Vanderbilt's Andrew Jelks to miss season with knee injury

Vanderbilt offensive tackle Andrew Jelks will miss the entire season after suffering a knee injury, head coach Derek Mason announced.

Jelks, a 2013 Freshman All-American, started all 12 games for the Commodores last season at left tackle, and was expected to assume the same role this year.

"I'm really disappointed for Andrew because he's such a fine young man," Mason said. "Andrew was having an excellent camp and was looking forward to having a big year. He's a tremendous talent who commands respect throughout the locker room. Andrew's a dedicated hard worker, and I know he will come back even stronger."

Despite losing a key player, and a leader, Mason added that other players will need to perform at a high level in order to win the starting job just weeks ahead of opening weekend.

"It's time for others to step up and claim a more substantial role in the success of our offense. We definitely have players on our roster that can fill the void left by Andrew's departure."

Jelks is Vanderbilt's second key offensive starter who will miss the season due to injury. Last week, C.J. Duncan, the team's top wide receiver last year, suffered a season-ending lower leg injury in practice.