Jackson Dillon (34) celebrates after the Tigers defeated Ole Miss during the 2015 season. Head coach Mike Norvell announced Wednesday that Dillon will miss the remainder of the 2016 season with a knee injury.
University of Memphis football star Jackson Dillon will be out for the remainder of the 2016-17 season with an undisclosed knee injury, according to head coach Mike Norvell.
Dillon, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound linebacker from Ringling, Oklahoma, is coming off a stellar year in 2015 where he recorded 37 total tackles, six for loss, recovered a fumble for a touchdown and blocked a kick.
The senior has been one of the leaders for the Tigers over the last three seasons, recording 109 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss since 2013 – his true freshman season.
This is the first time Dillon has really been forced to deal with a major injury; in fact, he has played in every game since his freshman season and started the vast majority of them.
His best performance last season came when the Tigers traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, to battle the Jayhawks. Dillon totaled eight total tackles and one tackle for loss in the Tigers 55-23 win over Kansas.
Dillon’s best statistical season came as a sophomore when he recorded 43 total tackles, nine for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. He was named to the NFL.com All-Bowl team after recording 11 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in the Miami Beach Bowl against BYU.
Dillon will likely be eligible for the medical hardship waiver or, as it is more commonly referred to, a medical redshirt. To be eligible for a medical hardship waiver, the athlete’s injury must have occurred in the first half of the season, it must be season-ending, and the athlete can’t have played more than three games or 30 percent of the season – whichever is greater, according to athletic scholarships. net. There is a good chance Dillon is granted one of these waivers, and in that case, he would be eligible to return to the team in 2017 as a fifth year senior.
The Tigers other linebackers, led by Genard Avery and Shareef White, are talented and have had two games without Dillon to get a glimpse of how the rest of the season will play out.
Memphis will play this Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium against Bowling Green. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and it will be broadcast on ESPNews.
