Memphis football running back Sutton Smith to miss rest of 2024 season with knee injury

Memphis football running back Sutton Smith will miss the rest of the 2024 season with a right knee injury, coach Ryan Silverfield said Saturday.

Smith suffered the injury during the first quarter of the Tigers' season-opening win over North Alabama . He rushed to the left while Memphis was in the red zone and stayed down on the turf holding his knee after the play. He was eventually helped off the field and into the medical tent, where he later emerged on crutches.

Silverfield said after the game that the injury "doesn't look great." Smith was listed as a co-starter for Memphis' game against Troy on Saturday but was on the field with his leg on a chair during the game.

It's a significant blow for a Memphis team that hopes to reach the College Football Playoff. Smith had been listed alongside South Carolina transfer Mario Anderson on the initial depth chart. Anderson rushed 10 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns in the 40-0 win over North Alabama. UMass transfer Greg Desrosiers Jr. is in line to play a more significant role moving forward. True freshman Makari Bodiford and senior Brandon Thomas also will get more time.

Anderson rushed 17 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns against Troy on Saturday.

Smith, a junior who'd gotten plenty of buzz as a potential breakout star in 2024, flashed game-breaking potential during his career with the Tigers. After playing sparingly as a true freshman, he backed up Blake Watson in 2023 and rushed for 283 yards. He didn't play just in the backfield, though — he served as the kick returner, lining up as a receiver and was a nominee for the Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation's most versatile player.

"He's a young man that, I mean, he works his tail off," Silverfield said last week. "He does right in the classroom, in the community, on the field. And so, a truly remarkable young man that we have high expectations for and high hopes for."

Because he played as a true freshman, Smith still has a redshirt year available and could return as a redshirt junior in 2025.

Desrosiers figures to take over Smith's role as a kick returner.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football running back Sutton Smith to miss rest of 2024 season with knee injury