Unfortunately, the reports that surfaced Tuesday night are accurate.
LSU confirmed via a press release Wednesday afternoon that quarterback Zach Mettenberger will not play in the Tigers’ bowl game due to a knee injury. The school declined to disclose the specific nature of the injury, although the reports indicated it was a torn ACL.
As Mettenberger is a senior, his collegiate career has come to an end.
“We are very disappointed for Zach,” head coach Les Miles said in a statement. “He’s been a tremendous leader for our team and he’s as a competitive a guy as I have ever been around. He’s had a great impact on our program.
“I know Zach will work extremely hard to rehabilitate his knee and I don’t anticipate this injury having any impact on what should be a great future in the NFL.”
Mettenberger began his playing career at Georgia before an arrest led to his dismissal in April of 2010. He played at the JUCO level that season before transferring to LSU in December of that same year.
After playing sparingly in 2011, Mettenberger won the starting job in 2012 and had started the past 25 games for the Tigers.
Mettenberger is the only LSU quarterback to pass for 2,500-plus yards in back-to-back seasons, and just the third to top the 3,000-yard mark. He suffered the injury that ended his collegiate career in the regular-season finale against Arkansas, less than 30 yards from setting a single season school records for passing yards.