Syracuse football's inexperienced receiving core took a big hit Friday, as the Orange's athletic department announced wide receiver Adrian Flemming will miss the remainder of the 2013 season with a lower-body injury, which will require surgery.
Flemming, who last year was hampered by an ankle injury that forced him to miss a significant amount of time, was one of Syracuse's starting wide outs in last week's 23-17 loss to Penn State. The senior caught two balls for 18 yards in his first collegiate start.
This not only tough luck for Flemming, who has seemingly been battling for playing time his whole four years at Syracuse, but also the offense which struggled to find any rhythm in last week's loss. Flemming was expected to bring some stability to the wide receiver position, after last year's departures of Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales -- so much for that.
Stepping into bigger roles will be junior Jeremiah Kobena -- which could be a good thing -- senior Christopher Clark and, maybe, Quinta Funderbunk (??). This injury could also speed up the process of Ashton Broyd becoming a big-time target for quarterback Drew Allen or Terrel Hunt.
For those curious, a medical hardship waiver request can be made if a student-athlete participated in less than two games. For Flemming's case, we can all hope he is granted one so he can return for a final season in Orange.
