UPDATE: West Virginia released a one-sentence statement this afternoon, confirming our earlier report that Ferns suffered a severe knee injury. After the MRI, it was confirmed that the former four-star prospect would miss the entire season.

EerSports has learned from multiple sources that freshman West Virginia linebacker Brendan Ferns injured his knee during practice on Monday and could be out for an extended period of time. Sources say it was another non-contact injury, with Ferns planting wrong and falling to the ground in pain. An MRI is scheduled for later this morning to fully grasp the extent of the injury.

Ferns, a US Army All-American in high school, was the highest-rated linebacker to ever commit to the Mountaineers, and the seventh-highest recruit overall. During the offseason, he took that skill, added twenty pounds to his frame, and had already made his way into the two-deep by the end of fall camp. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said he was one of only a handful of newcomers that would "definitely not" redshirt this season, while Head Coach Dana Holgorsen said he was "a pleasant surprise" for the defense this preseason.

Ferns joins a long list of injured players on an already-thin defense. Nose tackle Jaleel Fields (knee), defensive end Xavier Pegues (shoulder), and safety Dravon Askew-Henry (knee) are all already out. Only Pegues has a slight chance of returning by the end of the season.