ABILENE -- Less than two weeks before the 2010 season kicks off, the ACU Wildcats suffered a blow to their offense when the team learned late Tuesday that starting running back
Reggie Brown would miss the entire season with a knee injury.
Brown -- who last season rushed for 955 yards and scored seven touchdowns on his way to earning second team all-Lone Star Conference South Division honors -- injured his knee in practice last Wednesday and learned Monday that he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Head athletics trainer
Cory Driskill said Brown will rehab the knee until after Labor Day to get the swelling down and regain some range of motion before undergoing season-ending knee surgery sometime shortly after the holiday.
The Wildcats -- ranked No. 7 in the country by the American Football Coaches' Association -- will open the season next Saturday (Sept. 4) at No. 10 Washburn in Topeka, Kan.
"Reggie is a really good player and we'll miss what he does for us on the field," Thomsen said. "But we'll also miss his leadership and what he does for us off the field. We're going to miss everything he provides."
Stepping into his place will be junior
Daryl Richardson, who last season led the Wildcats with 961 yards on the ground and was second in the LSC in touchdowns scored (17, 16 on the ground) and points scored (102).
Richardson had three 100-yard games last year, including back-to-back 143-yard efforts in wins over Eastern New Mexico (Sept. 26) and East Central (Oct. 3). He also scored four touchdowns in an Oct. 10 win over Angelo State, and he had four other games with at least 84 yards rushing.
"We're all confident Daryl can step in and do the job," Thomsen said. "We've got a lot of confidence in him and his ability. He's very versatile so we won't change what we want to do offensively. He's had a great camp, and now we need him to carry that over to the season. I'm confident he's going to step up and do a great job."
With Brown out and Richardson moving into the starting role, junior college transfer
Josh Morgan will move into the backup role. In two seasons at Pasadena City College, Morgan ran for 1,215 yards and scored seven touchdowns while catching 45 passes for 392 yards and a pair of scores.
"Josh is a quality back, and he had a heckuva junior college career," Thomsen said. "He's going to have to step up and be ready to play."
Thomsen also said redshirt freshman
Darrell Cantu-Harkless -- who had moved to slotback this summer -- and freshman
Sheldon Catley -- who had been working with the defensive backs -- will see time in the backfield.
