Robert Turbin and his knee

It’s the news no Aggie wants to hear: Robert Turbin has injured his knee.

Utah State’s star running back suffered a knee injury a little more than a week ago during off-season conditioning drills. It was a freak accident, a source at USU told the Deseret News, and did not involve contact. Just a bad result during a running drill.

The extent of the injury is, at this point, not 100 percent clear, but could be anything from a sprain to a ruptured ACL. Tests, x-rays and MRIs are still being taking to get the best-possible diagnosis so the treatment can then be designed in the optimal way.

Utah State coach Gary Andersen, when asked by the Deseret News about the injury, said he was still in a wait-and-see frame of mind but was hopeful it would not be a season-ending injury. The second year Aggie coach said he would issue a press release once all the second and third opinions are in.

“I’m still going to say at this point I think he’ll be back playing for us next year,” Andersen, who mentioned the injury during Wednesday’s recruiting day, said. “But right now, we don’t know for sure how bad the injury is.”

If not, the loss of Turbin would be a significant blow to the turnaround effort at Utah State. The Aggies finished last season 4-8 and had a 3-5 record in WAC games.

Another source close to the situation said he expects Turbin to return to the same level of play Utah State fans saw last year when he electrified crowds with numerous long runs displaying tackle-breaking power and breakaway speed.

Turbin had 1,296 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns as a sophomore last year. He added another five receiving touchdowns with 30 catches for 418 yards.

If Turbin — 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds — is not able to compete next season, the Aggies will turn to a handful of speedy,but smaller, running backs. Michael Smith, Derrvin Speight and Kerwynn Williams all have promise in the backfield, as does quarterback Diondre Borel.

Recent recruiting signee Joseph Hill may also factor into the rotation because he brings more size, but Andersen said he would like to redshirt the Fullerton, Calif., product and add another 30-40 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame.