Most Impactful College Football Injuries Heading Into 2024 – Week 1 Edition

Cam Rising (QB) Utah Utes

Injury: ACL Tear
Injury Date: 1/2/2023
Expected Recovery Timeline: 10-12 months
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 20 months
Player Year: RS Senior

We’re kicking off this College Football injuries article with some positive news! Let’s talk about a player in a prime position to have a great 2024 season. Utah Utes QB Cam Rising enters this year as his fifth college football season as a 25-year-old red shirt Senior.

He suffered an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. Despite my warnings (see last year’s article), there were rumblings he would be ready for the start of last season, but ultimately, he missed the entire 2023 season.

An ACL tear is a very significant knee injury that takes around 10-12 months to recover. Despite fading Rising last season, I am ready to back him as a much healthier player heading into this season. Research shows that normal pre-injury movement can take up to two years to return to players post-ACL tear.

With about 20 months of recovery time at this point, with no major setbacks, I am projecting Rising to be playing at the level we last saw here. A veteran QB on a team with a great coach, solid defense, and awesome home-field advantage. Expect Rising to light it up in the air and on the ground this season!

Riley Leonard (QB) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Injury: High Ankle Sprain
Injury Date: 10/1/2023
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-3 months
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 11 months
Player Year: Senior

This college football injury article rolls on with another QB. New Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard has had quite an eventful year. Back in early October, Leonard suffered an injury at the hands of his new team, the Fighting Irish. He was hit near the end of the game, and his foot got stuck while his ankle and lower leg were twisted.

This resulted in a high ankle sprain which is a much more significant injury than a traditional *low* ankle sprain. Being the gamer he is, Leonard then proceeded to try to return from injury too early, and he re-injured the ankle.

With the subsequent injury to his ankle, this ended his Duke career, and he transferred out to Notre Dame. Leonard underwent a tight rope surgery back in January to repair the ligaments in his lower leg (high ankle). This procedure is used to speed up recovery time and provide some stability to the ankle. However, it appears the first surgery was not a success, as Leonard had to go in for a second surgery about two months later.

Although Leonard has a solid five months to recover from the second surgery, it is concerning that two surgeries were required. Typically, one surgery is sufficient to stabilize the ankle. I do expect Leonard to be healthy enough to start the season, but I do have concerns about his ability to stay healthy. If his ankle already had difficulties staying stable after the first surgery, this leaves some concerns for his ankle moving forward.

Montrell Johnson (RB) Florida Gators

Injury: Knee Scope
Injury Date: 8/3/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 4-6 weeks
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 4 weeks
Player Year: Senior

This next college football injury hits a bit close to home. Gators undisputed RB1 Montrell Johnson picked up an injury at the beginning of August. It was reported that he needed to have a scope done to his knee for a minor procedure.

In college football, teams do not have to disclose nearly as much information as the NFL. So, all we know is that he had a minor knee surgery and that Florida plays Miami in The Swamp at the end of the month.

Thankfully, context clears helps provide us with a bit of clarity here. About a week after the surgery, Johnson was spotted at practice in full pads, not limping, not wearing a brace, and standing on the leg with no issues.

Additionally, the next week, he was reported to be running hard on the treadmill, and the expectation is that he will return to practice soon. Despite an initial injury scare, it seems things are trending toward giving Johnson a real shot at being ready for next weekend.

The optimism from my last article seems to have paid off. The Gators RB1 was listed on the depth chart this week and described as a full go. Johnson is coming off back-to-back seasons of over 800 yards on the ground, averaging over five yards a carry. There’s a reason Trevor Etienne ran scared to Georgia after he couldn’t beat out Johnson for the top RB spot.

BOOM 💥

Gators RB1 Montrell Johnson is BACK with “no limitations”

HUGE for this Florida offense as they host Miami in The Swamp in 3 days

Been calling for this all month as the rehab signs have been there 📈

LFG 🐊 #GoGators https://t.co/T9M7QH61jW pic.twitter.com/DN3akmG3cd

— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) August 28, 2024

Mohamed Toure (DE) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Injury: ACL Tear
Injury Date: 8/20/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 10-12 months
Player Year: RS Senior

This next college football injury does not provide nearly as much optimism. Senior LB Mohamed Toure recently tore his ACL, ramping up for the season. He will miss the entire year and look at a long 10-12 month recovery timeline. Whether Toure decides to pursue the NFL or use this year as a redshirt is to be seen. However, we know this Rutgers defense will be missing a key piece.

Toure was a senior defensive captain and the team’s second-leading tackler last season. He also led the team in tackles for loss and sacks. This deep Rutgers defense is returning eight starters on that side of the ball, but Toure is a hard guy to replace.

Nic Anderson (WR) Oklahoma Sooners

Injury: Lingering Injury
Injury Date: Sometime in Preseason
Expected Recovery Timeline: Soon
Player Year: Sophomore

The Oklahoma Sooners take on the Temple Owls this Friday and will do so without their top returning WR. After a breakout season last year, Nic Anderson picked up an injury that head coach Brent Venables called “day-to-day”. Anderson has been dealing with this injury for most of the offseason and it has kept him in and out of practice. It is difficult to speculate what the injury is, but the expectation is that Anderson will return to the field soon.

