Gunner Kiel, Mike Boone’s Status Unclear For Memphis Game

The Cincinnati Bearcats were battered and bruised heading into and coming out of their 10th straight win over Miami (OH) yesterday. 6’6″ wide receiver Mekale McKay didn’t even dress for the game, held out for precautionary reasons after getting dinged up against Temple. Thankfully Alex Chisum and the litany of other experienced receivers were able to step in and spell one of the Bearcats’ most dangerous offensive weapons.

The same can be said of left guard Idarius Ray, whose absence due to lower leg soreness meant UC had to reshuffle the offensive line. Ryan Leahy slid back over to left guard and Chad West got his first start at right guard. Plus there was glue guy Leviticus Payne, who was also held out against the Redhawks, allowing Mike Tyson to return to the starting lineup at nickelback.

Then several Bearcats went down during the game, most critically starting quarterback Gunner Kiel. He was knocked around against Temple and even more so yesterday, including a brutal and illegal late hit by Redhawks defensive end Bryson Albright. Kiel’s diagnosis was a head injury and it apparently means his presence against Memphis on Thursday is up in the air. So too is Mike Boone, who was held out for most of the Miami game to nurse a sore ankle. Oh, and sixth year senior cornerback Adrian Witty broke his ankle as he was breaking up a pass late in the game, naturally saving Cincinnati’s hide.

Now it’s basically anyone’s guess at this point whether or not any of them, other than Witty of course, will play against the Tigers on Thursday night. This according to the Enquirer’s Tom Groeschen.

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It goes without saying that the absence of Adrian Witty, Mekale McKay, Gunner Kiel, Mike Boone, Leviticus Payne, and Idarius Ray could cripple Cincinnati, especially in a short week. The silver lining, if you can even call it that, is that only Witty is a definite possibility to be held out against Memphis. The rest could at least potentially play.

Let’s shine the spotlight on Kiel in particular. Head injuries, and particularly concussions, are a major concern in football from the Pop Warner level to the NFL. The Bearcats shouldn’t and won’t play him on Thursday if they aren’t 100% certain he’s cleared by the University of Cincinnati’s state of the art machines. But if he’s unable to go, I’m not sure how much we can truly rely on Hayden Moore to lead UC to a win.

Then there’s Mike Boone, who continues to nurse a sore ankle, easily his most important asset as a running back. Considering Hosey Williams and Tion Green managed just 4.8 and 3.5 yards per carry respectively against a Redhawks rushing defense that ranks 103rd in college football, it doesn’t exactly instill confidence in a Boone-less running back corps on Thursday. Of course, if offensive coordinator Eddie Gran refuses to play him regardless of his health, I guess that point’s moot anyways.

So we’ll keep an eye on this throughout the week. It goes without saying that the more players the Bearcats can get healthy the better for their chances on the road against Memphis on Thursday night. Hopefully each and every one of these young men who can be cleared, will be cleared come kickoff.