Virginia LB Jordan Mack sits out Orange Bowl practice

Some bad news out of South Florida for Virginia Football fans as senior linebacker Jordan Mack missed practice on Friday (December 27) with an apparent foot/ankle injury. CBS19’s Damon Dillman posted a picture to his Twitter from Virginia’s practice in Boca Raton today as the Hoos prepare for Monday’s Orange Bowl:

While there has been no official announcement from Virginia regarding the status of Mack for the game, the heavy wrap and scooter don’t encourage a lot of optimism. Mack missed a portion of the ACC Championship game against Clemson with an ankle injury, so this isn’t completely out of left field.

For the season, Mack has 69 tackles and a team best 7.5 sacks to go with two forced fumbles and 10 quarterback hurries. Mack’s presence would be greatly missed, and Virginia would need to get a big game from first year Nick Jackson in his stead. Jackson got the start and finished with three tackles against North Carolina after Mack missed the first half against the Tar Heels due to a targeting call the week before. Against Clemson, Jackson amassed nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.

If he is out for the game, Mack would join a laundry list of injured defensive players for the Cavaliers, including All-American CB and fellow captain Bryce Hall.

The Orange Bowl is scheduled for 8pm on December 30, and will be televised on ESPN.