Fresno State football: Aaron Peck out for the season

The first significant ailment of fall camp fell upon one of the few upperclassmen in Fresno State's young offense, as it was reported late yesterday by the Fresno Bee's Robert Kuwada that senior wide receiver Aaron Peck will miss the entire 2015 season with a foot injury.

Peck was the team's leading returning receiver, having hauled in 32 catches for 419 yards and three touchdowns last year. His physical presence, at the very least, will be difficult to replace since, at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, he stood out among the wide receivers listed on the preseason depth chart.

Head coach Tim DeRuyter empathized with his player and provided a reminder of a similar injury from last year. "It's a little heartbreaking to put all that work in and then lose the season," he said, "Malique Micenheimer was in a similar position last year, and he's doing great now. I'm sure Aaron will take it as a challenge and do a great job with his rehab."

Darrell Fuery is listed currently behind Peck on the two-deep, though DeRuyter also noted that opportunities have risen for others like junior college transfer Josiah Blandin and redshirt freshman KeeSean Johnson to carve out greater roles in the offense. The upside for Peck, and for the Bulldogs going forward into 2016, is that Peck has not had a redshirt season. Said DeRuyter, "That's the saving grace... We'll get him back and, knowing Aaron, he'll work extremely hard to get back out here and have an even better year next year."

In addition, Peck himself sounded optimistic about his eventual return to Bulldog Stadium, as well, in confirming the initial report:

I'll be back better than ever! See you guys in 2016 Red Wave! https://t.co/aTHiqzvlL3

— Aaron Peck (@Apeeeezy7) August 18, 2015