DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke linebacker Kelby Brown will miss the season after suffering a knee injury during a preseason scrimmage.
In a release Tuesday, the school said the all-Atlantic Coast Conference performer tore his left anterior cruciate ligament during Monday’s scrimmage. The fifth-year senior is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday.
The injury is a big blow for the Blue Devils, who made a surprise run to the Coastal Division championship and reached the ACC title game. Brown was an all-ACC first-team pick and one of the league’s top tacklers with 114.
Brown had a career-high 17 tackles against Georgia Tech in September, then matched that against Miami in November.
It is the third time Brown has torn a knee ligament in his college career.
Brown suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee late in the 2010 season, then redshirted the 2012 season after tearing his right ACL again.
“He has been and will continue to be an integral part of our program,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said in a statement. “He’s as fine a representative of our program as we have, and nothing will change that. He’s seen this type of adversity before, and I’m confident he’ll overcome this challenge.”
Brown graduated in June with a degree in evolutionary anthropology and is a two-time academic all-ACC pick. He is spending his fifth year as a postgraduate enrolled in Duke’s divinity school.
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