Quarterback Caleb Rowe prepares to throw a pass during the Terps’ 52-24 loss to Ohio State on Oct. 4, 2014 at Capital One field.
Terrapins football quarterback Caleb Rowe tore the ACL in his left knee Tuesday during practice and will miss the remainder of the season.
Coach Randy Edsall showed film of the injury to reporters on Thursday afternoon to confirm it occurred during a non-contact drill. Rowe ran a zone-read play, kept the ball and ran through a hole in the left side of the offensive line. He tripped up after several steps and appeared to land awkwardly on his left leg but continued to run.
After five more steps, Rowe started limping significantly before lifting his left leg in the air and jumping forward with his right foot. He was not touched on the play by any defensive player.
According to Edsall, redshirt sophomore Perry Hills will become the backup quarterback while redshirt freshman Shane Cockerille will take over the third-string role.
Rowe, who has been listed as the No. 2 signal-caller on the Terps’ depth chart all season, suffered the same injury in the same knee midway through the 2012 season. Though he hasn’t started a game yet this year, Rowe has played during key moments in games against West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio State.
On the season, Rowe has completed 63 percent of his passes and thrown five touchdowns to four interceptions. Rowe, a junior, was likely an option to replace senior C.J. Brown under center next year. Edsall said Rowe will not be ready for spring practices, but the team expects him to be ready for the start of the 2015 season.
Here are other Terps injury notes heading into today’s homecoming game against Iowa at Byrd Stadium:
– Outside linebacker Matt Robinson (shoulder) will start. He hasn’t seen the field since suffering an injury in the first quarterback against West Virginia on Sept. 13.
– Freshman cornerback Daniel Ezeagwu will have surgery on Friday to repair a meniscus in his knee and is done for the season. Freshman Josh Woods has been moved onto the two-deep depth chart to replace him.
– Backup nose tackle David Shaw is out. Edsall said the freshman is week-to-week.
– Long-snapper Christian Carpenter remains sidelined for the second straight game with a back injury. Freshman Nate Adams will snap again.
