The injuries continue to pour in for Arizona State. The Sun Devils, who have already seen significant injuries to the likes of cornerback Omar Bolden and wide receiver T.J. Simpson this offseason, will not have senior Brandon Magee for the upcoming 2011 football season. Magee tore his Achilles tendon during practice on Saturday and will miss the entire season.
Magee was a solid linebacker for the Sun Devils last year, playing in all 12 games (with 11 starts) while posting 75 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He ranked second on the team in tackles behind only Vontaze Burficit. His presence was instrumental in ASU's Territorial Cup over Arizona last season when he had a team-high 13 tackles in the game.
Now, things look much tougher for the Sun Devils. The ASU defense, which has been the team's strong point for the past few seasons, will have to rely a little more on Burficit. Burficit alone, however, cannot carry this team. The new first-team Sun Devils- those players replacing the likes of Boldin, Simpson and Magee- will have to step up in a big way to keep ASU's goal of a Pac-12 championship in sight this season.