Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti told reporters Wednesday leading pass-rusher Stephen Daley suffered a ‘serious’ leg injury following the Hoosiers’ Big Ten Championship game win and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Video shared on social media showed Daley apparently injuring his leg while jumping up to high-five Indiana fans after Saturday’s Big Ten win. The Kent State transfer was seen exiting the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on a cart with his right leg immobilized. Per Pro Football Focus, Daley played a team-high 57 snaps for the No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) in a 13-10 win over Ohio State and had six quarterback pressures with a sack.
Daley, an injury replacement himself filling in after starter Kellan Wyatt suffered a season-ending injury Oct. 18, has been one of the most impactful defenders in the country. He has 5.5 sacks and 19.0 tackles for loss — second most in the FBS — with six or more quarterback pressures in four of the team’s past seven games.
‘I can confirm he did sustain an injury, a serious injury that will probably make him not available for the remainder of the season,’ Cignetti said.
Cignetti briefly addressed IU’s injury situation Sunday and was careful with the wording of his update while the team awaited for more information on Daley’s injury.
‘There was a little more information that had to come in, and I was still processing the whole thing because it was sort of unbelievable when I heard about it,’ Cignetti said. ‘That was why I said we had nobody hurt in the game, during the game.’
It’s a huge blow for an Indiana team that’s prepping for a matchup against the No. 8 Oklahoma-No. 9 Alabama game winner in the Rose Bowl.
With Wyatt and Daley out, Indiana doesn’t have much experience left on the bench and will likely turn to sophomore Daniel Ndukwe to get the bulk of the reps alongside Mikail Kamara. Mario Landino can also slide over to edge rusher, with Hosea Wheeler, Tyrique Tucker and Dominique Ratcliff sharing the load along the D-line.