Indiana football lost two players to season-ending injuries across the first three contests of the season. Since then, the Hoosiers have been mostly healthy.
However, Indiana didn’t escape its 38-13 victory over Michigan State on Saturday without an ailment. Senior defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt suffered a knee injury with just over nine minutes left in the contest.
“Right now it looks like a long-term injury,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said during a press conference Monday. “I'm not sure if we'll see him the rest of the season or not.”
Wyatt was pass rushing and engaged with a Spartans’ offensive tackle when his leg was extended. It came down “a little funny,” Cignetti said, leading him to lie on the 38-yard line after the play. He eventually walked off the field under his own power with a limp.
Through Indiana’s seven games this season, Wyatt accumulated 27 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. On Oct. 13, Cignetti dubbed Wyatt a “key acquisition,” one who’s impressed since he arrived in Bloomington from Maryland after spring practice.
Now, senior defensive lineman Stephen Daley will be tasked with slotting into Wyatt’s role. Daley also joined the Hoosiers after spring, transferring from Kent State University. Daley has notched 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks alongside 16 total tackles.
“He's a guy I really wish we had a couple years because he's a tremendous athlete and once he's learned the defense, he's really making fast progress,” Cignetti said. “He has size, strength, speed, suddenness. He plays hard. He was our player of the game on defense last week.”
Cignetti said he’s always run relatively short practices as a head coach, explaining they’ve probably shortened as the years progress. He wants his team to be fully prepared but still fresh and healthy.
Since Cignetti hired Derek Owings as his strength and conditioning coach at James Madison University ahead of the 2020 season, his squads have largely prevented soft tissue injuries — common in college football. Most knee injuries, though, are different.
“A lot of the knees that occur nowadays can be non-contact,” Cignetti said. “Not much you can do about it. It's outside of your control.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
