Sitting on a table in the training room on Monday, Marcus Campbell tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a non-contact drill on Saturday, ending his season before it began, the defensive end pulled aside team captain Scott Lutrus and apologized for letting the team down two straight years.
Campbell, who missed last season due to academic concerns, took his latest misfortune hard. But his teammates weren’t going to let him get down.
“It’s not his fault,” Lutrus said. “He was going out there playing hard. It’s what Coach tells us, go out there and play every play like it’s your last, and I believe he did that.”
Campbell will undergo surgery on Friday.
Now with Campbell shelved, the Huskies are elevating Trevardo Williams to play opposite Jesse Joseph, giving UConn a pair of true sophomores at defensive end. It also means that red shirt sophomores Ted Jennings and A.J. Portee will man the second unit, giving the Huskies a lot of youth and not much experience at the position.
“There’s no margin of error,“ said defensive tackle Kendall Reyes. “The twos and threes are expected to know everything the starters are supposed to know. If anything, the twos and threes should know it even better because when you get thrown in, the coaches don’t expect a drop off at all. You’re getting more mental reps, so you should know everything that you’re doing, exactly where you’re supposed to go.”
Campbell marks the second loss to the unit as Greg Lloyd Jr., will be red shirted and moved back to his original position of linebacker for next season. Lloyd is recovering from a knee injury. He is able to practice, but will not play.
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