‘Jarring’ injuries to Billy Kemp, Ethan Piper add to Nebraska’s woes on offense
Nebraska’s offense lost two more starters on Saturday — on the same play — and both could be out of the lineup for some time.
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Left guard Ethan Piper and Billy Kemp each suffered knee injuries, NU coach Matt Rhule said, just before halftime. Kemp left the field under his power and limping. Piper needed help from his teammates to leave the field.
“Billy, sounded like maybe it was a MCL,” Rhule said, referring to a ligament in Kemp’s knee. “They let him stay on the sidelines in the second half, which is usually a good sign we’ll get him back at some point. … Pipe seemed like he was a little bit worse. I want to wait and see what that is. He seemed like he was in pain. I hate it for him. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team.”
Piper got replaced at left guard by Justin Evans-Jenkins, who later moved to center when Ben Scott got slightly injured. When Evans-Jenkins did that, Noure Nouili moved to left guard and Henry Lutovsky, a regular in NU’s rotation, came in to play right guard.
Rhule called Kemp’s departure “jarring” because Nebraska had built so much of its game plan around Kemp handling the ball. He caught one pass and lost 3 yards. His replacement, Jaidyn Doss, had one jet sweep catch for 4 yards.
Should Kemp and Piper be out for the season, they’d join running backs Gabe Ervin and Rahmir Johnson, plus receivers Marcus Washington and Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, on the season-long injury list. Quarterback Jeff Sims has missed weeks with a high ankle sprain, too, although he has returned to 100% health, according to Rhule.
Cornerback Tommi Hill missed the second half with an ankle injury. Linebacker Nick Henrich did not appear to play Saturday but Rhule disclosed no injury. Left tackle Turner Corcoran had a boot on his foot after the game but did not appear to be seriously injured.
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