BYU football: Cougars get good news on injuries

PROVO — After watching two starters go down during Saturday's 54-3 thumping of Tulane, BYU has received some good news on the injury front.

Starting left guard Braden Hansen, who injured his knee, should miss only 1-3 weeks of action. He did not suffer a tear in the ACL, coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday, adding that the redshirt freshman is doubtful for Saturday's game against Florida State (5 p.m., Versus).

Sophomore Marco Thorson, who played left guard for much of fall camp, will most likely start in place of Hansen.

Meanwhile, senior safety Scott Johnson, who sustained his second concussion in a month after absorbing a knee to the jaw, is "possible" for this week.

Johnson will need to pass the protocol for concussions before he is cleared to play. "The protocol is slightly more difficult and stringent this week because it's his second (concussion)," Mendenhall said.

Running back Harvey Unga (hamstring) is expected to play Saturday — and get more than the three carries he had against Tulane.

On the offensive line, Hansen's knee is the latest in a string of injuries at that position. During fall camp, the original starter at left tackle, Jason Speredon, was lost for the season due to a torn rotator cuff. Then backup Houston Reynolds suffered a season-ending knee injury.

In order to shore up the depth, Mendenhall announced he has switched freshman nose tackle Jordan Richardson to the offensive line, a move that was made Monday.

"We'll try to get him caught up as quickly as possible to add depth," Mendenhall said. "He's a very good football player and he's young. The role that he could have offensively will probably exceed that of what he'll have defensively now. We need him. … He's starting from ground zero in terms of knowledge of the offense. He doesn't know the terminology, he doesn't know the technique. But he's big enough, he's fast enough, he's willing, he's strong, he's conscientious. It's really a compliment to him. When I mentioned it to him at the airport after we arrived (home from New Orleans), his response was, 'Wherever I'm needed.' He was sincere. It will be fun."

BRONCO ON BOWDEN: While Florida State is one of the most storied programs in the country, its coach, Bobby Bowden, is the second-winningest coach in college football history.

With 383 career victories, Bowden trails Penn State's Joe Paterno by two wins for the all-time lead, although as many as 14 of Bowden's victories could be vacated due to NCAA penalties in the wake of an academic-misconduct scandal at FSU that took place in 2006.

Under Bowden, who turns 80 in November, the Seminoles have won a pair of national championships, in 1993 and 1999.