During the win against Kennesaw State, defensive end Malik Vann went down with an injury and will likely miss the remainder of the season. Vann could be eligible for a medical redshirt to return next year.
A couple days after exiting in the home opener, Vann had surgery to repair the pectoral injury and will be out indefinitely. During his weekly show, Luke Fickell discussed Vann’s injury per Cincinnati Athletics.
"“He had surgery today on his pec. I don’t know exactly how long but it doesn’t look great. Which is really tough. A fifth-year senior that had a really good offseason and poured a lot of things into it. I don’t know if we’ll get him back but I never rule those things completely out.”"
In the mean time, the Bearcats will lean on guys like Eric Phillips, Noah Potter, Justin Wodtly and others to replace Vann moving forward. It’s obviously not ideal to lose such an experienced player but the defense has plenty on talent to step in along the edge.
Malik Vann, UC Bearcats lineman from Fairfield, suffers season-ending injury, per Fickell https://t.co/qiLtvk7oG9
— Enquirer Sports (@ENQSports) September 14, 2022
Cincinnati Football: Malik Vann suffers season-ending pectoral injury
Vann decided to come back for a fifth season, using his pandemic bonus year of eligibility, but he might want to move on instead of applying for a medical redshirt. The veteran defensive end appeared in 12 games last season with 33 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
During his career with the Bearcats, Vann recorded 90 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss with eight sacks and two forced fumbles. The Cincinnati native has developed into a dominant rusher and has been a staple on the Bearcats’ defense for a few years.
After committing to Cincinnati more than five years ago, Vann appeared in 47 games in five years and helped the Bearcats win two straight conference championships. In the season opener a couple weeks ago, Vann compiled three tackles against Arkansas.
Cincinnati is scheduled to take on Miami this week, which will be an opportunity for Phillips and Wodtly to step up in Vann’s absence. Fickell also said wide receiver Will Pauling will miss multiple weeks with an MCL injury after going down in the home opener.