Iowa tackle to miss season after second knee injury
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Lee Gray, Iowa's starting left tackle, will miss the entire season due to a nagging knee surgery, coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday.
Gray, a 6-6, 310-pounder who started 11 of 12 games at left tackle last season, missed much of the team's spring workouts recovering from knee surgery in January.
Ferentz said the knee did not respond to the initial repair and Gray will undergo a second operation next month, forcing him to miss the entire season.
"All of us share Lee's disappointment of not being able to play next fall," said Ferentz, who added Gray is expected to redshirt and return for his senior season.
"The key thing for Lee to focus on now is finishing his academic work in a quality fashion and working hard to get back on the field in 2006. This is a tough setback for Lee but I am confident he will handle it well in the long run," Ferentz said.
On a positive note, Ferentz said there is plenty of depth on the offensive line, with seven lineman credited for at least starting one game last year.
"Not that you want any player to get injured, but I think we're going to be better able to survive an injury or two with the offensive line as opposed to last year," Ferentz said.
