Luke Fickell started Big Ten Media Days with some bad news as he said that he doesn't think young running back Gideon Ituka will ever be cleared to play football again. He isn't even on the current roster but is still working out with the team and around the program. Ituka was a breakout star last season in an offense that didn't have much juice, Ituka provided a spark. Now his football days are likely over.
Ituka was injured while playing Indiana last season in one of the final games of the season. He was tackled for a three-yard loss, and the refs blew the play dead, but an extra tackler came in high as Ituka continued to run, and the tackler came and slammed him to the turf. His head bounced off the field, and he lay on the ground as trainers rushed to help. He was then carted off the field, and he gave a thumbs-up to the crowd.
Gideon Ituka will be around the Wisconsin program but likely will never play football again
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Initially, things looked good for Ituka and maybe a more normal concussion protocol situation. He posted on the flight home that he was doing well. Luke Fickell even mentioned how he seemed to avoid serious injury. However, that turned out not to be the case when Ituka couldn't get cleared, and the tests kept coming back as "no improvement." Or showed some level of concern.
Now, the Badgers will go without Ituka for this season, and he may end up helping out the program in other ways. It seems as if Fickell is fully comfortable with him being around the program and being part of non-football activities.
It's a huge bummer for a promising young running back. He was a redshirt his freshman year and last year burst onto the scene when forced into action due to other running back injuries. He had 60 rushes for 255 yards but also was elusive enough to show he had some burst. His long of the season was 18 yards. He was due to have a role this season, even if it was behind Abu Sama III and others.
It also explains why Wisconsin worked so hard to create extra depth in the running back room. Fickell added Sama III to be the starter but also added Bryan Jackson II, Nate Palmer, and even top JUCO transfer Juju Pope to the room. Not to mention Darrion Dupree, who was already on the roster and ready for more work.
So the depth isn't the bummer; it's the loss of a promising young player in a play that didn't need to happen. Ituka was fighting for more yardage; the play was blown dead, extra tacklers came in, and Ituka is now likely done with football before his career ever really got started. It's a tough loss for a seemingly great kid. It's good to see that Wisconsin is letting him hang around and most likely helping him with medical care.
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