NCAA Football: Illinois at South Florida
Jasen Vinlove / USA TODAY Sports

Illinois coach Lovie Smith announced Monday that wide receiver Mike Dudek would miss the rest of the 2018 season because of a knee injury he suffered during the team's win against Kent State in Week 1. This type of injury isn't anything new to football, and it's definitely not new to Dudek.

This is the third time Dudek has suffered a season-ending injury during a five-year college career.

"It's kind of hard to put it into words," Smith said. "Mike Dudek has worked so hard during his time here. Mike has meant so much to our program."

Dudek first came to Illinois in 2014 and showed a ton of potential. He had 76 receptions for 1,038 yards and 6 touchdowns as a true freshman while playing in 13 games. Over the next four seasons, he was only able to play eight games.

Between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Dudek suffered a torn ACL that cost him the 2015 season. Then, before the 2016 season arrived, Dudek tore the ACL again in the same knee, costing him the 2016 season.

He finally returned to the field for the Illini in 2017, but various injuries limited him to seven games, and he was only able to manage 24 receptions for 262 yards and a touchdown. He was entering his final season on Saturday, and looked like his old self against Kent State, pulling in 4 catches for 65 yards, but he couldn't get through the game without another knee injury that will cost him the 2018 season.

While this is an enormous blow to Dudek personally -- it's possible the NCAA would grant him a sixth year of eligibility should he choose to pursue one -- it hurts the Illini offense as well. Illinois was already a very young team, and to lose one of the few seniors left on the roster won't help an offense looking to become more reliable in 2018.