Nebraska Football: How Will Injuries Affect the 2010 Season?

Football is a contact sport, and even getting ready for a season can take its toll on a team. In the past few weeks, Nebraska has suffered a number of serious injuries to players slated to make key contributions to the 2010 campaign. Here's a look at the most significant of those injuries, and what kind of effect they will have on the team going forward.

4) ANTHONY BLUE (CB)

Blue suffered a torn ACL on the same day of Sean Fisher's infamous broken bone, which caused Bo Pelini's much-discussed media blackout. Blue was not slated to start, but was certainly going to be seeing playing time in rotation, dime packages, and on special teams. Blue, a junior, has been fighting through injuries for a long time, missing the entire 2008 season with injury. He looked like he had finally worked his way back to full speed, and to lose him for another season due to injury is a cruel blow to Blue and the team.

While obviously putting a talented player like Blue on the sideline is a loss, of the injuries covered here, Blue's carries probably the least effect on the 2010 team. With starters Prince Amukamura and Alfonso Dennard, the cornerback position is one of Nebraska's strongest. NU also has some depth at the position, including Antonio Bell and redshirt freshman Lazarri Middleton.

3) MIKE SMITH (C)

Smith broke his leg earlier in fall camp and will be missing the entire 2010 season. Smith, a senior, was slotted as a backup to Mike Caputo at center, but was versatile enough to be able to shift to guard as well.

Again, the fact that Smith wasn't expected to start is a little bit of a silver lining in terms of the effects of his injury on the team. But offensive lines rotate, and Smith's injury will change how Barney Cotton will rotate his players in and out. The loss of Smith's senior leadership, as well as the versatility of playing a number of positions including center, make his injury particularly troublesome.

2) DREU YOUNG (TE)

Young will be missing at least half of the season while he is recovering from surgery to repair a recurring back problem. It appears that the back trouble was something that intensified through fall camp to the point where waiting for surgery ceased to become an option. Young looked to take over the starting tight end position with Mike McNeill's move to wide receiver.

Anytime a starter will be lost for at least half the season, if not more, the effect is more significant. NU does have good depth at tight end, however, with Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed looking to get the majority of work in Young's absence. Don't look for a return of McNeill to the tight end position though. Iin the offseason, McNeill has been reshaping his body to fit more of the wide receiver role he will be playing in this year's offense, making him less suited to return to the trenches as a tight end.

1) SEAN FISHER (LB)

Fisher's 2010 season ended with a broken leg in practice. Fisher and Will Compton were looked at as the two starting true linebackers in the Blackshirts' new "peso" defense. Fisher is one of the most experienced linebackers currently on the roster, and his loss will have the coaching staff turning to Eric Martin, Matthew May, and junior college transfer Lavonte David to fill his shoes.

NU's revamped peso defense will have hybrid safety/linebackers drifting back and forth, filling a little of both roles. But that puts a lot of responsibility on the remaining true linebackers on the field to fulfill their roles. Fisher's injury takes the majority of experience at linebacker off the field, which makes his loss the most troubling of the four.

THE BIG PICTURE

Obviously, all four of these injuries are big news, and the ranking from four to one should not discount the importance any of them may carry. It's always disturbing to see a team's depth challenged before the season starts. NU may very well have the depth to handle these injuries without missing too much of a beat, but it also leaves them much thinner in a number of key areas if there are any further injuries.

If there is a silver lining, it is that the injuries will give players like Eric Martin, Lavonte David, and Lazarri Middleton a chance to get on the field earlier than anticipated and demonstrate their potential. Nebraska's non-conference schedule, other than the trip to Washington, is not terribly challenging, giving those players an opportunity to get valuable game experience before the rigors of Nebraska's final Big XII campaign begin.