A non-contact injury will leave Utah without one of its top players at getting to the quarterback for an undetermined amount of time.
It was confirmed by head coach Kyle Whittingham following practice Saturday that linebacker Jacoby Hale suffered a torn ACL earlier in the week. Hale tore the knee ligament during practice Thursday and was not hit on the play.
Whittingham said he’s seen players return from a torn ACL in four months -- that timeline would have Hale back for the start of summer camp -- although it’s more likely this player will be out until late September or early October at the earliest.
As a redshirt junior in 2013, Hale was second on the Utes in sacks with 6.5 despite playing just nine games. His 10 tackles for loss were second as well.