The injury riddled USC career of George Farmer has taking another turn. The junior wide receiver has suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, according to a source.
Farmer will miss the entire 2013 season. He is scheduled to have surgery in two weeks, the source said.
The irony of it all is Farmer suffered the injury during USC spring drills on Tuesday in front of his high school coach and Serra High School recruits that were in attendance.
Farmer has not used his redshirt and does have the option to redshirt the 2013 season.
In the same class as UCLA’s Brett Hundley, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, and Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas, Farmer was thought to be on par with the best talent in the country coming out of Serra High School in 2011.
The ideal combination of size and speed – Farmer stands 6’3” and runs a 4.3 40 – he came out of the same high school that produced Robert Woods and Marqise Lee and was thought to be the better prospect coming out than either of his former high school teammates.
Injuries, however, have sidetracked his career. He sustained a concussion during his first training camp in 2011, opening the door for Lee to burst onto the scene. He spent a lot of time on the USC Service Team as a freshman before seeing game action as a running back. He returned to wide receiver last spring but couldn't shake the injuries. Other setbacks have included an ankle injury and an assortment of hamstring issues.
He was back on the field, healthy, and enjoying a good spring when he suffered his most recent setback on Tuesday afternoon.
Farmer was a candidate for USC’s third wide receiver spot behind Lee and Nelson Agholor, who is also having a good spring.
Senior De’Von Flournoy, sophomore Victor Blackwell, freshman Darreus Rogers, and incoming freshman Steven Mitchell will now have the opportunity to fill the third spot.
Farmer is as athletic as any member of the USC football team. As a junior in high school, he came 0.001 of a second away, in the 100 meters, of becoming the first athlete in California state history to win three state championships in one school year. He had already won state titles in football and basketball.
Despite the news, Farmer is said to be “in good spirits,” the source said.
