College football is hitting its stride as we head into Week 5 of the 2024 season! Unfortunately, we can’t have football without injuries, and the injury bug has arrived in full force. There are a number of key players with major injury concerns as we look ahead to the weekend slate. Here are the most impactful college football injuries heading into Week 5!
Here is everything you need to know regarding the BIGGEST injuries on both sides of the ball. However, injury news happens fast and can change quickly, so for the most up-to-date news and analysis, follow me on X @TheDegenDoc!
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Most Impactful College Football Injuries Heading Into Week 5
Colston Loveland (TE) Michigan Wolverines
Injury: Shoulder Injury
Injury Date: 9/14/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Player Year: Junior
The Michigan offense is abysmal, and they need every playmaker to be available this week. Well, it sounds like star TE Colston Loveland may make this a reality. He was unable to finish the last game against Arkansas State and had to sit out against USC last week. However, head coach Sherrone Moore said the injury is not very serious and Loveland is questionable heading into this week.
Loveland is reportedly dealing with a shoulder injury and will likely be a game-time decision. With Loveland having a chance to return last week against USC, this bodes well for his likelihood of being available this week. The junior TE is still the team’s leading receiver by 100+ yards. He would be a big boost for the offense if he’s made available for their game against Minnesota.
Cam Rising (QB) Utah Utes
Injury: Hand Injury
Injury Date: 9/7/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Player Year: RS Senior
Surprise, surprise. Utah Utes star fifth year senior QB Cam Rising is back on the college football injury report for Week 5. After having an impressive debut, as expected, off his ACL tear from two years ago, it only took two games for Rising to pick up another injury. Rising was carving up the Baylor Bears defense last week and unfortunately Baylor called in their secret weapon. The Utah QB was scrambling out of the pocket and got ran out of bounds and run right into the Gatorade coolers on the sidelines.
There was some immediate concern for the oft-injured quarterback as he went into the locker room early and came back out in street clothes. Thankfully, he seems to have dodged a major bullet. Rising injured the ring finger on his throwing hand but there is no fracture or season-ending injury.
After being medically cleared to play last week, coach Kyle Whittingham played his classic tricks. Despite Cam Rising taking all the 1st team reps in pre-game warmups, Rising ultimately did not play in a massive game against Oklahoma State.
It has been reported this week that despite being cleared to play, Rising was not 100% as he was having trouble gripping the ball and putting some velocity on his passes. With another week of recovery, there is a chance Rising is able to return this week, but with the way Utah handles things, we won’t know until the first snap.
Nic Anderson (WR) Oklahoma Sooners
Injury: Quad Strain
Injury Date: Sometime in Preseason
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Player Year: Sophomore
The Oklahoma Sooners have begun the season without their top returning WR from 2023. WR Nic Anderson has been out with a quad injury to start the season and the Oklahoma offense has looked lackluster.
Anderson tried to inject some juice into that offense last week when he finally returned to the field against Tennessee. Unfortunately, he suffered a setback with his quad injury and had to remove himself from the game. As we look towards College Football in Week 5, he has been ruled OUT against Auburn. With a reinjury typically leading to more damage and a longer recovery time, I would expect Anderson out for multiple weeks.
Malachi Moore (S) Alabam Crimson Tide
Injury: Concussion
Injury Date: 9/14/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Player Year: RS Senior
Quinn Ewers (QB) Texas Longhorns
Injury: Abdominal Injury
Injury Date: 9/14/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Player Year: Junior
On their way to a 56-7 beat down of instate opponent UTSA, Texas had quite the scare with their starting QB Quinn Ewers. The star QB was forced to leave the field with an oblique injury and there were concerns it was a significant injury.
Fortunately, after some testing the injury was not deemed to be severe or as bad as initially feared. Oblique injuries can be tricky to deal with as they affect many movements and actions you make on a daily basis. The rotational aspect of the oblique musculature is especially important when considering a QB throwing a ball. Ewers is considered questionable and a true 50/50 decision for game time this week.
Lake McRee (TE) USC Trojans
Injury: Knee Injury
Injury Date: 9/21/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Player Year: Junior
There was a moment of disbelief and fear from the Trojan fan base when TE Lake Mcree went down against Michigan. The initial fears of a season ending knee injury have thankfully been debunked and McRee will return at some point this season.
Head coach Lincoln Riley said that Mcree will mis some time but ultimately retrun this season. I would expect Mcree to be out a couple weeks at this point.
Blake Shapen (QB) Mississippi Bulldogs
Injury: Shoulder Injury
Injury Date: 9/21/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Player Year: Junior
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are a very bad team. They just lost to another bad team in Friday and to make matters worse, they lost their QB1. Blake Shapen has a shoulder injury that will keep out the rest of the season.
Mississippi State heads to Austin Texas to take on the Texas Longhorns. They will be starting true freshman Michael Van Buren to make his first start on the road.
Harold Perkins Jr. (OLB) LSU Tigers
Injury: Shoulder Injury
Injury Date: 9/21/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 10-12 months
Player Year: Junior
This next injury on the Week 5 college football injury report is a tough pill to swallow. LSU star OLB Harold Perkins Jr tore his ACL during the game last week and will be out the rest of the season. After exploding on the scene his freshmen season, Perkins has had a difficult past two seasons.
Zakhari Franklin (WR) Illinois Fighting Illini
Injury: Leg Injury
Injury Date: 9/20/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Player Year: Senior
The FIghting Illini have a huge game as they head to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. They look to keep their undefeated season alive and a big part of their success is due to their overall team health. They come in to the game with one questionable tag in star WR Zakhari Franklin. The teams leading WR is cleared for this game and is expected in the lineup. This will be a big boost for a team that will need some explosive plays to pull out a victory.
Tyler Van Dyke (QB) Wisconsin Badgers
Injury: ACL Tear
Injury Date: 9/14/2024
Expected Recovery Timeline: 10-12 months
Player Year: Senior
The journey of QB Tyler Van Dyke has been a difficult one, and it doesn’t get any easier with the Week 5 college football injury report. After starting out well as home underdogs to Alabama, everything quickly derailed once Van Dyke went down with injury.
After not returning to the game, it was found that the Wisconsin QB tore is ACL. The ACL is a major stabilizing ligament of the knee and when fully torn, requires season-ending surgery. The recovery timeline is typically between 10-12 months for a player to return to the field.
