If there was a quarterback controversy brewing in Bloomington, it ended abruptly on Saturday afternoon.
In his weekly Monday media availability, Indiana University head football coach Tom Allen indicated that true freshman quarterback Michael Penix tore his ACL on Saturday against Penn State.
Penix saw his first action of the season against Penn State since the Ball State game. For the game he went 9 for 19 passing for 94 yards. He added 24 rushing yards on two carries and suffered the knee injury on one of those attempts.
On the season Penix went 21 of 34 on passing attempts for 219 yards and a touchdown.
Allen indicated that the goal is to have Penix back for certain aspects of spring practice and then back to “100 percent full bore” by June 1.
The backup quarterback will now be true freshman Reese Taylor according to Allen. Taylor has played a number of positions throughout the season including defense and special teams. Allen indicated that some of his non-quarterback roles will likely be scaled back as the Indianapolis native focuses on preparing to step in if anything happens to starter Peyton Ramsey.
The 2017 Indiana Mr. Football winner, Taylor completed 215-of-296 (72.6 percent) for 3,150 yards and a program record 40 touchdowns at Ben Davis High School.
Penix hails from Tampa and attended Tampa Bay Technical High School. The left-hander threw 61 touchdowns and just six interceptions in his two years as a starter. With a strong and accurate arm, many in the media and the IU fan base believed that Penix should start over Ramsey to allow the offense to threaten opposing defenses with the vertical passing game.
Based on the recovery timeline laid out by Allen, Ramsey and Penix should be on course to once again battle for the starting quarterback job at the 2019 fall camp.
Penix will return next year as a redshirt freshman.
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