PROVO — Losing a player on any football team is hard, and doing so during fall training camp is even harder.

But BYU football players know that injuries are a part of the game — even when they are as horrifying as the one suffered by linebacker Colby Jorgensen on Tuesday.

Jorgensen will miss the 2015 season after undergoing a five-hour surgery to repair a cervical fracture, BYU confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

"It's a significant injury. He had surgery, about five hours' worth," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said after practice. "It's really hard. Of the 10 or 11 years in this position, I'm much more sensitive to that than I was before. It's really hard on me, on the staff and on the families."

There's no easy way to deal with it, but you still try to love and support your teammates as they go through serious trauma like Jorgensen, quarterback Taysom Hill said.

"As someone who has gone through injuries, my heart goes out to him," Hill said. "I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. I wish him success and hope he can recover well."

While it's tough to do, BYU has to move on and prepare for the 2015 season, which opens with three road games in the first four weeks.

"I think as a football player, you know these things can happen," Hill said. "We're all really bummed to see Colby go down that way, and we send our best wishes to him in his recovery. But we have a season to prepare for. We'll try to move forward and look to the future."

For the linebackers, they will continue to support their fallen teammate. Sophomore Fred Warner said Jorgensen's position group planned to visit him Wednesday night in the hospital.

"It hurts a lot. Colby's a big guy for our team," Warner said. "He was moving his way up the depth chart, and to see that happen to a guy with a neck injury — where it could've been even worse than it was — it's hard to see."

Still, Warner is confident he and his teammates can regroup and move forward as the Cougars prepare for their first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"You can never slow down," he said. "We've got to keep going forward."

MATHEWS CLARIFIES INJURY — Mitch Mathews met with the media during BYU photo day, when the players and coaches were doing a variety of photo shoots for game guides, media outlets and roster pictures.

The senior wideout clarified an injury that has kept him sidelined for the first four days of fall camp, but added the extent of the injury is hardly serious. Mathews suffered from an inguinal hernia, also called a groin hernia, about two weeks before camp opened. The senior had minor surgery to repair it, and expects to be back to full participation with his team soon.

"I'll be ready before the first game; no worries," he said. "This is purely random. It's bad luck, but it was probably good time to happen now."

Related:

Camp Cougar, day 4

BYU linebacker Colby Jorgensen underwent roughly five hours of surgery on Tuesday to repair a fracture-dislocation of his cervical spine, an injury suffered during practice earlier in the day. On Wednesday, head coach Bronco Mendenhall referenced the season-ending injury, saying "I'm much more sensitive to that (type of situation) than I ever was."

Inguinal hernias are soft tissue bulging through a weak spot in the abdominal muscle, usually from non-sports-related activities. Treatment is accomplished through one of two surgeries, herniorrhaphy or laparoscopy, and the condition does not heal on its own, and significant pain prompts surgery in most cases.

The biggest change to Mathews, who has worked out each day of fall camp with the strength and conditioning staff, was minor weight loss from digestive discomfort immediately after surgery.

"I lost a couple of pounds because eating was hard the first few days," he said. "But I've gained it all back, and I'm good."

JUERGENS OUT — Cornerback Garrett Juergens was diagnosed with a fractured clavicle after Wednesday's practice, ruling him out for several weeks.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior from Houston, Texas, left practice early with the athletic training staff and did not return. Juergens had also been listed as a candidate by offensive coordinator Robert Anae to potentially see time at running back this fall.

MOOSE ON THE MOVE — Former Alta High kicker Moose Bingham transferred to Snow College in the offseason, Mendenhall acknowledged Wednesday.

"He's a great guy and we love to have him around the program," the head coach said. "But there are only so many kicking spots. I would've loved for him to stay."

Mendenhall also reiterated that more players will join the team once school starts after Labor Day, including previously mentioned backup quarterback McCoy Hill, among others.

Related topics