With the 2022 college football season fast approaching, key players on big-name programs are already getting sidelined.
We'll not only cover the pivotal injuries that have occurred over the last week and change, but offer a glimpse into the betting impact as well, including notes from Action Network's Collin Wilson.
Texas WR Isaiah Neyor — Out for Season
Terrible. Texas lost its projected starting Z receiver in Neyor, who would have been an incredible weapon alongside X, Xavier Worthy, and Jordan Whittington, who took roughly 85% of his snaps out the slot last year.
Those three wide receivers all ranked inside the top 145 in PFF's receivers for the 2021 season, but Neyor (WR42) graded out as the best.
The Wyoming transfer posted 44 catches — the next-closest player had 21 — and 12 touchdowns (nobody on the roster had more than two).
Betting Impact: Neyor posted a weighted dominator rating — which accounts for a player's share in a team's receiving yards and touchdown production — just shy of 50% last year. That's incredible.
Meanwhile, Worthy led all freshmen with roughly a 37% clip; no other first-year WR touched 20%! After erupting for 62-981-12, his production is back on a skyrocket-type pace with Neyor out.
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman — Out Indefinitely
Wake Forest took the first real hit of the summer, losing Hartman indefinitely to a non-football-related issue.
Whether it's Michael Kern or Mitch Griffis getting the nod, good luck replacing Hartman's value.
Hartman, who entered the year second in the preseason ACC Offensive Player of the Year voting, led the nation with 5,848 intended air yards en route to an 11-win campaign last year.
The Demon Deacons open with VMI in Week 0, then get Vanderbilt in Week 1.
Betting Impact: Wilson docked Wake Forest seven points in his 2022 Power Ratings, moving the Demon Deacons from a fringe top-25 club to outside the top 50 with Hartman out.
UNC WR Antoine Green — Out 5-9 Weeks
Josh Downs will command the targets in Phil Longo's WR1-friendly UNC offense, but Green was poised for a big season after collecting 16 of his 27 catches and four of his five TD receptions in the final five weeks.
That's on hold, for now. He suffered an injury last Monday, with head coach Mack Brown tabbing a 6-to-10 week timeline for return and adding, "Hopefully, he'll be back by Notre Dame," per C.L. Brown of The News and Observer.
Betting Impact: The same night Green went down, UNC moved off the key number of -3 for Week 1 against Appalachian State. The market is currently painted 2.5, with a rogue 2 out there (you can check out all NCAAF odds here).
UNC RB British Brooks — Out for Season
Brooks went down five days later with a lower-body injury, subtracting two starters from the Tar Heels' offense.
He is a team leader who cranked out 9.5 yards per carry last year, including a 63-yard score in the bowl game.
Betting Impact: The market took a piece of the under Saturday night, betting the UNC-App State total down from 57 to as low as 55.
Texas OL Junior Angilau — Out for Season
On Monday, Steve Sarkisian also confirmed a season-ending injury for Angilau, who sustained his setback the same day as Neyor.
It's a critical loss to the unit, as Angilau was the Longhorns' most experienced player up front.
Betting Impact: Texas goes from plus to negative in Returning OL Snaps; Angilau was responsible for more than 40%.
2022 Most Experienced Trenches by Returning Offensive Line snaps versus Defensive Pressures
• Stanford will protect McKee, but the defense 👀
• Its easy to love Pitt, Clemson, NC State and FSU
• Bowling Green/Akron most experienced in #MACtion
• Touch sledding for UAB & Reno pic.twitter.com/Zlw6DSY2wX— Collin Wilson (@_Collin1) August 12, 2022
