Nelson injury is a tragic twist in a strange BYU offensive fall

Riley Nelson’s season is over in tragic fashion after an MRI showed he needed surgery to repair his shoulder.

Nelson learned of his injury situation on Monday and he made a decision to have the surgery on Tuesday after mulling it over night. Part of the decision is the ability to receive a medical redshirt year because his injury happened in the first four games of this season.

Nelson was injured at the Florida State game, possibly after one of the eight sacks BYU QBs received in the game. Nelson had two series and did not come back the rest of the game. We’ll likely find out later today if Nelson was injured on one of those sacks and if that influenced why he did not return and Heaps took the rest of the reps in Saturday’s game.

What this means is BYU’s offense will now focus on play scripts which are suitable to a drop-back passing game and James Lark will move up behind Jake Heaps and receive backup reps. This also means Jason Munns will be added to the travel roster.

I fully expect Mendenhall, who did not name a starting QB this morning on a MWC teleconference call, to tell reporters at practice today that Heaps is the starter for obvious reasons. Mendenhall didn’t make any announcement at 11 a.m. today during the conference call for strategic reasons, in my opinion. Or, it could be that Nelson had not decided on surgery until Bronco had already gone on the call with the media.

Some sources have told me Nelson could possibly play with this injury, if he chose to endure the pain and discomfort, or have a limited role. But when considering his role (limited) and his ability to get this year back, he made the choice for the surgery and redshirt.

Nelson is a good guy, one of the best. I wish him luck and a speedy recovery.

Here is BYU’s official press release on the Nelson injury.

PROVO, Utah (Sept. 21, 2010) BYU junior quarterback Riley Nelson will have surgery to repair a shoulder injury suffered Saturday during the Florida State game and will be out the remainder of the 2010 season.

An MRI has revealed the need for surgery on Nelson’s non-throwing shoulder. The anticipated recovery time is 4-5 months.

“We will miss Riley’s leadership, toughness and playmaking ability,” BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Unfortunately, injuries are part of football. Riley is a great young man and we will look forward to his return.”

Nelson, from Logan, Utah, has started each of BYU’s first three games while sharing time with true freshman quarterback Jake Heaps. Nelson has completed 20-of-40 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns while adding 148 yards and one touchdown on 31 rushing attempts.

“It’s never fun to be injured,” Nelson said. “I’m getting it taken care of as soon as possible so I can start my recovery and be back to help the team in the future.”