First it was leading Norman White, who was lost for the season with a lisfranc fracture in his left foot. Now it appears that Villanova will be without the services of quarterback Dustin Thomas and wide receiver Joe Price.
Thomas, a redshirt freshman, suffered a third degree separation of his left (non-throwing) shoulder in Villanova's 31-10 loss to Towson and could be out for the season, head coach Andy Talley said during the weekly CAA football teleconference Monday.
Talley said Thomas is expected to undergo more testing and the team would have a better idea of the extent of the injury.
Price, a sophomore out of The Haverford School, suffered a punctured lung and two fractured ribs, Talley said. He also could be lost for the season.
"The problem for us right now is that we've lost three play makers and you need playmakers to be successful in this league," Talley said.
Christian Culicerto, a walk-on senior, took over when Thomas went down in the third quarter. Culicerto completed 10 of 19 passes for 95 yard and accounted for Villanova's only touchdown with a 5-yard pass to Kenny Miles. But Culicerto will not be the starter against Monmouth Saturday, Talley said.
Chris Polony, a true freshman from Whitehall High School, will be taken off a redshirt year and take over the starting job.
"We prepared Chris (Polony) as the backup, but decided to go with Christian to maintain his redshirt," Talley said. "With Christian being a senior and Chris a true freshman, it makes sense to get the young guy ready for the future. Christian did a great job, but we need to groom the young guy."