When Vanderbilt faces Houston in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 4 in Birmingham, the Commodores will be without starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels.
Vandy head coach James Franklin revealed Monday that Carta-Samuels, a senior, played the final three games of the regular season with a torn ACL. He tore the ligament on Oct. 19 against Georgia, missed two games, then returned to the field and led the Commodores to three straight wins over Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest.
According to the AP, doctors cleared Carta-Samuels to play with a brace after he underwent some rehabilitation. Carta-Samuels then had surgery to repair the injured knee shortly after the regular season ended.
“That guy made the ultimate commitment to his team,” Franklin said.
Franklin added that Carta-Samuels opted to have his surgery instead of playing in the bowl game to ensure that he would be ready for Vanderbilt’s pro day workouts in March.
Redshirt freshman Patton Robinette will start in Carta-Samuels’ absence.
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