Rebel linebacker Fuimaono out for season with torn ACL

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 | 12:18 p.m.

As was expected, UNLV coach Mike Sanford announced Tuesday morning that junior linebacker Starr Fuimaono will miss the remainder of the 2008 season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Fuimaono will undergo surgery in the next 10 days to repair the damage.

He was hurt in the second quarter of Saturday's 42-21 loss at Utah when his knee buckled while being double-teamed on kick coverage.

Fuimaono racked up 14 tackles in the season-opening victory over Utah State, and was expected to fill a good portion of the void left in the linebacking corps by the graduation of Beau Bell.

"Unfortunately, the results were what we expected," Sanford said. "He tore an ACL and sprained an MCL. The good news is that he is eligible for a redshirt season and we will have Starr back with us for two more seasons."

Fuimaono also missed the final three games of the 2007 campaign with a shoulder injury.

He was lost on Saturday just before starting middle linebacker Ronnie Paulo went down only a couple of plays later. Paulo's news is a bit better, as the sophomore is expected to start Saturday when UNLV faces No. 13 Arizona State. His injury was diagnosed as a bruise to his lower leg on a combination of the muscle and the bone. He's expected back at practice at Rebel Park this afternoon.

With the injuries taken into consideration, Sanford juggled his depth chart a bit yesterday. Junior Jason Beauchamp, who led UNLV with nine tackles at Utah, moves from his normal slot as the team's starting weak side linebacker, and he'll play on the strong side. Filling his normal slot will be true freshman Nate Carter. Paulo, again, will start, but he'll split snaps with junior Jimmy Miller.

For more on this story, stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com.

QUICK ANALYSIS: It's hard to argue that Fuimaono is UNLV's top defensive player. So this one hurts for sure. Lightening the mood today at Rebel Park might be the news that Ronnie Paulo will be back, since he played like an absolute animal on Saturday before leaving with ice on his lower leg. Jason Beauchamp played pretty solid in picking up the slack after his two fellow starters went down, and he'll need to continue to play like that. All eyes Saturday, on the defensive side of the ball, will undoubtedly be on Nate Carter. To say this will be a trial by fire is pretty accurate.