Less than one week into the preseason, Penn State has suffered its first major injury, sidelining potential starter Curtis Drake for 6-8 weeks. Drake suffered a stress fracture to his leg Monday afternoon during a non-contact drill.  Drake will reportedly have surgery Wednesday, which will certainly keep him off the field for the Alabama game.

Drake came into camp with a serious shot at starting after impressing coaches with his talent in 2009. He was expected to compete with fellow wide receiver Brett Brackett for a starting spot in 2010, and be a pivotal piece of the offense.

If Drake is out for eight weeks, his first game back would likely be against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 2nd, which will be the toughest team after ‘Bama.  Hopefully, he will return before then in order to get his legs back before traveling to Iowa City.

For now, Galen Hall and Coach McQueary will likely give a string of receivers a chance to replace Drake until then. It is likely that Devon Smith, Shawn Kersey, Brandon Mosbey-Felder, Christian Kuntz, or even true freshman Alex Kenney will be looked upon to fill the void.

It will certainly be a loss for the Nittany Lions. However the Lions have quality, youthful depth that could be used to their advantage. Out of the five potential WR candidates, a big play could put one above the rest.

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