Since this is not a one-off problem, clearly there is something wrong with strength & conditioning or the way the practice, or both.
I think it is more complex than that. One guy apparently got hurt walking on stairs. Another apparently was hurt in a non contact drill in the spring. Someone got hurt in the spring and it was thought he was okay but he wasn't properly examined and it turned out he needed surgery (might have been one of the first two).
Another apparently has a condition that prevents him from playing. Think it is hereditary. We lost a few guys who should be seniors and juniors because of concussions.
Lots of different issues are in play here. We might need to do a better job vetting prospective recruits before offering them. We might be better at identifying medical problems and getting them treated in a timely fashion, but some of the problems here went down in the spring, when COVID hit, and complicated matters, especially medical ones. Pretty sure you couldn't see a doctor unless it was a major, life threatening issue.
I don't think the way the team practices has anything to do with it. If S&C plays a role, I think it is a very minor one. I think our extreme lack of depth actually made things worse as at least one player, really banged up, continues to play hurt, not getting better, maybe getting worse. With a normal OL unit, he would probably have been rested for a week or two and recovered. We didn't have that luxury.
There is such a thing as bad luck and I think it definitely played a role here. I hope the staff does a deep dive and maybe finds some things that could be done better. There probably are some tweaks that can be made. But I think on the whole, we are doing our S&C okay, and our practices are fine. We just need a normal stretch of luck and more bodies to work with. The incoming class will help address this. Hopefully the banged up guys all come back and we will have good depth next year.
