Cougar corner: Senior DB out for year after surgery

PROVO — BYU's defensive secondary took a hit Thursday when coach Bronco Mendenhall announced that senior safety Dustin Gabriel will undergo surgery that will force him to be sidelined for the 2007 season.

Gabriel, who has battled a host of injuries during his Cougar career, had been limited in his participation in fall camp because of injuries to both of his feet. The decision to undergo surgery on both feet was made after Gabriel met with doctors Thursday morning.

"His pain tolerance and the damage it's done, have left all involved to think it's best for him to have surgery," Mendenhall said. "He's having a difficult time right now, as we all are with some of the finality. We didn't think this would happen. We thought we would be able to use different injections and pain methodology to get him through this year, but that's not going to be the case."

The school will appeal to the NCAA for him to receive another season of eligibility under the medical hardship program. "I never know what those chances are and I don't know how it will play out," Mendenhall said. After surgery, Gabriel will undergo rehabilitation and continue attending team meetings "and prepare like he'll be back next year," Mendenhall said.

Gabriel will likely be wheelchair-bound for a while following surgery. He also has a finger that needs surgery, according to Mendenhall.

"He's one of the toughest players I've ever been around," Mendenhall said. "It's reached the point where he needs to have (surgery) done."

Last season, Gabriel started all 13 games at safety, recording 37 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recover and a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the win against San Diego State. He started 10 games as a sophomore in 2005.

In Gabriel's absence, senior David Tafuna and senior Corby Hodgkiss will battle for the starting safety job.

LETTING OFF STEAM: The Cougars donned full pads for the first time on Thursday, and it didn't take long for that to show. A drill that pits two offensive players against two defensive players intended to improve run-blocking skills sparked a scuffle early on in practice.

Following some questionable hits, players on both sides converged and emotions flared, resulting in shouting and shoving for a few minutes before order was restored.

Mendenhall said he's turning the incident into a teaching moment.

"After a slow start to practice, it might have ended up our best practice in terms of adding some emotion to the execution, which is something you have to manage," Mendenhall said. "One of the things that good teams have to do, with emotion, with confrontation, with animosity that develops between sides, is not to let that affect your execution. In the big games, that's a critical part of it. That was a teaching point for our team. As we came out of 'Cougar Drill,' both sides ended up having a lot of emotion. Then they have to play within their systems and within their schemes. Those who did that best today ended up having more success. As we learned last year in the big games, if you don't manage your emotions right, you don't play quite as well, especially in stretches. It was a really good lesson to have established early."

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