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The Virginia Cavaliers suffered a bit of tough news on Thursday as reports emerged that projected starting cornerback Darrius Bratton injured his knee seriously enough to put his 2019 season in jeopardy.
Doug Doughty of the Roanoke Times was first with the news:
Sorry to hear that #UVa defensive back Darrius Bratton from Roanoke suffered knee injury Wednesday and is likely lost for the season. Good kid. Hasn't been redshirted so has two years remaining.
— Douglas Doughty (@DoughtySports) August 15, 2019
Bratton was rehabbing a hamstring injury that had limited his participation in UVA’s preseason training camp.
In 2018, Bratton appeared in all 13 of UVA’s games, making five starts. He tied with current Kansas City Chiefs rookie Juan Thornhill for fourth on the 2018 squad with 7 pass break-ups. For 2019, Bratton has been expected to start opposite All-American Bryce Hall.
On the positive side, the defensive backfield is one of Virginia’s deeper position groups headed into the 2019 campaign. Bronco Mendenhall and Nick Howell would have several strong options to fill Bratton’s shoes, including Nick Grant—who was in the first wave of picks for this year’s jersey number draft—and talented redshirt freshman Jaylon Baker. Sophomores Heskin Smith and Germane Crowell should also be in the mix.
Bratton would be the second Cavalier to be lost to a season-ending injury after transfer offensive lineman Alex Gellerstedt went down earlier in training camp.
We will update this story once more information comes available.