Purdue suffers key loss in spring game: Knox's knee injury could be ACL

Breakdown of Purdue's running backs ($) | Posey finishes strong spring | Video ($) | Wild finish in Black victory

D.J. Knox may have lost his starting job to first-year player Markell Jones last season, but one would never be able to tell.

Knox always has practiced and played football with a passion, never showing a gear other than full throttle, never backing down from a significant challenge, whether it be fighting to gain every inch on each carry or stepping up into a hole to deliver a blow on a blitzing linebacker.

All those traits — that passion, that energy, that fight — are going to have to be applied in a much different area now.

Knox, Purdue’s bruising No. 2 running back, suffered a significant left knee injury during the spring game Saturday.

"D.J.('s prognosis) does not sound good. It sounds like an ACL," Coach Darrell Hazell said. "It's unfortunate because he's obviously one of our good players and he's worked so hard to put himself in a position to be successful for this football team. It's not been 100 percent confirmed, but (an ACL) is what we think it is right now. He's pretty locked up right now, so they're going to have to wait until it relaxes before they can do another test."

Knox had a great spring and was culminating it in a big way Saturday. On a second down carry in the second quarter, Knox appeared stopped near the line but literally dragged 260-pound defensive end Gelen Robinson eight yards before he was tackled on a 12-yard gain. On the next play, Knox busted through a huge hole up the middle and then lowered his shoulder to deliver a blow on safety Austin Logan on a 15-yard pickup.

They were the kinds of plays Knox showcased the ability to make last season in his first significant role out of the backfield.

And it was a similar big-time play that appears to have ended his 2016 season.

On a second-and-5, Knox again found running room and shot down the middle of the field, seemingly having a chance to score a 30-plus-yard TD, but when he looked to shake an oncoming defensive back, the left knee buckled — in that no-contact, ACL kind of way Purdue fans have seen all too often — and Knox collapsed to the field. Immediately, he was clutching the knee and rolling around on the ground.

Teammates dropped to one knee, some in prayer, and all were focused on Knox when athletic trainers came to his aid. Hazell was kneeling to speak to Knox, too. Eventually, a cart came to take Knox directly into the locker room and play resumed.

“The entire kind of feel of the game went away after that,” Jones said. “It’s like a brother. You’re in the weight room with him, you’re going through 6 a.m. concourse workouts with him, you’re seeing him work and grind all spring, and his family is here, and for that to happen is really unfortunate. Praying for him and hoping for the best.”

With Jones and Knox essentially established as the top two backs heading into the spring, first-year running backs coach DeAndre Smith actually used the first 14 practices to truly evaluate and rotate everyone in the room. That could prove to be beneficial now.

David Yancey has molded himself into a steady, reliable player who could contribute on game days, though he doesn’t have much experience doing so; redshirt freshman Richie Worship and Tario Fuller present different options as change-of-pace backs with Worship’s physicality more of a fullback-type and Fuller’s athleticism and shiftiness opposite of Jones’ approach.

Really, though, it will be all about Jones and how well he can hold up over what could turn into a workhorse type of role.

On Saturday, he finished the spring with 69 yards on eight carries and showcased much of what allowed him to elevate to that top back role as a true freshman: He was powerful yet agile and a 20-yard run reminded of his breakaway potential.

“He’s only going to get better going forward,” Hazell said of Jones. “We’re going to have to get on his back next year in the fall and ride him at times and close games out. He’s got to be a tough guy, sometimes going to have to carry it 30 times, 30-plus times a game, for us to win. But I’m confident that if he continues the growth he’s had since he’s been here, we’re going to be a good football team because of him.”

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