17Aug12-Navy wide receiver Matt Aiken was on crutches and sporting a knee brace at
practice on Tuesday evening. Aiken apparently hyper-extended his right knee in
Saturday's scrimmage and could very well miss the season opener against Notre
Dame on Sept. 1 in Dublin, Ireland.

"He's probably out for a while. Probably doubtful for the Notre Dame game," Navy
head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "We'll see. He's a hard-working kid and with
medicine and technology now.... It's a long shot, but we'll see."

That means Navy is currently without its two projected starters at wide receiver
since Brandon Turner is unable to practice until he passes the physical
readiness test that is administered to all midshipmen. If the season started
tomorrow, juniors Casey Bolena and Shawn Lynch would probably be the starting
wide outs.

Aiken also serves as the team's punt returner so the coaching staff will need to
identify a replacement for that role as well. Senior slotback Gee Gee Greene is
the most likely candidate to handle punt returns, although Niumatalolo said the
staff is also auditioning sophomore slots Geoffrey Whiteside and Ryan
Williams-Jenkins. Junior wide receiver Hayden Maples, who returned punts at the
Naval Academy Prep School, is also in the mix.

"The one thing about Matt, he did it (returned punts) in big games. So we have
to make sure we pick the right guy," Niumatalolo said. "I could care less if we
get a Deion Sanders 50-yard return. I just want someone who will catch the
ball."

Aiken injured the same knee in high school and has endured swelling at times, he
said. He was slated to have fluid drained from the knee on Saturday afternoon
before the injury occurred.

"I'll be out for a little bit. We're not really sure how long. We'll see how the
rehab goes," he said. "Once the swelling goes down and I get a little more
active, we'll see how I feel. It's disappointing, but I guess there is good news
that there is no surgery."

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2012
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
BYLINE: BILL WAGNER Staff Writer
SECTION: B; Pg.5
LENGTH: 342  words
What: College football season opener
When: Sept. 1,  9 a.m.
Where: Dublin, Ireland
TV: Chs. 9, 13