Backup tight end Mike Ragone will undergo knee surgery and will miss the remainder of the season, coach Brian Kelly announced.

"I'm pretty disappointed for him," Kelly said. "He's been a warrior for us in a sense. He's battled through a lot of injuries. He loves to play the game. He loves competition, and we're really going to miss him."

Kelly also said tight end Alex Welch and Jake Golic have been cleared to practice and could play against Michigan State on Saturday night.

The hamstring injury linebacker Danny Spond suffered against Michigan is not as serious as previously believed. Kelly said Spond was "questionable" for Michigan State.

Nose tackle Sean Cwynar broke a bone in his hand but is "regaining a lot of the strength that he needs to compete at that position," according to Kelly. 

Because so many tight ends were injured, Kelly had to put freshman Ben Koyack in the game against Michigan.

"He's not afraid to stick his nose in there, and it's interesting, you know, in terms of assignment, he was assignment correct," Kelly said of the freshman from Oil City, Penn. "We had some other guys that needed to be attentive to their assignments. 

"All in all, he did a nice job. He's a kid that's not rattled. I really love his demeanor. First time we put him on the field he didn't have that look that sometimes you're concerned about. I think Ben is going to be fine for us."