Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux suffers ankle sprain in season opener against Fresno State

Oregon defensive end and top NFL prospect Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a sprained ankle in Saturday's 31-24 win over Fresno State, head coach Mario Cristobal said after the game, according to James Crepea of The Oregonian.

"He got rolled up on," Cristobal said. "Beyond that, I know it's a sprain, which we're very optimistic that it's nothing too serious. But as far as we know, X-rays are negative. We'll assess a little bit later."

Depending on the severity of the injury, Thibodeaux could miss several weeks. Before exiting Saturday's game, he registered a strip-sack. 

The 22-year-old entered the season as a potential top-five pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and a preseason All-American. A former five-star recruit, the 20-year-old had three sacks, 42 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss in seven games last season. 

Oregon has a big game against No. 4 Ohio State next weekend. If Thibodeaux is out, the defense could struggle mightily against top NFL prospect CJ Stroud, who threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns against Minnesota this weekend.