Surgery may be needed for Brittain Brown's shoulder
Duke coach David Cutcliffe said that, overall, the team is healthy coming out of last Friday’s win at Virginia Tech, with one big exception.
Running back Brittain Brown has battled a shoulder injury all season long. The junior entered the season with 1,070 career yards and 10 touchdowns. A candidate for the Doak Walker Award, Brown was expected to pair with Deon Jackson to give Duke a dominating running back tandem.
Instead, his time has been limited. He’s gotten in for just 42 snaps on offense and missed one game entirely.
It’s the second straight year Brown has missed significant time. He sat out four games due to injury last season. In the last two years, he’s played a total of 299 snaps, 152 fewer than he played in his freshman season.
Brown attempted to play at Virginia Tech but left the game after a short run where he was tackled by the facemask, drawing a penalty on the defender.
“I’m concerned about Brittain Brown,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re at the point with the shoulder that we have to make a decision. I’ll visit with him. It’s been a hard year for him, emotionally. He had a tough year a year ago as well. We’re going to let you guys know, but we may make the decision to get him repaired. It’s just in his best interest. Certainly, that’s what you want to probably do. I’d love to have him. You saw the spark he gave our team a week ago. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Brown used his redshirt year prior to his freshman season. He would have one year of eligibility remaining, unless the NCAA grants him a fifth year due to injury.
