Pannozzo lost for senior season with hand injury

With three games left in its season and two wins still needed for bowl appearance, IU has lost senior linebacker John Pannozzo for the remainder of the season. \nPannozzo is IU's second-leading tackler and the captain of a defense struggling for stops in the late stages of their Big Ten campaign. \n"John Pannozzo has been an inspiration to me and to this team," IU head coach Terry Hoeppner said. "I can't believe he's played his last football at IU."\nThe middle linebacker suffered a severe hand injury in the third quarter of Saturday's game at Michigan State that required surgery on Monday.\nImmediately following the game, Pannozzo planned on making a speedy return. \n"I'll be back," he said after the game. "It's not that serious."\nContrary to Pannozzo's postgame assessment, the injury is serious enough to potentially end his IU football career, a career that began under former head coach Gerry DiNardo. \nUnder DiNardo, Pannozzo was a three-year starter at fullback, as well as a special teams player. \nWhen Hoeppner arrived in Bloomington, he moved Pannozzo to middle linebacker, relocating one of IU's top returning defensive starters, Kyle Killion, to the outside.\nThe move paid off for the Hoosier defense almost immediately, as Pannozzo tallied six tackles, one forced fumble and one sack in his first game, a 20-13 win at Central Michigan. The game earned Pannozzo Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.\n"He is a guy that I went from not knowing and not having a very good relationship with during the first few days of my tenure to a guy that I have the utmost confidence in and trust implicitly to where I named him a captain," Hoeppner said of the switch that gave IU a new look on both sides of the ball.\nPannozzo's latest game-changing feat came against Ohio State. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native forced a fumble by ripping the ball out of Ted Ginn Jr.'s hands and running it back 57 yards for a touchdown. The play drew IU within a touchdown of Ohio State in the third quarter of a 41-10 loss, and was the Hoosiers' only touchdown of the day. \nSophomore quarterback Blake Powers said IU will have to try to adjust to the loss of an impact player.\n"John's a great player," he said. "But the biggest thing you have to remember is that a team is a team. When someone on that team falls down, someone else has to step up. That's what good teams do."\nHoeppner said that Pannozzo's switch and high level of play, as well as his close relationship with his coach, makes the situation more difficult than a regular injury. \n"John is one of the great stories I've been involved with as a coach," he said. "The move we made and the way he played. I hate it for this team, but I hate it more for Johnny."\nIU's first game without Pannozzo could turn out to be its greatest defensive challenge to date, as Minnesota will bring a high-powered running game to Bloomington Saturday. The Gophers feature Lawrence Maroney, who needs only 82 yards to move into second-place on Minnesota's all-time rushing list. \nHoeppner looks for other players to step up and make a bowl possible, especially for their injured teammate. \n"He could be able to play if we made it to a bowl," he said. "We'll certainly miss John's presence in the middle of our defense, but we're confident other guys will step up in a big way"