Chip Trayanum (RB) Kentucky Wildcats

Injury: Hand Fracture
Injury Date: 8/13/24
Expected Recovery Timeline: 3-4 weeks
Player Year: Senior

Kentucky had some questions coming into the season regarding their RB situation. Transfer from Ohio State RB Chip Trayanum came in to help steady the ship. Unfortunately, while he was practicing last week, he suffered a broken hand. An expected recovery timeline of 3-4 weeks was given for the injury.

Trayanum will definitely be out in Week 1, but the question is in Week 2. Kentucky plays against South Carolina in that game. It will be worth monitoring next week to see how Trayanum’s rehab is coming along and if he will make his Kentucky debut.

Teddy Prochazka (LT) Nebraska Cornhuskers

Injury: Knee Injury – Season ending
Injury Date: 8/6/24
Expected Recovery Timeline: 10-12 months
Player Year: Senior

This next college football injury is simply brutal. Projected starting LT Teddy Prochazaka is out for the season with a knee injury. This is the third season-ending injury for Prochazaka in just four years.

Prochazka was looking to be an anchor for an offensive line that has a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, an inexperienced player will step in to try to protect their freshman QB.

Charles Jagusah (LT) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Injury: Pec Tear
Injury Date: 8/3/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 4-6 months
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 4 weeks
Player Year: Sophomore

The University of Notre Dame has rightfully been in the conversation of “O-Line U” these past several years. They always have highly rated linemen shooting up NFL scout’s draft boards.

The most likely candidate for that this season was Sophomore LT Charles Jagusah. Unfortunately for him and Notre Dame, Jagusah will miss the entire 2024 season with a pectoralis muscle tear. He suffered a Grade 3 tear, meaning the muscle was torn off the bone and required season-ending surgery.

Not only is Jagusah the highest-rated piece on the offensive line, but he was also filling in a much-needed hole. Both offensive tackles from Notre Dame were drafted in the first two rounds last season. Now, only a month from the start of the season, the Irish have to replace their top THREE tackles from last season.

That’s not what new QB Riley Leonard wants to hear, coming off an injury-ridden year himself. The Fighting Irish open the year at Texas A&M in what will be a hostile environment for whoever is the new LT.

CJ Baxter (RB) Texas Longhorns

Injury: Multi-ligament Knee Injury
Injury Date: 8/6/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 6-9 months
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 3.5 weeks
Player Year: Sophomore

Alright, Alright, NOT right. The University of Texas begins their SEC career losing the injury battle. A season after losing their star RB in Jonathon Brooks, to a major knee injury, it appears lightning has struck twice. Projected RB1 CJ Baxter suffered an MCL and PCL tear in practice earlier this month.

This is a major knee injury, with damage to two of the four main stabilizing ligaments. It requires season-ending surgery, followed by a 6-9 month recovery.

As a talented freshman last season, Baxter cemented his role behind Brooks, picking up 138 carries and over 650 rush yards. Unfortunately, Baxter will be unable to carry this momentum into next season. To make matters a little worse, fellow RB Christian Clark also tore his Achilles a week later.

Clark will also be out for the season and faces a 10-12 month recovery. College football injury luck is NOT on the side of the Longhorns. Texas will look for RB Jaydon Blue to step up this season. Blue is a Junior back who had just under 400 rush yards last season.

Harrison Waylee (RB) Wyoming Cowboys

Injury: Knee Scope
Injury Date: 8/10/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 6-? weeks
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 3 weeks
Player Year: RS Senior

This next injury is the biggest mystery in this college football injuries article. Wyoming fifth-year RB Harrison Waylee went down a couple of weeks ago in a Saturday scrimmage. We know he underwent some knee surgery, but we don’t know the specific injury or expected recovery timeline.

The coaching staff has told us that they expect him to miss season time but not the entire season. This leaves a huge gap in the variability of potential returns for the senior RB.

Waylee is a dynamic back who rushed for over 850 yards and just under 6 yards a carry in his first season at Wyoming. As the focal point of the Cowboys offense, this will be a big loss for a team that leans on the running game. It remains to be seen just how long this hole will be in the backfield.

Rueben Owens (RB) Texas A&M Aggies

Injury: Foot Injury
Injury Date: 8/10/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 4-6 months
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 3 weeks
Player Year: Sophomore

We know there was an injury from the other side of the Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M season opener. Sophomore RB Rueben Owens suffered a significant foot injury and will “likely” be out for the season.

Head coach Mike Elko stated that there’s an outside chance Owens could return for a deep postseason run, but the expectation is that he will be out all year. Without knowing the specific injury, it’s difficult to say if this is just coach speak or if the young RB actually has a chance to return this season.

Owens showed flashes last season but ultimately was part of a three-man RB committee. RBs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels will likely soften the blow as they take over the Aggies’ backfield.

Rara Thomas (WR) Georgia Bulldogs

Injury: Dismissed From Team
Injury Date: 8/1/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: Indefinitely
Time from injury to Week 1, 2024: 4 weeks
Player Year: Senior

We wrap up this college football article with not really an injury but important nonetheless. Senior WR Rara Thomas is projected as the WR2 for the Georgia Bulldogs this season. Unfortunately, he was arrested on family violence charges for the second time in Georgia.

He has since been dismissed from the team. Thomas started eight games for Georgia last season and was the second-leading returning receiver. He will be missed.