Duke football LB Kelby Brown suffers career-ending torn ACL

For the fourth time in his career, All-ACC linebacker Kelby Brown suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last Tuesday that has ended his football career, the program announced Tuesday morning.

The news was first reported by the Herald-Sun's Steve Wiseman.

"It's difficult to put into words the feeling of heartbreak I have for Kelby and his family," head coach David Cutcliffe said in a release on GoDuke.com. "While we will certainly miss his athletic abilities and leadership as one of the best linebackers to play at Duke, what is most important above all else is Kelby's health. He is a truly special young man who is destined to accomplish great things in his life. Kelby's strengths lie in his core values, and I know that despite this setback, he will continue to play an integral part of our program's success both on and off the field."

Brown was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2013 after helping Duke secure the Coastal Division crown and a berth in the ACC Championship game. The Matthews, N.C., native had surgeries on his right knee in December 2010, and February 2012, and missed the entire 2012 season recovering from the second surgery.

Brown tore the ACL in his left knee last August during a scrimmage, causing him to miss all of last season, but was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in November 2014. The most recent injury is also to his left knee, and comes after Brown and All-American safety Jeremy Cash were named to the Bednarik Award watch list. The award honors the nation's top defensive player.

A 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, Brown will now serve as a student assistant during the upcoming season and ends his career with 242 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, six fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles in 32 career games.

Now without Brown and David Helton—who filled in last year as a senior for Brown at the mike linebacker spot after Brown was hurt and led the ACC in tackles in each of the past two seasons—the Blue Devils will look to safety-turned-linebacker, senior Dwayne Norman, redshirt sophomore Chris Holmes, and sophomore Zavier Carmichael to lead the linebacking corps.

Brown finished his degree in evolutionary anthropology in June 2014 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Christian studies. According to Wiseman, he intends to take the MCAT in the spring and with hopes of attending medical school in the future.