Camion Patrick and TJ Simmons injured, done at Indiana

Indiana’s 2017 football season got off to an awful start on Monday when the football program announced this morning that two seniors, linebacker T.J. Simmons and running back Camion Patrick have been granted medical hardships. The injuries mark the end of both Simmons and Patrick’s careers.

Simmons started all 12 games at inside linebacker as a freshman for the Hoosiers, and in his sophomore and junior seasons, blossomed into one of the defenses’s top playmakers. But he was redshirted in 2016 and relegated to some scout team roles throughout the year. Coach Tom Allen, through the team’s press release, stated that Simmons had worked hard to recover from a knee injury but could not heal well enough to perform consistently.

Patrick may be an even bigger loss for the Hoosiers. After attending junior college for one year, Patrick joined the Hoosiers as a sophomore and saw no game action, but was regularly mentioned by those close to the program as the most explosive player on the roster. Everyone got a glimpse of that last season after Patrick returned from an ACL injury during spring practice to catch 10 passes during the regular season, including a couple for the highlight reel. Patrick was expected to dazzle after a move to running back and fill the void left by Devine Redding’s departure. But offseason shoulder surgery set him back again and Patrick and the program decided the rash of injuries he suffered in Bloomington had finally taken their toll.

Allen added in the press release that Simmons will remain with the program as a student assistant coach and seemed to suggest that Patrick will remain in Bloomington as a student.