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When a player goes down like a pile of bricks, making nary an attempt at recovering his own fumble, can you blame the Buckeye faithful for simply assuming the worst as their running back is being carted off of the field?

We have all heard a handful of different updates regarding the status of the Heisman hopeful, ranging from a hangnail to ligament damage. Okay, no one really mentioned hang nails, but anything shy of turf toe and one would have to question what exactly happened given Wells’ reaction on the play.  But while we all sit back and await any sort of confirmation regarding his status for this week, it is no secret that next week is the true question mark.

Sure, it would be great if he could get a few repetitions in against the Ohio Bobcats.  If anything, it would allow fans to rest a bit easier given the Belichickian news that we received from Jim Tressel this morning.  From today’s press conference:

Tressel declined to give a specific diagnosis on Wells’ foot. He did say Wells did not practice Monday, and he will sit out today’s practice. He thought it was possible Wells could practice Wednesday or Thursday.

In this case, I guess anything is possible.  The Buckeyes have the depth to weather this weekend’s game, so you can see why Jim Tressel isn’t exactly focusing on questions based around the USC game.  He’s always been a one-game-at-a-time guy, and Tressel seems more than comfortable inserting Boom Herron or Maurice (the other) Wells in Beanie’s place.

But are fans?  The answer may deviate a bit, depending on who you ask.  Some say that this could be a blessing in disguise – forcing us to incorperate other players earlier than necessary – while others say that “some” are out of their minds.

While Tressel will not delve into next week, can we trust anything that comes from the mouth of a high school prospect? 

[Jamaal] Berry, one of the top running back prospects in the country, gave a thumbs up to Ohio State by becoming the 25th commitment to its 2009 recruiting class. He also might have gotten the scoop on Wells, whom he saw report to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for treatment on his injured right foot yesterday.

“He said he’s going to be OK,” said Berry, who was visiting from Miami Palmetto High School. “I asked him how he was doing, and he seemed cool with it. He wasn’t down or anything. He was like, ‘No problem.’

“I guess he’ll be back, if not this week (against Ohio University), he’ll be fine by next week” for the trip to No. 3 Southern California.

A moderator at the OSU message board over at Scout.com did reportedly confirm that there is ligament damage within Wells’ big toe.  He is apparently receiving treatment, but despite what Tressel says, this does sound like the infamous turf toe injury that puts a slight damper on the ability to cut and jump. 

To us, it sounds like the extent of Wells absence from the team will revolve around his ability to handle the pain.  These are the types of injuries that can be nagging for an entire season, without being season ending.  A healing period of a month is not rare, but from the sound of things we may see him before the 30-day window, especially if the decision comes down to Wells himself.

“I think every time, to give it to the trainers who see him every time, is that every time they see him, he seems better,” Tressel said. “Now I haven’t seen him that much, I happened to see him in the training room and he was saying how wonderful he feels. Now, that was a lot different than when I saw him on the field that day. He wasn’t expressing how good he felt, so, yeah, there’s been a big change.”

So, while we do not exactly know the status of Wells as of today, we were able to sign a top recruit in the meantime.  We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any new information.  I’ll be shocked if he suits up for any sort of contact before Thursday, but that’s just me.  Let’s just hope that this positive change in Wells’ feelings continue their assent.

Buckeyes to wait and see with Wells [Columbus Dispatch]
Wells Continuing To Recover [Scout.com]