http://www.nola.com/lsu/t-p/football/index.ssf?/lsustory/lsufoot08.html LSU Football News LSU's Davey has strained tendon QB's status for Kentucky game is uncertain 10/08/01 By Wright Thompson Staff writer/The Times-Picayune BATON ROUGE -- Rohan Davey threw his helmet in disgust. He had just limped off the field in the second quarter after being sacked by the Florida Gators. Davey, suffering from a strained tendon in his left knee, took only one more snap. He was despondent. One, he had waited for years to be the starting quarterback at LSU and certainly saw that flash before his eyes. Two, his entire family came up from Florida for the game. It was the first time they had all been together to watch Davey play. Doctors had to wait until Sunday morning to see if the knee swelled. It didn't. Davey underwent an MRI at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, and the results indicated everything was fine. Davey wants to play against Kentucky. Whether he can is still up in the air; Tuesday will be a critical day in evaluating him. Coach Nick Saban said Sunday that Davey was "day-to-day" and that the doctors are cautiously optimistic. "I don't think it's a long-term, serious injury," he said after the game. "I just think it's how soon will he be able to come back?" If Davey cannot play, redshirt freshman Matt Mauck will take over as LSU's quarterback. He was 11-of-22 for 132 yards in a little more than a half Saturday. He threw two interceptions. Mauck also proved he was able to scramble, gaining 37 yards on seven carries. He was sacked twice. "I thought Matt played well," Saban said. "He made some plays. There was obviously some times where he made the wrong read. For the first time playing, I was very pleased with the way he played and moved the team. We moved the ball just about every time he was in there. We just didn't score that many points." More important than numbers was Mauck's ability to keep the wheels from falling off after Davey, the Tigers' emotional center of gravity, left the game. "We still felt that Rohan was in the game, because Matt can do the same things that Rohan Davey can," receiver Jerel Myers said. "We were OK with it, and we just tried to pick it up as the game went along, and we had no problem with it." Mauck recently became the backup quarterback. For the first part of the season, Marcus Randall was No. 2. "(Randall) seemed to struggle more and more, not with the physical part of playing quarterback, but just with the management of the team," Saban said. When LSU went to Tennessee, Saban elevated 22-year-old Mauck because, as a former minor-league baseball player, he is older and more mature. He showed that maturity Saturday, and may need to show it again on the road in a week. "I haven't played in four years, so I was pretty excited to get in there," Mauck said. "Like anything, I think you can always do better. I think I did some things fairly well."
