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Surgeries will sideline a pair of senior stalwarts on the BYU football team.
The school announced Thursday that receiver/punt returner JD Falslev will be out for up to a month after surgery to repair a broken hand, while linebacker Austen Jorgensen is scheduled for a season-ending procedure to repair damaged knee cartilage.
Falslev suffered the injury while participating in a mid-bye week team activity at a Provo indoor entertainment center; Jorgensen's injury is a cumulative-effect situation and not related to any one particular incident.
Both players made three starts while playing in all eight games this season. Falslev is second on the team in receptions and has accounted for all 23 of the Cougars' punt returns; Jorgensen is fourth on the team in tackles.
On the season, Falslev has 24 catches for 257 yards and a touchdown. He has averaged 10.4 yards on 23 punt returns, including a 71-yard return for a touchdown against Middle Tennessee. Of BYU's 75 punt returns (not including yardage gains on blocked punts) over the last three seasons, Falslev has been responsible for 71 of them.
Jorgensen has tallied a career-best 47 tackles this season; for his career, Jorgensen has accounted for 108 tackles, including 55 solo takedowns and one sack, in 45 games played.
Falslev's early-season backup at slot receiver had been Eric Thornton, but he has not played in either of the last two games. Falslev's punt-return understudies in August camp were fellow receiver Skyler Ridley and Thornton. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall hasn't said who will replace Falslev on the punt-return team.
Jorgensen has played as a middle and buck linebacker this season, as part of a recent four-man inside rotation that has also included Uani 'Unga, Tyler Beck and Manoa Pikula. Teu Kautai is available to provide inside linebacker depth, while Spencer Hadley could also be re-deployed inside if needed; he moved from buck linebacker to strongside (outside) backer after his suspension earlier this season.
