Emery a victim of his own hustle

When Jackson Emery slammed to the floor last night in the second half of the Colorado State game after leaping to block a shot, it was a familiar sound. Who can forget when his head bounced off the hardwood in Tulsa. Emery’s elbow hasn’t felt the same since. Well, now he’s feeling the effects of his most recent fall. It was clear that he had thumped his tail bone and lower back fairly hard last night, and the pain that seems to get worse a day later did get worse a day later. Emery sat out part of Thursday’s practice nursing those bruises. However, he is expected to play at TCU on Saturday.
Staying healthy and strong has been a challenge for Emery all season as the way he plays with so much hustle and abandon seems to come with some hazards of the job. Prior to that fall he was on the mend from various bumps and bruises. Once thing is for sure, however, and that is that BYU’s coaches don’t want him playing any different.
“I think you could see tonight that Jackson’s really feeling a lot better,” coach Dave Rose said after last night’s win. “He was flying around and getting involved in those collision type plays that are really his personality. But he’ll be sore tomorrow. But for us as coaching staff its encouraging to see him play that way.”
A few other Cougars are showing signs of battle as well. Center James Anderson has a black left eye after getting popped with an elbow from Lamont Morgan Jr. in practice. Center Chris Miles just had five stitches removed from a cut above his left eye, a slash that also occurred during a practice session.
Some good news on the injury front. Gavin MacGregor, nursing a stress reaction in his right foot, might play at TCU. Guard Matt Pinegar has started conditioning again with the team.