Photo by Tyler Lamb / Sports Editor
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders took a tough loss at home to the University of Texas-San Antonio 45-25 on Saturday. Though the negative result was felt by everyone in attendance, Brent Stockstill’s injury in the early stages of the second quarter was the dagger for Blue Raider nation.
After leading his offense to the UTSA 33 yard-line, Stockstill took a hard sack and got up very slowly. Cleary favoring his right shoulder, he stayed in the game for two more downs. When the possession ended, Stockstill ran with a trainer to the locker room and returned just before halftime with his shoulder in a sling. He was sent to the hospital after the game, a trip that coach Rick Stockstill said wasn’t just precautionary.
At Monday’s press conference, coach Stockstill broke the news that everyone was afraid to hear: Brent Stockstill is out for the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone.
“[The sack] broke his collarbone,” Coach Stocksill said. “He’ll definitely be out for the remainder of the regular season.”
Stockstill’s season comes to an abrupt halt just a week after breaking the school record for career touchdowns by a quarterback. Before going down, he threw his 57th career score to add to his total. He was on his way to break more records such as passing yards, completions, 300-yard games and more before the end of the season. He finishes the year with a 63.9 completion percentage, 2,801 passing yards and 27 touchdown passes. He only threw five interceptions this year, bringing his total to 10 in two years. Though the numbers are great, Stockstill was known more for his leadership and toughness, even asking if he could play through his injury.
“He asked the doctors, he said ‘can I go back in and play?'” Coach said. “He asked ‘has anybody ever played with [a broken collarbone]?’ They said no. He said ‘can I be the first?'”
“I think that shows the toughness, the competitiveness, the leadership, the love that he has for this team.”
Stockstill is famously known for a game he played when he was at Siegel High School. In a playoff game against Maryville, he played on a torn ACL, but still threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns. Said by many to be one of the toughest players to come through MTSU, even he realized that this wasn’t something he could play through.
“It’s not like one of those rehab deals, where it’s really how much pain your body can tolerate. It’s more like when the bone heals is when you’ll be back,” Brent Stockstill said in the Monday presser. “Not being out there with your teammates is the toughest thing.”
Backup quarterback John Urzua will replace Stockstill at the signal caller going forward. In his first game since week one, Urzua completed 14 of his 27 pass attempts for 161 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions against UTSA. Though it wasn’t a winning performance, his teammates have complete faith that can Urzua step up and make the plays they need in order to win their remaining games.
“I think John’s a tremendous talent, he’s a great kid,” Brent Stockstill said of his backup. “The special thing about this offense and coach Franklin, if you’re just coachable and you do what he asks you to do, it’s really a simple game. He makes it easy for you.”
Linebacker D.J. Sanders echoed Stockstill, saying he has the utmost confidence in Urzua’s ability to lead the offense.
“I really have faith in him, I believe in him and I know that he can do it,” Sanders said. “I’ve seen him in practice. He’s got a strong arm, he’s a good kid. I have faith in him.”
Click here to watch the full press conference from this morning on Facebook Live.
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