirted his freshman year, but played in 14 games over the next two seasons and started 8 of those games at center. Waldrop is capable of playing at center or guard. More importantly, he was the only seasoned offensive lineman on the second team.
Having Waldrop absent from the line up certainly does not bode well for the depth of the offensive line. The Gamecocks will be forced to move Zack Bailey to center to back up Alan Knott. Most importantly, the entire second team will consist of inexperienced players.
This has been a difficult few months for the Gamecock offensive line. Brock Stadnik was injured during fall camp. Clayton Stadnik lost 50 pounds after having his tonsils removed and was forced to move to tight end. Needless to say, the loss of Waldrop is just another setback for an already depleted group.
If there is a silver lining in this turn of events, it is that Waldrop did not see the playing field on Thursday night against the North Carolina Tarheels. Alan Knott played every snap. If the first team can stay healthy, then it would lessen the impact of Waldrop’s injury substantially. It’s hard to imagine the front five staying injury free, especially with Mike Matulis’s history.
What this does mean for the future of the program is that Waldrop could be able to obtain a medical redshirt this season, assuming Waldrop can rehab his leg and return to play competitively. This could potentially give the Gamecocks an extremely veteran line over the next two seasons, which is always a plus in the SEC.
Regardless of the impact, the most important thing is hoping that Cody Waldrop just takes care of himself and gets well soon.
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