Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott will not be in Rebels’ rotation against Georgia this weekend
OXFORD, Miss. — It looks as if the return last weekend of Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott to the mound may be short-lived, as he will not be in the Rebels’ rotation this weekend against Georgia.
The Rebel Walk heard this information early Thursday morning and received confirmation from a source close to the program this afternoon.
Prior to starting this past Saturday against No. 1 LSU, Elliott had been out since mid-February after experiencing forearm tightness from a UCL sprain following his opening session on the mound against Delaware at the start of the season.
He went on a rest and rehab protocol that involved taking several weeks off with no throwing, and then gradually worked up to throwing bullpen and then to live batters.
There’s no getting around the fact that Elliott just didn’t look like himself against LSU. His velocity was a bit off his usual level, and he just didn’t appear comfortable. On a pitch count of 50 and sitting at 49, Elliott left in the second inning after loading the bases. He faced 10 batters and walked five of them.
Hunter spoke with media after the game about his performance.
“I felt fine. Obviously expecting better,” Elliott explained. “Walked too many people, threw too many pitches, was on a pitch count and reached it way sooner than I’d like to. …I don’t think it was layoff time. I’ve taken time off in my career. Just wasn’t good enough.”
After Ole Miss fell 2-1 to Mississippi State in the Governor’s Cup Tuesday, Coach Bianco was asked for an update on Hunter following his LSU start. He was cautious in his reply.
“Tough after that first time out and just going through rehab now. Trying to bounce back from that. It’s hard to say what role he’ll play this weekend.”
Coach Bianco Tuesday night on Hunter Elliott
It has been reported that Elliott will meet with doctors next week. The Rebel Walk has also heard from sources that he may have already met with at least one specialist earlier this week.
Regardless of what happens with those visits, it looks as if Ole Miss will be without its ace for longer than had hoped.
Surgery vs. rest and rehab
Some have questioned why Elliott didn’t undergo Tommy John surgery back in February to go ahead and get the wheels of recovery in motion as it oftentimes can take 14 months or longer for a pitcher to recover completely from the TJ surgery.
Many pitchers are faced with the same decision — try rest and rehab or have surgery. The answers just aren’t always easy.
We turned to Dr. Chad Altmyer, orthopedic surgery specialist and expert in the field, to discuss, generally speaking, not in Hunter’s specific case, why a pitcher and his physicians might choose the route of waiting rather than having the surgery.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the decision (to try rest and rehab),” Dr. Altmyer explains. “You listen to the experts and make the best informed decision you have with the opinions you are given.”
It turns out with an injury that is not a complete tear of the UCL, oftentimes it is not clear-cut on what should be done medically. For many players, going the rest and rehab route is sufficient.
“You try and if it fails, you gave it a chance,” Dr. Altmyer says of the non-surgical approach.
“Players such as those with similar UCL injuries may have a chance to come back and be effective (after rest and rehab). There are so many factors that go with a pitcher’s elbow…”
Dr. Chad Altmyer, Orthopedic Surgeon
Next Up
Ole Miss hosts Georgia this weekend at Swayze for a Friday-Sunday series. First pitch Friday is set for 6:30 p.m.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
