Concussion effects continue to hinder DSU LB McCoy

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Frustration is eating at Zach McCoy.

A month after sustaining a concussion, doctors continue to tell the Dickinson State outside linebacker he must go a full week without a headache before he can even consider putting on pads and playing football again.

That isn’t happening, McCoy said.

He still has consistent headaches and has even encountered balance issues that stem from the concussion he suffered on Aug. 27 against Rocky Mountain College in the Blue Hawks’ season opener.

“It’s the most frustrating thing I’ve ever dealt with,” McCoy said.

Not just for him either.

The Blue Hawks could sure use the 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior’s presence on their defensive front.

Last season, McCoy had 53 tackles, a sack and an interception as a member of DSU’s deep and talented defense.

This year, he was in line to become DSU’s most-relied upon tackler in its front seven. He had a team-high five tackles against Rocky when he left the game early in the third quarter.

“Zach’s open-field tackling ability was probably the best on the team. Everybody knows that,” said junior Matt Seibert, who has started in McCoy’s place since his injury. “We also miss having him in our rotation.”

Instead of having a four-man rotation of McCoy, Seibert, senior Jerel Hafner and sophomore Cord Berg at the two outside linebacker spots, the Blue Hawks are down to three players.

“The fourth guy we’re talking about in this equation was a big part of it,” Seibert said. “But we’re making due. We had a big game against Jamestown and we’re kind of looking forward to rolling with it.”

McCoy had hoped the bye week between DSU’s 30-6 win over Jamestown College and Saturday’s home game against Mayville State would give him enough time to recover and get back on the field.

As of Tuesday, attaining that goal was beginning to look increasingly difficult.

McCoy will more than likely be standing on DSU’s sidelines once again.

“The thing is now I haven’t done anything for, well it’s been four weeks now,” McCoy said. “I wouldn’t mind starting to run soon and maybe progressively move on from there.”

Tags: dsu football, zach mccoy, sports