The injuries for the Ball State University football team have been piling up on the defensive side of the ball.
Linebacker Bryant Haines, who is fourth on the team in tackles with 41, missed Saturday's game against Central Michigan University after injuring his knee the previous week against the University of Buffalo.
Haines had arthroscopic surgery on his knee Friday and will be out for Saturday's Homecoming game against Western Michigan University, if not longer.
"Bryant is a great player, we already know that," defensive end Cortlan Booker said. "We have guys that can step in and play a role and do what they need to do. I'm confident the guys out there will be able to get the job done."
There is a chance senior captain Brad Seiss will play this week. Seiss has not fully recovered from a skin infection that occurred the weekend of the Northern Illinois University game.
Seiss has played sparingly this year, seeing limited action against North Dakota State University and Northern Illinois. He has had a total of three tackles on the year.
Because of the injuries to Seiss and Haines, Wendell Brown has picked up some of the slack. Against Central Michigan, he was in on a season-high 10 tackles.
"I think he's more active," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "Maybe the scheme fit him better and maybe he prepared better. He was more active, made more plays, handled himself leadership-wise and played with toughness."
Filling in at linebacker for the injured Haines is junior Mike Dorulla. In his first start of the year, he recorded six tackles, one for a loss of yardage. On the year Dorulla has 11 tackles and an interception.
"A lot of people are beat up, that's the nature of the game," Hoke said. "We're thin at linebacker. That's where we're beat up the most. But Wendell Brown played a real good football game and Mike Dorulla is getting better and better each week. Spain [Cobsy] made some plays in there as well."
Cobsy, a true freshman from Carrollton, Ga., made six tackles against Central Michigan. He has 21 on the year, with most of them coming on special teams.
Hoke said defensive end Drew Duffin, who rotates with Riley Larimore, probably won't play Saturday either after injuring his knee against Buffalo. Duffin did not make the trip to Central Michigan last weekend.
Even with all the defensive injuries, the defense has improved each of the past two games. Buffalo amassed 406 yards, but more than half came in the fourth quarter. Against Central Michigan, the team allowed a season-low 344 yards.
On the offensive side of the ball, guard Kyle Cornwell is still not at 100 percent after spraining his MCL against North Dakota State University on Sept. 23 and might be back for the Miami University game on Oct. 28.
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