Freshman will undergo knee surgery Sept. 1
Daryl Collins was just beginning to make his mark on the Kentucky receiving corps. Now he'll have to wait a year for a fresh start.
The freshman from Gadsden, Ala., will miss the 2011 season with a dislocated right kneecap that will require surgery, UK coach Joker Phillips announced on Friday. Collins is scheduled for surgery on Sept. 1 and will redshirt this season, Phillips said.
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"He'd been coming along great," quarterback Morgan Newton said. "He's a spectacular athlete. That's kind of tough for that to happen when it did, especially the timing of it. He'll continue to work hard and he'll have a long career."
The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Collins caught 27 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns as a senior at Gadsden City High School, where he also played tailback and quarterback.
Collins "was going to be a part of the mix" at wide receiver for the Wildcats this season, passing game coordinator Tee Martin said.
"At the same time, he was still a freshman," Martin said. "He was still learning. He was starting to show those signs that he would be part of the mix, and then the injury came."
Collins injured his knee on a fall as he caught a pass, Martin said. Initially his knee swelled, and the injury could not be diagnosed until the swelling reduced.
"He could have come back, but he would have come back at a time when it wouldn't be worth wasting a year," Martin said. "So we decided to redshirt him and move on."