Crimson Red Sports

Brandon has made some changes intended to have more staff watching for potential injuries, and the university president has weighed in, saying the athletic department will be transparent in figuring out what went wrong. Brandon said diagnosing injuries isn't the coach's responsibility.

"Coaches are supposed to coach, and medical staff are supposed to go over and tell the coach at any given time, `There's a player on the field that shouldn't be out there. Get him off.' Or, `We've just examined a player and they are not able to participate any more. We've taken away their helmet,'" Brandon said. "And that's all coaches need to hear, and that's their only responsibility in these cases."

Even if Morris hadn't been hurt, pressure on Hoke would have been substantial after an embarrassing home loss to open Big Ten play. Brandon called Hoke a "terrific football coach" on Thursday, saying he hopes fans of the program aren't about to give up on the season.