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Oregon players injured during workouts released from hospital

Oregon hired Willie Taggart as head coach on Dec. 7. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
Oregon hired Willie Taggart as head coach on Dec. 7. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)

The three Oregon football players who were hospitalized following strenuous workouts last week have been released from the hospital.

According to The Oregonian, tight end Cam McCormick and offensive lineman Sam Poutasi, both redshirt freshmen, were no longer hospitalized as of Friday morning. Senior offensive lineman Doug Brenner was released Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson told the paper. The three had been treated after dealing with extreme soreness following a series of conditioning workouts led by new Ducks strength coach Irele Oderinde.

Oderinde, who came to Oregon alongside new head coach Willie Taggart from South Florida, was suspended for a month without pay by the university on Tuesday.

The school said players began these workouts on Jan. 10. On the third day of workouts, a player “complained of muscle soreness and displayed other symptoms of potential exercise-related injury.” Two other players also showed similar symptoms.

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Poutasi’s mother told The Oregonian her son had been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, which can be brought on by intense workouts and can cause kidney damage.

In addition to suspending Oderinde, the school’s director of performance and sports science now oversees the football strength and conditioning program. Upon his return, Oderinde will report to the director of performance and sports science instead of Taggart.

Taggart, who defended the workouts and Oderinde in an interview with CSNNW.com, issued an apology.

“I have visited with the three young men involved in the incidents in the past few days and I have been in constant contact with their families, offering my sincere apologies,” Taggart said in a statement released Tuesday. “As the head football coach I hold myself responsible for all of our football-related activities and the safety of our students must come first. I have addressed the issue with our strength and conditioning staff and I fully support the actions taken today by the university. I want to thank our medical staff and doctors for caring for all of our young men and I want to apologize to the university, our students alumni and fans.”

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Taggart was hired in December, replacing Mark Helfrich, after four seasons at South Florida. In his four seasons with the Bulls, Taggart had a 24-25 overall record, improving each season. In 2016, the Bulls were 10-2 under Taggart and then won their 11th game — the Birmingham Bowl — after he left for Oregon.

For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!