Liberty leading running back Dae Dae Hunter will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, head coach Hugh Freeze announced on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, he tore his LCL and the tendon that connects from the hip to the knee is torn off,” said Freeze. “Best guess is 6 months or so (for his return.”
Hunter was leading the Liberty rushing attack with 854 yards and 8 touchdowns on 130 rushing attempts this season, good for 6.6 yards per carry. He was also second on the team with 18 receptions as he added 149 receiving yards and another score.
“He was playing at a high level,” Freeze said of the Hawaii transfer. “I think he was going to be a 1,000 yard rusher before the season was over. I think he was playing at a super high level for us. The team really bought into his energy, his physicality, and his love for practice. He could practice all day. Every run could be 40 yards if you didn’t make him stop. He loves the game. He’s very down, very disappointed, but he told me this morning, ‘I’m going to use this to get bigger.’ Hopefully he will, fortunately he has two years left.”
The Flames will be down their top two running backs on Saturday at UConn as Shedro Louis will be with his family this weekend for his father’s funeral, which is Saturday. Louis is currently second on the team with 390 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.
“He left last night,” Freeze said of Louis. “Our prayers are with him and his family as they go through celebrating his father’s life and saying their final goodbyes.”
With Hunter and Louis unavailable for Saturday’s game, TJ Green and Malik Caper will be the top running backs for the Flames. Wide receiver Treon Sibley has also been working with the running backs during practice this week. Green and Caper have combined for 61 yards on 19 carries so far this season. Green was Liberty’s top running back last year, rushing for 477 yards and 4 touchdowns on 75 carries. He was limited early in the year as he was fighting through a knee injury suffered during training camp.
“He looked good this week,” Freeze said of Green. “He’s real excited. He’s been frustrated and coming to me. I told him, ‘Dae Dae is playing better than you right now. I think he’s playing at a higher level. It’s nothing against you, we’re just going to try to get him a lot of snaps, just stay in the fight.’ He has. Now, it’s his chance. I’m excited to see him get that chance.”
