Boston College football running back Evan Dickens suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Eagles' win over Pittsburgh last weekend, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported Thursday afternoon.
Dickens, a redshirt junior, was not BC's leading rusher through its first six games, but he accounted for over 400 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns after posting 1,339 yards and 16 touchdowns at Liberty last season, which both ranked inside the top five nationally and led to Group of Five Second-Team All-American honors.
Prior to Liberty, the Marietta, Ga., native played at Georgia Tech for two years, in which he totaled just 47 yards on 11 carries.
Dickens suffered the injury in the final 1:30 of the game on a one-yard rush, just as the Eagles were attempting to close out the win for good by picking up a final first down and kneeling the ball to run out the remaining time.
He was helped off the field by trainers after laying down on his back for a few minutes and was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he hobbled into the blue medical tent with the assistance.
The loss of Dickens is a massive blow for the Eagles, who have not fared too well in the run game this year outside of quarterback Mason McKenzie and Dickens, who also posed as a vertical threat in the passing realm - in BC's loss to SMU on Oct. 3, Dickens scored a 43-yard touchdown reception on a deep pass up the seam from McKenzie in double coverage.
The Eagles are now left with true sophomores Bo MacCormack III and Mekhi Dodd as the next-best options, along with redshirt junior Nolan Ray, who has only carried the ball four times this year and has been dealing with several injuries, according to BC head coach Bill O'Brien.
"[He] really had a significant turf toe injury that kept him out for a while, and then I think there was like an ankle or something," O'Brien said Thursday morning. "So he's been banged up, but he's healthy and he's ready to go."
MacCormack is averaging 3.1 yards per carry on 29 attempts this year and has a rushing score, while Dodd has run for 41 yards on just five attempts, good for an average of 8.2 yards per carry.
"It could be a number of different guys back there," O'Brien said of how he is planning to utilize the running back room with Dickens out.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/bostoncollege as Boston College Football Running Back Evan Dickens Reportedly Out For Season .
