Penn State loses Sukay for season

Penn State free safety Nick Sukay will miss the remainder of the season.

The 6-foot-1, 209-pound redshirt junior left Saturday's 33-13 homecoming loss to Illinois with a complete tear in a pectoral muscle.

"Sukay was coming on and probably was leading our team in interceptions," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday during his weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference. "All of a sudden, he gets a bump, and it's a serious one. It didn't look like it was that serious. But he's out for the year.

"And the doctors, I think they are going to operate on the area that is affected."

The Mount Pleasant, Pa., native will undergo surgery this week. His rehabilitation will take a minimum of six months, according to Penn State doctor Wayne Sebastianelli.

He becomes the third Penn State starter to suffer a season-ending injury in the last three weeks. Tackle Lou Eliades tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Temple on Sept. 25, and tight end Garry Gilliam tore the ACL in his left knee against Iowa on Oct. 2.

Sukay will be missed on a team that has a 3-3 overall record and 0-2 conference mark. He had a team-high three interceptions to go with 19 tackles, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble for the season.

Sukay originally was injured on the opening kickoff, tackling returner Jack Ramsey and forcing a fumble. He made two more tackles before leaving in the first half.

Penn State, which does not have a game this week, has been hit hard by injuries.

Wideout and West Catholic product Curtis Drake (leg), defensive end Eric Latimore (wrist), and tight end Andrew Szczerba (back) will miss a minimum of two weeks.

Defensive end and St. Augustine Prep product Jack Crawford (foot), safety Andrew Dailey (stinger), defensive tackle Jordan Hill (ankle), linebacker Bani Gbadyu (calf), and linebacker Michael Mauti (ankle) are possible for the Oct. 23 game at Minnesota.