Hassan Quintero, the second-year safety from South Carolina State and a starter since 2014, was hurt the past three games.

The injury also might affect second-year safety Marcus Williams, who appeared in four games last year but did not see action. He has started all 20 games since 2014 and has 20 career interceptions. A defensive end by trade, Williams played in seven offensive games during his rookie season.

“It has definitely been difficult, just the amount of practice,” Williams said on Monday. “I think it took me a little bit longer to adjust to it. But we’re going to have to wait and see how Marcus and Jeremy (Williams.) are doing.”

This is the first time in five seasons the Lions have had more than nine starting defensive backs. There’s no guarantee the same will be true this season with safety Glover Quin as the primary backup to Quintero.

Quintero isn’t just a veteran of the program, having spent the last two seasons at SMU, where he made the all-conference and All-Conference USA teams in 2015. He saw time at cornerback during his sophomore and junior seasons.

But injuries kept him from seeing games during his first two seasons at South Carolina State.

The Lions made Quintero their seventh-round choice in March 2016, and coach Jim Caldwell said he has been working harder than ever to get back in the lineup.

If he does, there will be new competition.

The six-foot-two, 195-pound Quintero, a senior this year with 598 career tackles, plays the last of his two seasons at middle linebacker, and this year at safety.

Williams, like Quintero, is a senior and came from South Carolina State to play for the Lions on a special teams unit built for speed.

That hasn’t come out in practice, though, but Williams is playing his best football when given more reps. He broke into the starting lineup midway through last season, but was placed on injured reserve at the start of this season with a torn ACL. He recovered from the injury in time for last season’s playoffs and played a pivotal role when the Lions were knocked down at the end of the season.

Williams was also one of the main leaders on that special teams unit, with seven interceptions.

This season is about returning to playing in games, after losing a half