Southern Miss head coach Will Hall announced to reporters after Wednesday's practice that senior linebacker Averie Habas is out for the season due to an undisclosed medical condition.
"He is not going back for this year," Hall said. "He's got a medical condition that's a non-football-related injury. I'm going to leave it at that until he chooses to go further if he does because that's personal to him. Our medical staff and everyone is still working to figure that out where he might redshirt and could return for next season."
Last season, Habas accounted for 49 tackles and had a team-leading 12 tackles for loss, along with three sacks. Habas had not participated in any of fall camp, but was present on Wednesday.
"First and foremost, our concerns are for him and getting him well," Hall said. "That's what I told the team. Anytime that someone does something right all the time and it doesn't work out for them, there is a lesson to be learned in that. We talk about what you are going to, not what are you going through. I know several things that Averie Habas is going to. He's going to be a great husband. He's going to be a great father. He's going to be a great leader in the community. What he goes through on his avenues to those things is in the Lord's hands, and he knows that. What a great young man. We certainly have great hopes that he's going to be well and play his senior year."
Prior to the 2022 season, Habas played in 22 games between the 2020 and 2021 seasons for the Golden Eagles, where he put up a combined 89 tackles. Habas spent his freshman season at Iowa Western Community College, where he received NJCAA All-American honorable mention.
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