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BYU football: Austin McChesney reportedly tears ACL in camp

By Nathan Cunningham

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 30: Fans watches a game in Lavell Edwards Stadium against the Toledo Rockets and Brigham Young Cougars on September 30, 2016 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 30: Fans watches a game in Lavell Edwards Stadium against the Toledo Rockets and Brigham Young Cougars on September 30, 2016 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) /
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BYU football got some bad news this morning, with reports swirling that corner back Austin McChesney has suffered his second ACL tear in as many years.

Kalani Sitake didn’t really mince words when asked about his goals for fall camp. He wanted the BYU football team to stay healthy.

But even with an emphasis on health, freak injuries can occur. Unfortunately for sophomore cornerback Austin McChesney, it appears he tore his ACL and will miss the season.

Jake Hatch of 1280 the Zone and Total Blue Sports seemed to have the report first, tweeting about it around 8AM MDT.

The injury occurred in McChesney’s right knee. Last season, he suffered an ACL tear in his left knee against Cincinnati.

Next: Don't Overlook BYU's O-Line

A guy who played a lot for BYU football until the injury, McChesney had seemingly bounced back well. According to ESPN 960’s Ben Criddle, McChesney was running a 4.4-second 40-yard dash in the offseason.

So far in fall camp, he had worked his way back into the two-deep depth chart at cornerback.

Nothing official has come from Sitake or BYU football yet, but it is clearly a big blow for the Cougars. They had been toying with the idea of moving Troy Warner and Dayan Ghanwoloku to safety, which is less likely to happen now that McChesney isn’t there.

However, the Cougars still have options. They’re just less experienced.

Firstly, highly-touted recruit Chaz Ah You may provide the additional safety depth on his own. He’s looked incredible through this first week of camp.

Next comes a load of cornerbacks. Chris Wilcox looks to be a new player after getting torched by Toledo last season. JUCO transfers Isaiah Armstrong and Trevion Greene might also be called upon to take reps with the twos.

While he hasn’t made any headlines yet, I also think D’Angelo Gunter could be a strong candidate as well. It might happen later in the year, but he’s got the makeup of Eric Rowe.

It’s a terrible break for McChesney, but as they say:

Next man up.

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