NIU football: Trayvon Rudolph done for the season with noncontact knee injury

Northern Illinois University wide receiver and kick returner Trayvon Rudolph will miss the 2022 football season after suffering a noncontact knee injury during preseason practices this week, head coach Thomas Hammock announced Friday.

“Obviously we feel for Trayvon for his 2022 season to end before it began due to a noncontact injury, and we will support him as he goes through the rehab process,” Hammock said. “In this program, we have a ‘next man up’ mentality with a focus on developing players and building quality depth. We have a talented group of receivers on this roster and look forward to seeing them take the opportunity to step up to help our offense.”

No further information was available.

Rudolph led the Huskies with 51 catches for 892 yards and seven touchdowns last year, including 14 catches for 309 yards and three scores against Kent State.

A pair of transfers may help pick up the slack for the Huskies, who won the Mid-American Conference last year and were picked by the media as the preseason favorites this year. Kacper Rutkiewicz for Illinois State has seen his practice time increase and has taken some first-team reps on the sweeps that helped Rudolph run for 113 yards on nine carries and a touchdown last year.

Also, FIU transfer Shemar Thornton has also had a strong early showing in practices for the Huskies, and true freshman Jalen Johnson has gotten some first-team reps.