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Indiana defensive lineman Stephen Daley likely to miss remainder of the season with 'serious injury'

headshotby: Alec Lasley5 hours agoallasley

Indiana may be without one of the top defensive lineman in the entire country as it prepares for its College Football Playoff run later this month.

Stephen Daley has been one of the most dominant pass rushers over the second half of the season and is dealing with an injury.

After Saturday’s Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State, Daley was seen heading into the injury tent with a noticeable limp. This comes after a potential leg injury he suffered on a freak incident as he walked around the stadium giving high fives to fans after the win.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti addressed Daley’s availability on Wednesday.

“I can confirm … Stephen Daley did sustain a serious injury that will probably make him not available for the remainder of the season.”

“This postgame was a little different than most,” he continued. “So I didn’t get into the coaches room probably until 45 minutes after the game, and that was the first I had heard about it (Daley’s injury) … Sunday was still sort of waiting a little bit on images to come back … there was a little more information that still had to come in and I was still processing the whole thing because it was sort of unbelievable when I heard about it. I think that’s why I said we had nobody hurt in the game, during the game.”

Daley ranks 2nd in the nation with 19.0 tackles for loss — ranked 1st in the Big Ten. He also has 38 tackles, 5.5 sacks, five QB hurries and two forced fumbles.

Daley’s production ramped up following the season-ending injury to edge rusher Kellen Wyatt — who at the time was among the top players in the Big Ten in tackles for loss.

“Yeah, he’s a guy I really wish we had a couple years because he’s a tremendous athlete and once he’s learned the defense, he’s really making fast progress,” Cignetti said of Daley earlier this year. “He has size, strength, speed, suddenness. He plays hard.”

Since Wyatt’s injury, Daley put up 13.5 tackles for loss in the last seven games.

Indiana now turns to edge rusher All-American last year in Mikail Kamara and the expected increase in snaps for Daniel Ndukwe. Ndukwe has played sparingly this year but will likely be needed to step up moving forward. Mario Landino, who has 6.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks on the season, will likely get moved around the line with his versatility as well.

Daley, who transferred from Kent State this offseason, was a Second-Team All-American selection by On3 and was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.

Indiana will face the winner of the No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama matchup in the Rose Bowl later this month.

(Story to be updated)

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