Injury ends season for Tennessee RB
One of the top players in
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has seen his season come to a bitter end.
Antonio Gaines, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound standout rated as one
all-purpose backs, suffered a
torn ACL in the second game of the season and recently had season-ending
surgery.
"It's very hard to take, tough to deal with," said
Gaines, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards and scored 21 touchdowns as a
junior. "I was ready for a breakout season. The team is 6-0 now, and we
could do something special, so it's hard not to be out there helping them.
The timing couldn't be worse."
And for more than just wiping out his senior season.
Gaines now has to play the waiting game to see which
of the schools recruiting him will remain in the picture.
"So far, it's just Ole Miss and Wyoming," he said.
"Nobody else has called lately. I want to be patient and keep everything
open, though. Hopefully some teams will stick with me. I'll make somebody
glad they did."
The three-star back had been receiving regular
attention from Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Memphis and Penn State, among
others, prior to the injury.
"I'm going to be back at full strength," he said.
"The doctors say it's going to be fine, that I shouldn't have any problems.