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Maryland quarterback Kasim Hill (11) looks for an open receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana won 34-32. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) (Doug Mcschooler/AP)
Maryland starting quarterback Kasim Hill will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, interim coach Matt Canada said Tuesday. Hill suffered the injury in Saturday’s game at Indiana.
After playing in three games last year, Hill tore his right ACL, and missed the remainder of the that season.
“It’s very disappointing,” Canada said. “Obviously there are no words to say to make it any better. Great kid. Kid who worked so hard and battled his way back. He will again, but certainly a very, very hard situation for him and his family. But he’ll be back. He’ll be stronger, and he’ll have two really, really strong knees.”
Midway through the second quarter in the Terrapins’ recent game, Hill scrambled on a play, and his left leg twisted as he was tackled to the ground. Hill appeared to be in pain as trainers tended to him on the turf, but he walked off the field. He came out for the second half wearing street clothes, and backup Tyrrell Pigrome finished the game.
“Never thought I’d have to attack this process all over again, but the Lord has more adversity for me to overcome,” Hill wrote on Instagram. “Every Saturday this season I gave my all to every single one of my teammates, as we all honored our brother. This was one of the most special teams that I have ever been a part of. Love everybody on this team, and I’ll always have their back. Hope I made you proud this year.”
Hill finished this season completing 84 of his 170 pbad attempts for 1,083 yards. He threw for nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
In the games against Rutgers and Illinois, Hill threw a career-high three touchdowns, but through parts of the season, he has been inconsistent. Maryland has relied on a run-heavy offense, and Hill threw for more than 100 yards in just four games.
Pigrome has played in all but one game this year, totaling about 140 snaps at quarterback through the first 10 games. Fifty-two of those plays game in the last game against Indiana when he had to fill in for Hill. Earlier in the year, however, Pigrome had entered games at various points, sometimes for entire drives or single plays, rather than just when the score was lopsided.
While Pigrome is a more mobile quarterback, Maryland’s offense has fared about the same when either quarterback is in the game. Pigrome has averaged 6.3 yards per pbad attempt, while Hill averaged 6.4 yards. The run game has also performed about the same with each quarterback. With Hill, the team averages close to six yards per carry, while with Pigrome, the offense averages about 5.5 yards per carry.
The pbad game has been far more explosive with Hill behind center. Hill has thrown 18 pbades of at least 20 yards, while Pigrome has recorded just two of that distance. The difference could be in part due to how some of Pigrome’s time at quarterback comes when Maryland has a significant lead and wants to drain the clock. Pigrome connected with Dontay Demus on both of his long throws that came late in Maryland’s comeback attempt against Indiana.
Pigrome stepped in for Hill when the Terps trailed 21-6 against Indiana. Pigrome and the offense pulled the team back ahead of the Hoosiers with five minutes left, but Indiana regained the lead with a field goal. During Maryland’s two-minute drive for a chance to win, Pigrome lost a fumble near midfield to effectively end the game.
With Pigrome as the new starter, Maryland will finish its regular season against Ohio State this Saturday and Penn State next week. The Terps are still one win shy from becoming bowl-eligible.
Pigrome started in the 2017 opener but suffered a season-ending knee injury. After they both recovered before the start of this season, Hill won the starting job.
Hill’s latest injury marks the eighth time in the last seven seasons that a Maryland quarterback suffered a season-ending injury. Six of those injuries were torn ACLs.
“I think it’s a great credit to Pig,” Canada said. “You watch that game. Everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to start. He’s started before. It wasn’t the greatest situation, but he never complained or he wasn’t pouting. As soon as that happened, he stepped into the game and played, finished the game and played very, very well. Proud of him for that and I know he’ll play well this week.”
Read more:
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