De Smet Jesuit's Andy Bauer Out For Season With Injury

The De Smet Jesuit Spartans don't open the football season until August 30, but when they do, they will be without the top-rated player in the state of Missouri's senior class.

Andy Bauer, who would have been a four year starter at Right Tackle, will miss the season after surgery to correct a congenital hip defect. Head Coach Pat Mahoney said after a month of treatment thinking it was related to a hamstring injury, an MRI on Tuesday showed a torn labrum in Bauer's hip. Surgery is set for Monday with a recovery time of 3-4 months.

"We'll miss him, his leadership and strength," Mahoney said, while adding that "this is life. Opportunities present themselves" for others.

Bauer, who has given a verbal pledge to Mississippi after backing out of an earlier commitment to the University of Missouri, is a national recruit who was selected to play in an Under-Armour postseason All-Star game next winter. Mahoney said that if Bauer was healthy he could end up playing in that game.

The coach added that Mississippi had been contacted and that his scholarship offer was still intact. Student athletes are unable to make their college choices official until a signing period starting in February.

This is the second Bauer that the team has lost on the offensive line for the coming season. Mahoney said Andy's younger brother Robbie, now a junior, was informed by doctors that he could no longer play after suffering a concussion in summer football camp.