Oklahoma and Bob Stoops announced Sunday evening that the injury senior linebacker Corey Nelson suffered against TCU would unfortunately end his season.
The full release from OU & Stoops:
University of Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops confirmed Sunday that senior linebacker Corey Nelson suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle in Saturday's win vs. TCU. Stoops indicated that Nelson is currently scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday that will likely cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
The Dallas, Texas, native registered 27 tackles (13 solo), along with a 24-yard interception return TD, four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and a sack through the first five games of the year. A prep standout at Skyline High School in Dallas, Nelson was voted by his teammates as a defensive captain in 2013 along with senior cornerback Aaron Colvin.
Aside from the obvious of a senior having his final season cut short, this is significantly bad news for an Oklahoma defense already suffering from limited depth at linebacker to begin with.
Never mind the fact that the Sooners are headed into a game against their biggest rival now without their leader on the defensive side of the ball.
Expect Tim Kish, Mike Stoops, and the defensive staff to attempt to replace Nelson with a combination of players. Most likely some mix of Dominique Alexander and Aaron Franklin. With another question facing them of abandoning their 3-3-5 defensive formation for their more familiar 4-2-5 as they've used in years past.
Regardless, this was a worst case scenario for both player and team. Time for the next man to step up.