USC Trojans DT Kenny Bigelow out for season with torn ACL

The USC Trojans will play the 2014 college football season without promising defensive tackle Kenny Bigelow who is lost for the season with a torn right ACL in a voluntary workout last week, the team announced on its Twitter account on Tuesday.

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Bigelow was one of the headliners in the 2013 class for the Trojans as a five-star recruit, the No. 2 defensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and the nation’s No. 9 player overall player regardless of position out of Eastern Christian high school in Bear, Delaware.

The 6-3, 300-pound defender redshirted last season but was expected to be a valuable contributor who could have challenged for a starting job in the interior of the defensive line.

USC has the makings of a strong defensive line that could rank among the best in the Pac-12 with All-American candidate, potential Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and potential top-five pick in the 2014 NFL Draft in Leonard Williams leading the group that includes Antwaun Woods and Delvon Simmons.

Bigelow would have at least been a part of the rotation if he didn’t earn a starting position and despite having depth to absorb the loss in early-July, it’s entirely different to have depth in October and November when injuries and attrition are inevitable.

This just means that some inexperienced USC defensive linemen will be counted on playing a bigger role than anticipated. 2014 recruit Claudeson Pelon was a strongside defensive end in junior college, but at 275 pounds could line up inside to give the Trojans another body in the middle.

Outside of that there are no real young options for USC after not signing any true defensive tackles last year and Bigelow was the only one in the 2013 class.

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