Four Virginia players with season-ending injuries

Now that we are headed into conference play, Virginia will start releasing injury reports as per conference requirements. In his weekly press conference on Monday, coach Bronco Mendenhall announced that four Virginia football players are out for the season. Junior cornerback Tim Harris, senior offensive lineman Sean Karl, junior outside linebacker Malcolm Cook, and true freshman defensive end Christian Brooks will miss the remainder of the 2016 season with a variety of injuries and conditions. Harris and Brooks are out with shoulder injuries, Karl is out with a back injury, and Cook is out with what Mendenhall described as "a medical condition."

Harris, Cook, and Karl had figured prominently into Virginia’s 2016 plans before being sidelined. Harris appeared headed for a starting cornerback spot. He played in Virginia’s opener against Richmond and was injured early in the Week 2 game against Oregon. Harris had undergone shoulder surgery last week. Cook and Karl had successful fall camps and were similarly headed for starting spots at their positions. Their statuses didn't come into question until they were absent from the Week 1 depth chart.

It’s possible that all four players will be able to contribute in 2017. Harris played as a true freshman in 2012, so he still has a redshirt season available. Cook and Karl took redshirts during their freshmen campaigns, but they could potentially apply for medical hardship waivers. Cook will have another year of eligibility available regardless. Karl, in contrast, will need the waiver in order to play next year. Brooks will likely take a medical redshirt this season and have four years of eligibility remaining.

Virginia also released its depth chart for the Duke game on Monday. The chart was completely unchanged from last week. It’s noteworthy that sophomore cornerback Juan Thornhill and redshirt freshman wide receiver Warren Craft are listed as starters at their positions. Thornhill was injured on the opening kickoff in Saturday’s game against Central Michigan and did not return. Craft has not played in either of the last two games.

Virginia will release a full injury report on Thursday. UVA’s depth chart can be found below, courtesy of a tweet from Brad Franklin of Cavs Corner.