The Michigan Wolverines have had extremely bad luck when it comes to injuries, especially with its secondary. Already a unit without great depth or experience, the secondary was one unit where Michigan couldn't afford any serious injuries. Unfortunately, before the season Troy Woolfolk, arguably the most talented and most experienced cornerback on the roster, suffered a non-contact injury during practice that resulted in a dislocated ankle and a broken fibula. The injury ended his season before it even began, hurting Michigan's depth at cornerback greatly.
Michigan has struggled mightily on defense this season, both because of a lack of talent and a lack of experience. That has especially been true in the secondary, where most players hadn't seen a great deal of playing time before this season. One player who had played before 2010 is J.T. Floyd, Michigan's top cornerback after Woolfolk went down. Unfortunately, his season is now over, as he suffered a "freak injury" in practice on Tuesday and will need surgery to repair ligament damage.
"He got rolled up," Rodriguez said of Floyd's injury. "A guy fell down in front of him, and I don't think he saw it, and he got rolled up. It's one of those freak things that happen, and unfortunately for us it did, but our guys will be resilient. We're pretty young back there in the secondary, and now we're getting a little bit younger."
Replacing Floyd in the lineup will be true freshman Courtney Avery, meaning yet another inexperienced player will be forced into game action because of an injury. Say all you want about the bad coaching, but there's no doubt the defense has had a lot of bad luck this year, contributing to the struggles of the unit.