Mike Lukac doesn't like to see any one get hurt, but it's more difficult when that player is one of his good friends.

On Saturday night, Lukac watched fellow tight end and roommate Casey Williams tear the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first half against Nebraska.

The torn ACL is the most recent in a string of injuries for Williams at Penn State. The only difference is this injury ends Williams' season and Nittany Lion career.

He suffered a sprained knee last season forcing him to miss both the Northwestern and Ohio State games. As a sophomore, Williams suffered an elbow injury causing him to miss four games.

"It's especially tough to see it happen to Casey," Lukac said. "Casey works so hard and is one of the toughest guys. It has never been a minor injury, like an ankle."

This isn't the way Lukac wanted to get into the lineup. He said that although Williams hasn't said much about his injury, he knows Williams is doing the best he can under the given circumstances.

"He's all right," Lukac said. "He doesn't show much emotion, but I have been around him enough to know that he's down. He's handling it well."

With the loss of Williams, Lukac has become the candidate most likely to replace him.

When Williams sprained his knee in 2002, Lukac filled in for him catching seven passes, including four touchdowns.

Both Williams and Lukac are smal compared to most tight ends in the Big Ten and the rest of the country.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has seen the fourth member of the Williams family that he has coached become a solid Div. I football player.

"He wasn't the so-called prototype," Paterno said.

"He was a good competitor, he had good hands and he's smart. We could do a lot of things with him, so that was a big loss for us."

The most experienced replacement, Lukac, plays much the same way that Williams did.

"Casey and I are very similar," Lukac said. "Both of our strengths are our ability to run block."

In addition to Williams' blocking ability he displayed last season that was a viable option for Zack Mills. He was the fourth leading receiver in 2002 catching 24 passes. In the first two-plus games, Williams had four receptions for 25 yards.

Matt Kranchick will also see additional playing time in Williams' absence. Lukac said that Kranchick has the ability to do certain things that he can't do.

In the Nebraska game, the six-foot-eight tight end was inserted in the final minutes of both halves. He is a big target that can stretch the opposing defense.

"He's a good pass catching receiver," said Lukac of the converted wide receiver. "He is faster than both myself and Casey. He is adeep threat."

Lukac said that he wants to catch as many passes as he can in his new role.