Darius Taylor injury: Gophers face North Carolina without star running back tonight

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the teams that are having their season begin on Thursday night as they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, things are going to be a bit tougher on coach P.J. Fleck's program as ESPN's Pete Thamel is reporting that sophomore running back Darius Taylor is going to be sidelined for the opening game.

Darius Taylor played well in his freshman season for the Golden Gophers last season, as he finished with 138 carries for 799 yards (5.8 yards per attempt) and five rushing touchdowns while adding 11 receptions for 92 yards (8.4 yards per catch).

With the injury, the Minnesota running game is going to be dependent on a trio of backs that transferred into the program, as Marcus Major (Oklahoma), Sieh Bangura (Ohio) and Jaren Mangham (Michigan State) will have increased roles.

Darius Taylor suffered a hamstring injury during training camp and he actually missed seven games last season due to the issue.

He would be able to return for the Quick Lane Bowl last season and record 208 rushing yards to be named the MVP of the bowl game. The aggravation of the hamstring injury seemingly took place on August 13, the last day that the media was allowed to be available at practice.

Who else is on the injury report for the Minnesota Golden Gophers?

Darius Taylor was not the only big-time player on the Golden Gophers roster that was on the injury report ahead of the game.

Wide receiver Daniel Jackson was originally on the injury report in the week leading into tonight's game but ahead of warmups, it was announced that Jackson's name was taken off the injury report and expected to play in the game.

This is something that should help the Minnesota Golden Gophers' offense play at a different level, as the passing game is going to be more equipped to lead the way. It will be interesting to see how the Golden Gophers play on offense and how different the game plan is without Darius Taylor on the field.