Devontae Booker Injury: Updates on Utah Star's Knee and Return

Utah Utes running back Devontae Booker will be on the shelf for at least the remainder of the regular season due to a knee injury that will require surgery.

Continue for updates.

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Booker Out for Season

Saturday, Nov. 21

Utah head coach Kyle Wittingham told reporters Booker would not return for the bowl game this season, per Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press. 

According to Sean O'Connell of ESPN 700 in Utah, Booker is scheduled to have surgery to repair a "minor meniscus" injury Thursday. 

Booker's father, Ronnie Booker, confirmed Devontae will be out for the remainder of the regular season, per ESPN.com's David Lombardi.

"We were hoping that he may be able to play in the Senior Bowl, which is on Jan. 24," Ronnie Booker said, per Lombardi.

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How Booker's Injury Impacts Utah

Thursday, Nov. 19

This is about as difficult of an injury as Utah fans can imagine, as the team has games against UCLA and Colorado left in the regular season. The Utes are still fighting for a berth in the Pac-12 title game, but they will need USC to lose at least one of the next two games for that to happen. 

The senior is a veteran presence and leader on the field, running for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He's run for at least 120 yards in each of the last three games since Utah lost to USC on Oct. 24. 

Rob Rang of CBSSports.com discussed Booker’s talent when analyzing the Utah running back’s draft prospects:

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Booker sports a compact, powerful build and runs even heavier than he looks, frequently breaking tackles due to his low center of gravity, good forward lean and impressive leg drive. He is a decisive runner who makes strong cuts and hits top speed quickly, slipping into the secondary and bulldozing his way through contact rather than wasting time trying to shake defenders. Booker has light feet and excellent balance to pick his way through traffic and he shows good leaping ability to soar over defenders attempting to cut out his legs.

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The Utes simply don’t have another running back on their roster who fits that description outside of Booker.

Quarterback Travis Wilson is the second-leading rusher for Utah this year, racking up 367 yards and six touchdowns. Joe Williams is the No. 2 back, but the junior has carried the ball only 19 times because Booker is such a workhorse. 

The Utes at least have some options until Booker returns, but they will not have the same offense without their best player.