Theo Mougros To Have Knee Surgery Friday

Jan. 18, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson starting offensive guard Theo Mougros will have arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday. The surgery will be exploratory in nature and will determine if he has ligament damage. The injury took place in the Peach Bowl last month against Mississippi State. If he has a torn ACL, surgery to repair that injury will be performed on Friday.

Mougros started 11 of the 12 games for the Tigers last year and was a big reason the Tigers averaged over 400 yards a game in total offense, just the third Clemson team in history to average over 400 yards a game over the course of a season. The native of Tarpon Springs, FL played every snap in seven of the 12 games and averaged 70 plays per game. He already has earned his undergraduate degreee, but still has another year of eligibility.

Five other Clemson players have had surgery since the Peach Bowl. Starting tackle T.J. Watkins had arthroscopic surgery to clean out an ankle problem, while offensive tackle Gary Byrd had surgery as a follow up to his dislocated knee cap last August.

Tight end Pat Cyrgalis had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and had the plate removed from his right ankle that was the result of a dislocated fracture suffered last March. Quarterback Woodrow Dantzler had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove loose impediments.

First-team Academic All-American and starting center Kyle Young had surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left arm. He suffered that injury against Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl.

Head football trainer Danny Poole said Tuesday that cornerback Darrel Crutchfield is the only player who has been ruled out of spring practice at this time. Crutchfield is recovering from a torn ACL suffered against Florida State on October 23. Obviously, Mougros would miss spring practice if he has a torn ACL.

Clemson will begin spring practice on March 11. The Spring Game will be held in Death Valley on April 15 at 3:00 PM.