Briean Boddy-Calhoun knee injury hurts Gophers’ defensive depth

Aug 29, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view of the Minnesota Golden Gophers leaving the field after a game against the UNLV Rebels at TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers won 51-23. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The depth of Minnesota’s secondary took a blow on Tuesday with the news of Briean Boddy-Calhoun’s season ending knee injury. On the third play of the Golden Gophers win at New Mexico State last Saturday, Boddy-Calhoun tore his ACL and MCL.

The promising junior will undergo surgery to repair the damaged knee and will look to get a medical redshirt for the season. If awarded by the NCAA, the medical redshirt will still leave two years of eligibility for Boddy-Calhoun on head coach Jerry Kill’s improving defense.

The Wilmington, Del. native started both games for Minnesota this season in replacement for fellow cornerback Derrick Wells, who is recovering from an injury of his own.

The defensive back position has been a position of strength for Minnesota heading into the season but now the team will have to rely on even more of that depth moving forward. Players like Jeremy Baltazar and Marcus Jones will be looked at to fill the loss immediately this weekend when the Gophers host Western Illinois.

Time will tell how Boddy-Calhoun is able to recover from his injury, but in the short-term, the Gophers will have to lean on their mentality of the “next man up.”

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