WR Richards out again as ’Canes travel to Toledo

Bone bruise will keep him from 2nd straight game

CORAL GABLES — Ahead of the season, Miami Hurricanes receiver Ahmmon Richards — a former freshman All-American and Wellington High standout — couldn’t help but smile at the idea of returning to the field.

Last year, Richards was plagued by knee, ankle and hamstring issues that kept him out of five games. He worked in the offseason to rehab those injuries and, he said, get his body better prepared for the season ahead.

But three games into 2018, Richards is again on the sidelines, set to miss his second straight game when No. 21 Miami travels to Toledo on Saturday for its first true road test of the season.

Richards suffered what coach Mark Richt potentially described as a bone bruise in the Hurricanes’ 33-17 season-opening loss to LSU. He missed last Saturday’s home opener against Savannah State and

has not practiced in the days leading up to Saturday’s matchup at Toledo, prompting Richt to announce Thursday he would not play against the Rockets (1-0).

Richt did not say when he expects to have Richards back, but he did say the focus remains on not only helping the receiver get healthy, but to deal with what must be an especially frustrating situation given all Richards was forced to deal with on the injury front last season.

“Ahmmon’s a strong kid. He’s a real smart kid, but he’s human,” Richt said. “We’re just going to take care of him. That’s the best I can say it.”

Said Hurricanes receivers coach Ron Dugans earlier this week, “It’s always tough when you’re facing adversity. As adults, we’ve been through adversity before and have found a way to deal with it, persevere through it. As a younger kid, it’s tougher because they haven’t gone through this before. I try to be there for him, try to rally guys around him and try to keep his mind focused. … He’s done a good job of coaching guys up in the meeting room and practice field, helping younger guys cope with the things they’re going to see and things he’s gone through before.”

Rousseau update

Hurricanes defensive end Greg Rousseau, who injured his ankle in Miami’s 77-0 win over Savannah State last week, had surgery Wednesday.

Richt said Thursday there is no timetable for his return, but indicated — not unexpectedly — that it will be a while before the freshman returns.

“It’ll be a little bit. I don’t know how long, but it won’t be any time soon, that’s for sure,” Richt said.

More Lingard?

Running back Lorenzo Lingard, a former five-star prospect, was one of the freshmen to stand out in Miami’s blowout win over Savannah State. With the Hurricanes looking to jump start the running game, Richt indicated Lingard has been trying to work his way into the rotation.

That said, Richt wouldn’t say Lingard — who had a game-high 82 rushing yards against the Tigers — had bypassed veterans Trayone Gray or Robert Burns to take the No. 3 running back spot on the depth chart behind Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas.

That spot, Richt said, remained unsettled heading into Toledo.

“We’re preparing him and others to get ready to play. Guys did get a chance to play last week and that was helpful,” Richt said. “Lorenzo’s certainly helped his cause by being highly productive and now it’s still a matter of understanding the game plan and making sure you can handle all of it, not just part of it.”

ROGER STEINMAN/AP Ahmmon Richards (82) was injured in Miami’s season-opening loss to LSU. Richards is set to miss his second straight game.

JOEL AUERBACH/GETTY IMAGES Mark Richt, his staff, and the players have been helping Ahmmon Richards get through mental aspect of another injury.