Stephen Heyer started 24 straight games at left tackle, the most of any player on offense. He allowed only three sacks in 651 offensive plays.

The Terrapin football team lost its highest-regarded blocker and one of its offensive leaders last Saturday.

The starting offensive line’s lone senior, left tackle Stephon Heyer, partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at practice. His ability to return at all this season is still uncertain.

Heyer was injured during a two-on-two drill, head coach Ralph Friedgen said. He said Monday that the MRI on Heyer’s left knee showed the ligament was still intact and it was not torn off completely.

Heyer has a history of knee problems and underwent surgery last year to repair damage to his right knee. The Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award candidate has one year of eligibility remaining, although the NFL may change the way he rehabilitates.

“His left knee will be better than his right knee, which still has some cartilage stuff with it,” Friedgen said. “If he didn’t have [professional] prospects, there’s a chance he might let it scar over.”

The team’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Craig Bennett is expected to operate on Heyer’s knee after the swelling goes down in a week or two, Friedgen said.

The Terps allowed 30 sacks totaling 225 yards a year ago, fourth worst in the ACC. After losing three starters to graduation and now its cog on the left side, the new offensive line will have an even more difficult time protecting one of the Terps’ three unproven quarterbacks.

Heyer started 24 straight games at left tackle, the most of any player on offense. Last season he allowed only three sacks in 651 offensive plays.

Last week before the injury, Heyer said his personal goals for the season included “staying healthy and keeping the team together.”

“Leadership comes in many different ways,” Heyer added. “Mostly, I try to prove my leadership with my actions.”

The coaching staff is auditioning a cast of five underclassmen with one start among them for the two starting tackle positions.

Sophomore tackle Scott Burley returned to practice Monday afternoon after twisting his back Saturday. Burley’s health could go a long way in determining the make-up of a line with so many interchangeable parts.

Redshirt freshman Dane Randolph, who has only played football for two years, moved over from the defensive line and saw action at left tackle after Heyer went down. He and the rest of the young linemen are trying to quickly assimilate into the starting rotation.

“Right now I’m just focused on learning plays,” Randolph said. “As I learn the plays I get better; as I get better, the chances will increase of me moving up.”

Freshman Jared Gaither, 6 feet 9 inches tall and 330 pounds, started every game at right tackle for Hargrave Military Academy last year and will challenge Randolph with a different style of blocking, even though he is a raw talent.

“[Gaither’s] more of a finesse-and-attack guy,” sophomore tackle Brandon Nixon said. “Once he learns his technique, he’ll be a real good player.”

Nixon and true freshman Zach Marshall are also battling for a starting job. Nixon could help fill the leadership void.

Offensive line coach Tom Brattan emphasized that the line is a place where experience often is more valuable than just physical talent. The left tackle position is considered the anchor of the offensive line because it requires blocking a right-handed quarterback’s blind side.

“It’s not a position where you have a physical talent so much as a running back or wide receiver where it’s God’s gifts, and many times that can supercede any type of coverage,” Brattan said. “That’s why you like to have senior leadership.”

Friedgen admitted his team just doesn’t have many seniors in the trenches. Seniors Russell Bonham and Ryan McDonald and sophomore Donnie Woods will now be relied on to keep the young line together.

“It’s probably the most difficult position to play on the field given the complexity of offenses and pass protections,” he said. “It’s on-the-job training.”

Friedgen said the inexperience problem has more to do with technique than mental mistakes.

“Where we’re not executing, it’s not because of who to block, it’s more how to block,” he said. “It’s more of a technique thing than, ‘Who do I have?’ So we just have to get better at how to block.”