Maryland football coach DJ Durkin often mentioned throughout his team's preseason camp how fortunate it was that the Terps had gone though a month of practices without any serious injuries.
There must have been no wood to knock on or no four-leaf clovers to pick before Maryland beat then No. 23 Texas at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Still glowing from the program's first win over a Top 25 team in seven years, Durkin's tone at Tuesday's news conference was muted by his announcement that sophomore quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
"Very tough for him, and for our program," Durkin said. "I was proud of him; how he played, and competed. There were a lot of questions about him going into the season, what he can and can't do. ...
"He was really, really good in the vertical passing game down the field. Obviously running the ball he was very effective that way too. I think he showed what his abilities are and how he can really read this offense, move this offense, and he did a great job when he was in there. He will be missed by all of us ... and will come back to be a great player for us."
Durkin also announced that senior linebacker Jesse Aniebonam will be out for "several months" _ presumably for rest of the regular season _ after fracturing an ankle. Aniebonom would likely be able to get a waiver for a medical redshirt to play next season.
"We're going to play it by ear and see what the plan is for him moving forward, that's not been determined by us or by him or anyone," Durkin said. "He's out for a significant amount of time."
The only good news came from the player who appeared to be the most seriously injured against the Longhorns.
Sophomore cornerback Antwaine Richardson, who was carted off the field and sent to a local hospital after sustaining an apparent neck injury, returned with the team and is undergoing concussion protocol.
"He's day to day, he's going great, we anticipate to have him back very soon," Durkin said.
Durkin said that true freshman Kasim Hill will take over at quarterback, beginning with Saturday's home opener against Towson. Hill completed all three passes he threw _ including a 40-yarder to junior wide receiver D.J. Moore on third-and-19 _ and scored on a 3-yard run to give Maryland a 44-34 lead against Texas.
"It really doesn't change at all, Kasim prepares the same every day, he's been like a veteran guy since Day 1," Durkin said. "All last week he prepared like he was the starter and you could see when he went in the game there was no drop-off.
"That was not only his first time playing [in college]. That was his first college football game, first time he had been on the sideline in a game. He was smiling when he went in the game, like 'all right, here we go' ... He's the right guy we want in this spot."
The injury to Aniebonom came after the 6-foot-4, 260-pound linebacker had "put together his best work through this offseason, spring ball, training camp" and seemed devastated by the injury, which took place earlier in the third quarter than those sustained by Richardson and Pigrome.
"That's a hard one, to see the disappointment on his face, those are hard moments as a coach, you feel for guys," Durkin said. "Unfortunately injuries are part of our game and they happen. He has great football in his future whether it's continuing here or the next level wherever that is, he definitely has that and that's a good thing for him."
It is not as clear as who'll replacement Aniebonam, though Durkin mentioned junior Melvin Keihn (Gilman) and freshman Bryce Brand as possibilities, as well as moving senior Chandler Burkett from defensive end to linebacker, where he started his career at Maryland.
"We've got to move some guys around," Durkin said. "At the end of the day, that's a part of the game, it's someone else's opportunity to step up and play."
Durkin pointed to a play in the fourth quarter when the Longhorns were threatening to take the lead. On fourth-and-2 at the Maryland 44, Texas quarterback Shane Buechele was sacked by sophomore defensive tackle Oluwaseun Oluwatimi with help by Brand, who was in for Aniebonom.
"That's what it is, the next guy's got to step up," Durkin said. "Now [Brand's] role will increase a little bit, as well as Melvin's role will increase a little bit. We'll move Chandler around. We have some actions up there. We played probably a dozen guys on the defensive line in that game. More than any, you feel for Jess."
The Terps also seemed built to handle the impact of the injuries to Pigrome, who had overcome his own adversity after throwing a pick-six on his first pass to have a breakthrough performance, and Aniebonom, the team's best pass rusher a year ago.
"I think as a team we've always been taught with this coaching staff under coach Durkin that adversity is going to come at some point in a game, at some point in the season ," sophomore running back Jake Funk said Tuesday. "Unfortunately it came in the first game for Pig. But I just think, the way we've prepared, the way this program goes about itself, we're we're prepared to fight adversity. I think that alone allows us to be more equipped."
