San Diego State playmaker Jordan Napier sidelined for season with knee injury

San Diego State wide receiver/kick returner Jordan Napier, one of the Aztecs’ top playmakers, will miss the remainder of the season because of a knee injury suffered in last week’s win over Boise State.

Napier will require surgery, SDSU coach Sean Lewis said, although the extent of the damage and what repair will be required will not be known until the surgery is performed.

Napier’s recovery time can’t be determined until after surgery, but healing will require more than the 4-6 weeks remaining in the regular season and whatever bowl game SDSU plays next month.

The Aztecs (8-2, 5-1 MW) play San Jose State on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium, then close out the regular season Nov. 28 at New Mexico. They also could play in the Mountain West championship on Dec. 5. A bowl appearance could come as early as the Dec. 13 L.A. Bowl or as late as the Dec. 27 Arizona Bowl.

Napier, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Fontana, leads the Aztecs with 48 receptions for 629 yards and two touchdowns. He also is their top kickoff and punt returner, highlighted by a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown at Nevada.

Napier wore a knee brace from thigh to ankle as he watched a morning practice from the sideline this week, with several teammates and coaches offering hugs and well wishes.

“He’s had an unbelievable response and been a tremendous leader,” Lewis said. “He’s been not so much focusing on asking, ’Why is this happening to me?’ but what is the next step. He has responded like a true champion.

“We’ll be there to support him through all of this so that he can get healthy, get recovered and get back to doing what he loves, but still be true to himself and his identity that is so much bigger than football.”

Napier was injured with four minutes remaining in the second quarter when he was hit in the legs by a Boise State defender while reaching up for a pass from Jayden Denegal on a bubble screen.

While some Aztecs fans were quick to label the play a dirty hit, Lewis considered it an unintended consequence of trying to protect players from concussions.

“The way defenders have to strike now, it’s like, if they go high, they’re thrown out for a game because there’s the potential risk of targeting. Now a defender goes low, and our guy’s out for the year,” Lewis said. “At some point in time, you just have to accept that football is football. If you ask any one of these players, they would tell you they would much rather be hit high than low.”

Napier is the second SDSU starting wide receiver to be sidelined with a season-ending knee injury. Junior transfer Jacob Bostick was hurt in a win over Nevada.

Junior transfer Donovan Brown (23 catches, 321 yards, TD) is the only starting wide receiver who is still healthy.

“We come out here and work every day,” Brown said. “Somebody else has got to come out here and pick it up.

“Everybody goes through injuries in football, so it’s just next man up who can make a play, who can be trusted and who can put that workload on their back and carry the team a little bit. It’s time to step up.”

Junior Mikey Welsh, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship this season, replaced Napier against the Broncos. Welsh had a career-high three receptions for 22 yards, giving him 10 catches for 116 yards on the season.

Junior transfer Nathan Acevedo stepped into Bostick’s spot. He has 10 receptions for 117 yards this year. Sophomore Will Cianfrini (Carlsbad High School) also has received playing time.

“I talk to the receivers about opportunities all the time,” SDSU wide receivers coach Lanear Sampson said. “You always have to be ready because you never know when your opportunity could come.

“When you’re ready, you don’t have to get ready. That’s why you always have to stay ready. Next man up is a real thing, but it’s the day-to-day process and discipline, so that when the time comes you’re ready.”

Sampson said there’s not much to say to the injured players beyond “keep your head up.” There is a focus on keeping them engaged with their teammates in the receivers room.

“You try to keep guys around, because once they get detached from football and they’re doing rehab and things like that, they can get into their own head a little bit,” Sampson said. “Napier is a leader for us, and Bostick is a leader for us. You try to keep those guys around to help the guys that are stepping up playing. Then just lead any way they can.”

Expect the Aztecs to lean even more on a ground game that produced 277 rushing yards against Boise State. SDSU is averaging 189.7 yards a game rushing, which ranks 31st in the nation.