Rutgers football will have to do without one of its biggest stars on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano announced on Tuesday that linebacker Mohamed Toure is out for the season with a torn ACL. This tragic news comes as the sun began to rise on what seemed to be the best chance for Rutgers to have a breakout season in the Big Ten.
“It’s sad,” Schiano said. “He put so much work into getting ready for the year. But that’s the game of football, unfortunately. There are things that happen. As a family we’ve surrounded him, we’re supporting him, we will help him through the rehab and get him back and get him reaching his goals and aspirations.”
“It’s next man up at linebacker,” Schiano said. “We’re fortunate we have some good depth at the position. Those guys will be ready to play Thursday.”
Unfortunately, Toure knows all too well about dealing with season-ending ACL tears as it was the same type of injury that kept him sidelined during the entire 2022 season.
Toure, a native of Pleasantville, New Jersey, played in all 13 games last season recording 93 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was a top contributor to the Knights’ defense in both of those categories.
The Beaten Up Linebacker Core
In addition to Toure being ruled out for the season, Linebacker Tyreem Powell’s status for the season opener remains uncertain as he recovers from a broken hand and a torn Achilles. He broke his hand in last year’s game against Indiana and tore his Achilles after returning to winter workouts.
“We’re going to see with Tyreem with what he’s able to do,” Schiano said. “I’m not going to rush that so if he’s not ready.”
The Next Man Up Behind Toure
As of right now, it looks like junior Moses Walker, junior Dariel Djabome, and sophomore Abram Wright are the candidates to fill in the gap that Toure is leaving behind. Schiano said after the team’s scrimmage on August 10th that both Walker and Djabome were working with the starters while Powell and Toure were recovering.
The most experienced of these three at the college level is Dariel Djabome who has appeared in 22 games over two seasons. His best game came against Maryland last season where he was in on 10 stops and made one tackle for loss. Other multi-tackle efforts for Djabome last season came against Miami, Iowa, and Wagner.
Walker has also had a decent amount of playing time, appearing in 12 games across the 2023 season. In those games, he recorded one solo tackle, four assists, and one forced fumble that came against Temple. Before his time at Rutgers, Walker was the No. 1 recruit in New York and he was the No. 14 Linebacker in his class. Toure’s absence provides a perfect opportunity for him to bloom.
The last name on the radar of who could be stepping up to fill Toure’s role is sophomore Abram Wright. Wright appeared in five games last season and recorded one tackle and one interception on the year. His role, for now, will more likely be to take over rotational backup duties to give the starters some rest when they need it. Even still, expect his playing time to drastically increase this season.
