When I posted my grades yesterday, the University of Maryland had yet to report the status on their three significant injuries. We now know today that sophomore quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Pigrome played great against Texas with 175 passing yards, 2 scores, and a pick on an extremely accurate 9 for 12 day. He also had 64 yards on 11 carries with a score. It is a blow and it is always a punch to the gut to see a kid to get knocked out like this but in terms of the football team, I think Maryland still has a great shot at success this fall.
Replacing Pigrome will be hot-shot freshman Kasim Hill, a local 4-star kid that was courted by seemingly every Big Ten team. Hill looked good coming in relief, too. Let’s not forget that this Maryland team has a solid rushing attack that will also help Hill settle in. Finally the schedule couldn’t be more ideal for easing this transition. FCS Towson is this Saturday followed by the open week and then UCF on 9/23. The Knights aren’t a cakewalk but UM should still be able to polish them off at home.
With Hill’s prep credentials there was always a chance of him winning the job as the season went on but the loss of Pigrome still impacts the depth. Behind Hill is sophomore Max Bortenschlager who played the bulk of the Nebraska game last year and appeared in another and junior Caleb Henderson, who has just one career pass attempt and that was back in 2015. After them are two projects: Legend Brumbaugh (fr) and Ryan Brand (so). Long story short, barring any more injury bug issues at quarterback, I think Maryland can overcome this heart wrenching injury by relying on Kasim Hill.
Pigrome wasn’t the only Terrapin to get hurt in the upset victory. Defensive lineman Jesse Aniebonam broke his ankle and will be out several months. Aniebonam led UM in sacks a year ago and is a big piece of their defensive line.
Much like the quarterback position there isn’t doom, yet. Maryland has a very veteran line with three starters coming back from last year and a whole lot of kids who, despite not being starters, have been in the system for two full camps, been at Maryland for several years, and have played plenty of snaps. The problem is if anyone else goes down then things will get really interesting for Durkin to reorder along the front.
Let’s say Aniebonam is out a full two months – missing eight weeks. He will miss the Towson, UCF, @ Minnesota, @ Ohio State, Northwestern, @ Wisconsin, and Indiana games. Those first two should be no problem. The trips to Columbus and Madison were always long odds. That leaves the other three. Will missing the best defensive lineman cost them the Gopher, Wildcat, and Hoosier games? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Aniebonam is a stud but Maryland should still have enough on both sides of the ball to be competitive in those three games, especially with two of them at home.
Lastly, no further information on defensive back Antwaine Richardson who was carted off the field. He was tweeting over the weekend and trainers were obviously being extremely cautions with the big hit Richardson was apart of followed by being sprawled out on the field but with no word today and Richardson’s actions over the weekend I am cautiously optimistic that he avoided a potential career-ending injury and has entered some sort of concussion protocol.
I’m sure I speak for all Big Ten fans when I say I wish these three young men a full recovery and hopefully get to see them continue on their promising careers. The upset was great fun to watch and a good Maryland program is great for the league but their injuries is a sobering reminder that this game has a human toll and these are kids putting their health and safety on the line each time they put those pads on.
Big Ten and Counting 