Top USC receiver Ja’Kobi Lane cleared to play after breaking his foot during offseason
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Rising star USC wideout Ja’Kobi Lane suffered a broken foot in May, but was fully cleared this week and will be ready for the Trojans’ season opener against Missouri State, coach Lincoln Riley said Thursday.
The foot injury kept Lane limited through most of the summer. By the start of preseason camp, he was still being brought along slowly. During the portion of USC’s practices open to reporters, Lane wasn’t even running routes on air.
Through the first two weeks of preseason football camp, he established himself as one of the early standouts in a crowded cornerback group.
Lane wasn’t deemed fully healthy until the final week of USC’s preseason camp. Riley said that the junior wideout had actually “progressed a little bit ahead of schedule.”
His return is a welcomed one on a USC offense that will rely on him to stretch the field this season. Lane was second in the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns last season as a sophomore, with 12 scores on just 43 receptions. He finished the year with six touchdowns across his final two games, a dominant stretch that would put him in the conversation to be a first-round pick in next spring’s NFL draft.
But after sitting out for part of the offseason, it may take some time to see that final leap from Lane as a junior. Riley said that Lane is still getting back into shape after being limited by his foot injury, but is progressing nicely with just over a week remaining before USC kicks off at the Coliseum.
“You can see some of the rust starting to get knocked off now,” Riley said of his top wideout.
USC coach Lincoln Riley is doing all he can to stay relaxed and refreshed as he prepares to enter what will be a critical year for him and the Trojans.
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