Cam Dyer, now an Arizona State freshman, has major knee surgery

We already knew Cam Dyer was playing on a bum knee during the Class 6A state championship football game.

What wasn’t known until later — even to Dyer himself — is that it appears the La Cueva High School quarterback likely tore his ACL during that 26-8 loss to Cleveland on Nov. 30 and played through it.

Dyer, who has already begun his freshman year at Arizona State, had surgery Thursday to repair that ACL. He posted a black-and-white photo of himself on his “X” account following the procedure. He was laying in a bed, his right knee in a brace propped up by a couple of pillows.

And he said doctors told him they believe that he tore the ACL during the Bears’ 6A final against the Storm.

An examination of the knee before the Cleveland game, Dyer told the Journal on Friday, revealed that the injury — which first occurred in the state semifinals at the Field of Dreams against Las Cruces — “wasn’t as bad as the (examination) after the game, according to the (Arizona State) doctors,” Dyer said. “They think I injured it more by playing.”

He was knocked out of the Las Cruces game on multiple occasions because of the knee injury, but he eventually returned. The following week, he clearly soldiered through the 6A final, not nearly at 100%.

Dyer said the surgery, which was performed in Tempe, “went better than expected. They thought I might have torn my meniscus as well but it turns out that I didn’t, which is good.”

Dyer said the rehabilitation is expected to take eight to nine months – “at best,” Dyer said — a timeline that takes him to the early portion of the 2025 Arizona State season.

Asked if he could come back and play any football this year, Dyer said: “Depends on my recovery and how my body heals. I’ll definitely know around summer time.”

Dyer, who graduated early from La Cueva last month, was the highest-rated recruit to sign with the Sun Devils this winter. Arizona State is coming off a momentous season, as the Big 12 champion.

ASU fell to Texas in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup in overtime in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

“(I’m) hoping to be back before the end of the season,” Dyer said. “I definitely think I will, but I can’t rush it. We’ll see what happens.”