STARKVILLE — In what Dan Mullen called “a huge loss” for the Mississippi State University football program, junior strong safety Jay Hughes will miss the rest of the season.
The Bulldogs’ fifth-year coach confirmed Monday that Hughes will have surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon he suffered Saturday in the first quarter of a 21-3 loss to No. 13 Oklahoma State University in the Texas Kickoff Classic at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
“(He is) one of the top leaders on our team and really, to me, a face of the program-type guy,” Mullen said Monday, “maybe not in popularity cultures, but if there’s somebody you want to put up that really is what our program is all about, it’s Jay Hughes.”
Hughes was helped off the field with what MSU officials confirmed at halftime was an Achilles injury. MSU team physician Dr. Bob Collins said Monday he was fairly certain Saturday what happened to Hughes, and a simple Thompson test performed on the training table confirmed the suspicion. In a Thompson test, the examiner squeezes the calf muscle with his hand to confirm a ruptured Achilles tendon. In a normal patient, the motion should cause the toes to point downward as the Achilles pulls the foot. In a patient with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the foot doesn’t move.
“I was hugging Jay while we were both in tears because he’s such a great kid,” MSU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said. “Your heart goes out to a kid like that because he puts so much into the program and plays for two series. We’ve asked Jay to be the quarterback of the defense at times.”
RG Malone and LB Bohanna listed as doubtful for Saturday vs. Alcorn State
Along with fifth-year senior quarterback Tyler Russell, junior right guard Justin Malone (left leg injury) and junior middle linebacker Ferlando Bohanna (concussion symptoms) are listed as “doubtful” for MSU’s game at 2:35 p.m. Saturday (CSS) against Alcorn State University.
Malone was helped off the field in the fourth quarter Saturday. Malone was part of an offensive line that allowed OSU to make 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Bohanna was forced to miss the game after MSU’ medical staff didn’t clear him after he suffered concussion symptoms. He likely won’t practice this week. His loss creates a depth problem in the middle of the field and forces sophomore Bernardrick McKinney to play snaps than Collins would prefer.
Mullen: DT’s Evans, James “not ready to play” in 2013
In two years, Quay Evans and Nick James have gone from being two of the most sought after recruits of the 2012 class to not making the trip for the game against OSU.
When asked why the two sophomore defensive tackles were left home Saturday, MSU coach Dan Mullen said they weren’t “ready to go.” Mullen suggested Evans, a four-star recruit from Morton who saw action in nine games last year, could play this week.
“Quay had a really great week of practice last week and I met with him last week about it,” Mullen said Monday. “He’s on the right path, but the key is for him to stay on the right path to see him on the field. We want to see him playing on the field and playing to the expectations levels that we have for him.”
Mullen confirmed neither player missed the game due to injury.
Mullen suggested James, a 345-pound defensive tackle from Long Beach who saw action in eight games last year, could be redshirted this season. James played with walk-ons and freshmen on the third-string defense in open practices in August.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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