Pitt running back James Conner suffered a hip injury in the team's game last week against Syracuse. In his press conference on Monday, head coach Paul Chryst says his status is still up in the air.
"We'll see how he goes," said Chryst. "After the game he felt alright, but obviously it (hip) was hurting him."
Chryst didn't rule out a return for Conner to play in the team's finale, but he also isn't ready to commit to one, either. When a coach is so non-committal in the beginning of the week, there's a decent chance it drags on until Saturday. And with Conner being such a vital part of the offense, Chryst likely doesn't want to tip his hand and it could be a game time decision.
To his credit, he did say he should know more once he sees him in pads on Tuesday. However, he still may not issue any kind of a declaration of Conner's status until game day.
The good news for Pitt is that Chris James and Isaac Bennett both picked up the slack last weekend when Conner went down. Both rushed for more than six yards per carry and the pair combined for 197 yards. The flip side is that, while serviceable, neither is as good as Conner. Even with those guys playing fairly well, Pitt would still be at a disadvantage without their star.
