Utah State's Fackrell out for the season


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LOGAN — Utah State suffered a disappointing 38-7 loss at Tennessee in its first college football game of 2014 last Sunday.

The loss to the rest of the season because of the game may be greater, though.

Kyler Fackrell, the Aggies' star linebacker and All-America candidate, will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, coach Matt Wells confirmed Tuesday.

"The disappointment is tough, for me as a head coach, to know what that kid went through to be where he's at," Wells said. "But he's a great leader, a great teammate and it stinks. It's the brute nature of football. But to have it for him, I hate it. Those kids in there, it'll be tough on them for a minute, especially his best friends. But we'll rally around him, wrap our arms around him and get him better."

Several reports indicate Fackrell tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the first half Sunday.


It's hard to see a guy of his caliber go through something like that, a guy who could go to the league after this year. He's a close friend. It hurts us defensively. He's arguably our best player on the defense. But this is an opportunity for some young guys to step up who don't play that much.

–Utah State linebacker Nick Vigil on season-ending injury to Kyler Fackrell


The 6-foot-5, 245-pound native of Mesa, Arizona, went down with about five minutes remaining in the first half Sunday and did not return to the game. He was spotted on the Aggie bench for the second half with an ice bag on his knee. Fackrell had two solo tackles at the time of his injury.

Fackrell was a star with Utah State's defense in 2013, when the unit ranked in the top 15 in the nation in overall defense. He led the team as a sophomore with 13 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and five sacks, as well as 82 total tackles.

The junior was named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award. He was named first-team All-Mountain West by Phil Steele magazine and Athlon Sports going into his junior season.

Junior linebacker Torrey Green replaced Fackrell on Sunday, where he tallied 2.5 tackles. Wells said the Riverside, California, native who played in seven games a year ago will be tasked, among others, to step up in Fackrell's absence.

"I thought Torrey stepped in and played well," Wells said. "Everyone around him has to play a bit better, even on offense. We have to play better; you can't score seven points and hope to win most Division I football games."

That responsibility extends to every position group, Wells said, but will be felt chiefly amongst the other linebackers.

"It's hard to see a guy of his caliber go through something like that, a guy who could go to the league after this year," linebacker Nick Vigil said. "He's a close friend. It hurts us defensively. He's arguably our best player on the defense. But this is an opportunity for some young guys to step up who don't play that much."

Fackrell wasn't the only player to injure his knee Sunday. Tennessee offensive tackle Jacob Gilliam will also miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL against the Aggies, coach Butch Jones announced Tuesday.

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