Mario Craver injury update: Thursday injury report released for Mississippi State vs. Tennessee

With just fewer than 48 hours until a primetime kickoff between Mississippi State and Tennessee, the status of one Bulldogs playmaker is coming into clearer focus. And for the first time in weeks, freshman wideout Mario Craver seems set to play.

Beyond Craver, the injury reports have remained rather static for both teams, with just a trio of players listed as something other than “out.” For Tennessee, the only player on the report who isn’t listed as being out is defensive lineman Tyre West, who was questionable on Wednesday.

See the full reports below.

Tennessee

• CB Jourdan Thomas – Out
• LB Keenan Pili – Out
• LB Edwin Spillman – Out
• RB DeSean Bishop – Out
• DL Tyre West – Doubtful

Mississippi State

• QB Blake Shapen – Out
• CB Traveon Wright – Out
• WR Creed Whittemore – Out
• WR Trent Hudson – Out
• DL Kedrick Bingley-Jones – Out
• RB Keyvone Lee – Out
• DL Kalvin Dinkins – Out
• OL Canon Boone – Out
• WR Mario Craver – Probable
• DL De’Monte Russell – Probable

And while none of the players listed on the report can be tagged for faking an injury, it has become an issue in the SEC and college football this year and was recently addressed. And Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby is a fan of the new rule from the SEC that punishes teams for their players faking injuries.

Conference commissioner Greg Sankey released a memo on the revealing the teams will be fined up to $100,000 and the head coach will face a suspension on the third offense.

It’s received mixed reaction from coaches around the league such as Lane Kiffin and Clark Lea. However, Lebby is on the side that believes it will ultimately be a good thing for college football.

“I’m all in favor,” he said. “Love it. It’s come up a ton as we’ve been in the middle of some games. So I love that that’s where it’s going.”

Lebby’s stance on the matter makes sense and teams likely try to employ the fake injury strategy against his up-tempo style offense. Injuries force timeouts on the field that allow the defense a chance to catch its breath and prevent such offenses from gaining too much momentum.

It’s unclear exactly what factors the SEC will use to determine whether a player is faking an injury. It doesn’t seem to be something that can easily be proven one way or the other.