One of the best players on Wisconsin's defense is now out for the 2017 season.
Wisconsin announced on Thursday that senior linebacker Jack Cichy would be out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in one of his knees in practice on Tuesday.
"You hate it for Jack," head coach Paul Chryst said in the statement. "You only get so many chances to play this game and you never want to see a guy miss any of those opportunities. He's one of the leaders of our team and I know he'll be a big part of what we do moving forward this season."
Cichy will undergo surgery on Friday.
The injury is the second major setback for Cichy over the past year. Cichy was the leading tackler for Wisconsin's defense through seven games last year before tearing a pectoral muscle in Wisconsin's game against Iowa. In those seven games, Cichy still recorded 60 total tackles (7.0 TFL) and two forced fumbles.
With the departures of T.J. Watt and Leo Musso, Cichy was expected to be Wisconsin's returning defender along with linebacker T.J. Edwards. Unless Cichy petitions the NCAA, he will be out of eligibility.
