Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans tore his left ACL today at practice and will miss the 2009 season, the athletics department announced Tuesday afternoon. Evans was participating in contact drills Tuesday after spraining his left knee during practice Friday.
Evans, a sophomore from Indianapolis, carried most of the Hokies' workload in 2008 after Kenny Lewis ruptured his left Achilles' tendon in the Western Kentucky game. Evans ran for 1,265 yards, averaged 4.4 yards per carry and scored 11 touchdowns last season. He was named second team All-ACC and was the MVP of the Hokies' Orange Bowl win over Cincinnati.
Josh Oglesby, also a sophomore, is currently listed as the Hokies' No. 2 running back on the depth chart. Freshmen Ryan Williams and David Wilson are also expected to compete for playing time.
Obviously this is a big blow for Tech, but the same was said last year when Branden Ore was kicked off the team. Evans came in as an unknown redshirt freshman, earned carries in the preseason and then in games showed he was capable of being the No. 1 back. Hopefully one of the three other backs will be able to do the same this year.
I'll have a lot more on Tech's running back situation as the week goes on.