Injury May Keep Byrd on Sidelines for Season

The severity of sophomore tight end Dominique Byrd’s left knee injury won’t be known until after an MRI exam is taken today, but Byrd and USC are bracing for a prolonged -- possibly seasonlong -- absence.

Byrd, who was hurt on a play away from the ball during USC’s 44-21 victory over Stanford on Saturday night, said that the preliminary diagnosis was that he had torn both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the knee.

“It was just a normal blocking play and I was on the [defensive] end and a ‘backer blitzed with him and all of a sudden ... I feel a pop, somebody rolled up on my leg from the outside,” Byrd said as he left the Coliseum on crutches after the game.

“I just have to stay as positive as possible. Being negative won’t get me anywhere. When I was in the shower, I was just thinking about how I was going to come back. I’ll probably need surgery, but I think if there’s anybody that can come back, I’m saying it’s me. I want to play as soon as possible.”

The starting tight-end duties will fall to junior Gregg Guenther, the two-way athlete who also has started at power forward for the Trojan basketball team.

Byrd had won the job after Alex Holmes was injured in the Orange Bowl last January.

Guenther said he does not expect the USC offense to miss a beat.

“Of course I’m ready,” he said with a shrug of the shoulders. “I mean, we switch off every two plays so it’s nothing new to me.

“Me and ‘Nique can both get the job done so when he went down I just had to fill in.”

Byrd has 14 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown this season.

“Dominique is a big player who will be missed,” Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday night. “He’s a big weapon and we were just starting to use him.

“We’re certainly going to miss him, but continuity-wise, I think we’ll be OK. We’re certainly going to have to adjust a little bit though.”

In addition to Guenther, the Trojans have redshirt freshmen Kurt Katnick and Nick Vanderboom as backups.

“Both of them will fill the need,” Carroll said. “Katnick’s the first guy up, but both ... will be in and out of there when we need them.”

In other injury news, junior linebackers Daniel Urquhart (neck stinger) and Matt Grootegoed (left ankle) will be reevaluated today.

For the second consecutive game, sophomore right offensive tackle Winston Justice, who suffered a high ankle sprain at California on Sept. 27, sat out.

He was replaced by junior John Drake, though Carroll said Justice could have played if needed.

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The much-anticipated USC debut of freshman quarterback John David Booty, who entered the game with 14:52 remaining, served as more than a look into the Trojans’ future. It was also the realization of a Booty family dream.

“My dad [Johnny] grew up watching USC and dreamed that he could come wear this uniform and play,” Booty said.

“Even if it’s the last game I ever play, I got in and got to do it. I got to fulfill a dream of mine and, more importantly, my dad’s dream.”

The elder Booty played quarterback at Arkansas, Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State.

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Times staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.