Talented Gophers TE Anyanwu sidelined for season

Published Aug. 4, 2014 9:59 p.m. ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Gophers tight end Duke Anyanwu's knee injury turned out to be as bad as feared, as head coach Jerry Kill announced Monday that Anyanwu will miss the entire 2014 season.

Anyanwu, a redshirt sophomore from Blaine, Minn., injured his knee during practice Saturday at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex on campus. He was seen at practice Sunday with crutches and a wrap on his right knee.

"Great kid. He'll fight back through it," Kill said. "Nobody on our team feels worse about it than our kids, because Duke is loved by our team and our coaches. He's just such a special kid."

Although the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Anyanwu didn't register a catch as a redshirt freshman last year, he was expected to see plenty of playing time in 2014 behind starting tight end Maxx Williams. Anyanwu was a star quarterback at Blaine before switching to tight end when he got to Minnesota.

Anyanwu suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a captains practice before his first year on campus that forced him to miss the 2012 season. The latest injury was to his other knee.

"He'll always bounce back," Kill said. "He'll come back and he'll compete his tail end off. It's too bad, because he would have definitely played for us."

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