Donte Williams provides update on Drake London’s injury status

USC interim head coach Donte Williams told reporters Sunday night that star wide receiver Drake London will miss the remainder of the 2021 season with an ankle fracture, via Ryan Abraham. London was carted off the field with an air cast during the second quarter of the Trojans 41-34 win over Arizona.

Drake London suffered the ankle fracture on a six-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart.

London has emerged as one of the top wide receivers in college football, climbing to No. 1 on Mel Kiper’s list of NFL eligible receivers last week. He caught 88 passes for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns in the first eight games of 2021, including Saturday’s win.

Coming into the weekend, London posted a 92.7 receiving grade against single coverage, via Pro Football Focus. That mark was good enough for No. 1 in college football.

Opposing coach praises Drake London

Drake London’s game has everyone talking, even opposing coaches. Ahead of USC’s game against Notre Dame this season, head coach Brian Kelly had high praise for the standout wide receiver.

“Well, we’re just going to do what Stanford did,” Kelly said jokingly, referencing London’s four-catch, 68-yard, one-touchdown, season-low performance, when asked how Notre Dame will stop the dynamic wideout. “I don’t know. … Certainly, you can’t do what Stanford did, but [London] is a really, really good football player. And you have to have a plan for him, just as we had one for [former USC wide receiver Michael] Pittman and the other players that they had. If you just line up and say, ‘OK, we’ll live with what the consequences are,’ it’ll be like George Karlaftis at Purdue. We couldn’t just line up and let George rush the passer, we had to have a plan for him.”

Given London’s success at USC, Kelly compared him to to Purdue wide receiver Drake Bell. Last season, prior to exiting Purdue’s matchup against Kelly’s Notre Dame team due to an injury, Bell had seven catches for 64 receiving yards.

“[London and Bell] are similar in their competitive spirit. I mean, they are great competitors,” Kelly said, likening the USC target to a former Notre Dame opponent. “They’re different in terms of size, obviously. They’re both, for me, guys that just have such an incredible high football IQ, understand the game, body leverage and the yards after catch are what scare you the most. … I think both of them are outstanding players. This kid [London] is just a ferocious competitor, and he’ll block you. They use him to block, too.”