Injuries are a part of football. They are the worst part of the game, but they are a part of it. This reared its ugly head again and Head Coach Lincoln Riley announced on Tuesday that fifth-year USC offensive lineman Gino Quinones has been lost for the rest of the season due to a lower leg injury.
Quinones started at Guard for the Trojans in their Week 0 win over San Jose State. On Saturday, against Nevada, he went down in the first quarter and was unable to return.
Quinones played in all 14 games last season and was going to be a vital piece to the offensive line this season. It’s a huge blow to the unit tasked with springing the run game and keeping the best QB in the nation clean for all four quarters.
Freshman guard Alani Noa will need to continue to develop and Wyoming transfer Emmanuel Pregnon will get more playing time than he has already seen.