Damien Thigpen won’t set timetable for return from torn ACL


Running back Damien Thigpen, who tore his ACL last November, said his knee feels good but couldn’t set a timetable for his return. The senior was third on the team with 849 all-purpose yards last season and one of the team’s most dynamic weapons.

Though being sidelined has kept him from potentially moving up the backfield depth chart — led tenuously by junior Jordon James — he hasn’t dwelled on the what-ifs.

“It’s easy for me to just think there and think, ‘I should be there, I should be this,’” Thigpen said. “But the coaches, they know once I’m back, they’ll allow me to step in and produce. I’m not really worried about, ‘Oh, I need to get out there as fast as I can so I can compete.’”

Mora said Thigpen will likely be ready toward the earlier part of the season rather than the middle.