Minnesota Football: Brandon Lingen out for the season

Tight end Brandon Lingen will miss the rest of the season with a lower leg injury suffered against Rutgers. Lingen missed the season opener while recovering from shoulder surgery, but then broke his clavicle the next week against Indiana State. He was able to return against Maryland before suffering his latest injury. It’s been a rough season for the junior, who was named a team captain and expected to be a key contributor in the Gophers’ passing game. Nate Wozniak and Colton Beebe will continue to anchor the tight end position with Lingen done for the year.

In other news, defensive tackle Steven Richardson (concussion) is listed as out on the depth chart for Saturday’s game against Illinois. Offensive tackle Jonah Pirsig (ankle) is also listed as out, but head coach Tracy Claeys said over the weekend that he was encouraged by his progress. So expect Pirsig to be a gametime decision if he travels with the team to Champaign.

Wide receiver Adam Mayer has made his first appearance on the depth chart, backing up Drew Wolitarsky. That makes for two walk-ons in the two-deep at wide receiver now, including starter Brian Smith. Oh, Melvin Holland and Isaiah Gentry, where art thou?

To see the full depth chart, click here.

There was a hearing earlier this morning regarding the restraining orders filed against six Gopher players — sophomore cornerback KiAnte Hardin, redshirt freshman cornerback Ray Buford, redshirt freshman safety Dior Johnson, freshman cornerback Kiondre Thomas, freshman defensive end Tamarion Johnson, and redshirt sophomore running back Carlton Djam. The order against Thomas was dropped yesterday by the complainant, because, according to the court document, he was present during the alleged incident but “did not personally assault her.” It’s important to note that these are allegations and that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office declined to press charges after reviewing the facts of the case.

The players’ attorney Lee Hutton expected the other five restraining orders to be overturned this morning, but that did not happen. Instead, an evidentiary hearing has been set for Thursday, November 3, prior to the Gophers’ home game against Purdue. Presumably, this will allow both sides to prevent evidence and testimony, but I’ll defer to the expertise of any of our commenters who practice law. The judge has said he will make a decision on the Thursday or Friday ahead of next Saturday’s home game.

Even with the restraining orders in place, the suspended players will be available to play against Illinois on the road Saturday, so expect KiAnte Hardin to be starting at the cornerback position again in Champaign.